AIRDRIE-BATHGATE RAILWAY AND LINKED IMPROVEMENTS BILL COMMITTEE Monday 4 September 2006 Session 2 £5.00 Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2006. Applications for reproduction should be made in writing to the Licensing Division, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ Fax 01603 723000, which is administering the copyright on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Produced and published in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by Astron. CONTENTS Monday 4 September 2006 Col. ITEM IN PRIVATE ................................................................................................................................................... 5 AIRDRIE-BATHGATE RAILWAY AND LINKED IMPROVEMENTS BILL: PRELIMINARY STAGE .......................................... 6 AIRDRIE-BATHGATE RAILWAY AND LINKED IMPROVEMENTS BILL COMMITTEE 2nd Meeting 2006, Session 2 CONVENER *Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con) DEPUTY CONVENER *Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP) COMMITTEE MEMBERS *Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab) *Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab) *Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD) *attended THE FOLLOWING GAVE EVIDENCE: Stephen Craig (Scottish Enterprise Glasgow) Jim Dickson (West Lothian Council) David Elder (Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce) Michael Greig (MacRoberts) Shirley Linton (North Lanarkshire Council) Graham Mackay (North Lanarkshire Council) Joe Magee (Jacobs Babtie) Graeme Malcolm (West Lothian Council) Ron McAulay (Network Rail) Craig McCorriston (West Lothian Council) David McDougall (West Lothian Chamber of Commerce) David McDove (North Lanarkshire Council) Jim McFarlane (Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian) David McLay (North Lanarkshire Council) Douglas Millar (Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce) Alistair Shaw (West Lothian Council) David Simmonds (MVA Consultancy) Ms Pamela Woodburn (Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire) CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE Fergus Cochrane LOCATION Committee Room 2 5 4 SEPTEMBER 2006 6 Scottish Parliament Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Bill: Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Preliminary Stage Linked Improvements Bill Committee 10:39 Monday 4 September 2006 The Convener: I welcome the first panel of witnesses. They are David McDougall, president of West Lothian Chamber of Commerce; Douglas [THE CONVENER opened the meeting at 10:36] Millar, chief executive of Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce; and David Elder, president of Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce. Item in Private I will put the first question to the panel. What are The Convener (Phil Gallie): Good morning the projected local, regional and Scotland-wide everybody. I formally open the second meeting in economic benefits of the railway? Does it 2006 of the Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked represent a good return on a public investment of Improvements Bill Committee, which is our first around £340 million? oral evidence meeting. We have a full house, so David McDougall (West Lothian Chamber of there are no apologies. Commerce): I will kick off with a response from The purpose of today’s proceedings is to hear the perspective of the business community in evidence from the promoter and a range of other West Lothian. At the moment, there is a good witnesses on the general principles of the bill. The communication link from Linlithgow to Glasgow by issue at the heart of our consideration is whether public transport, but from the southern part of there should be a railway between Airdrie and West Lothian—the area around Livingston, where Bathgate. We will hear evidence on the general most of the economic growth has been in the past overview and the need for the railway; on how the 20 years—communication links to Glasgow by railway will fit within local, regional and national public transport are so poor that they are hardly transport plans; on alternatives to achieving the ever used. If somebody has to go to a meeting in bill’s policy objectives; and on economic Glasgow, their default option is to jump in a car development and social regeneration. The and clog up the M8 going into Glasgow, so we are committee is grateful to all those who responded keen to have an alternative means of getting into to our request for written evidence on those and Glasgow quickly. From Livingston, it is possible to other issues. get to a meeting in the centre of Edinburgh in 20 minutes. To go into Glasgow takes about an hour The committee undertook a site visit along the and a half if we are lucky, so there is a real need route of the proposed railway. That was very for an alternative, to allow people to have quick helpful in broadening our understanding of the and regular access into Glasgow. issues surrounding the project and the general location of the proposed route and stations, as The Convener: That is helpful. Thank you. well as some of the properties close to the line. Douglas Millar (Lanarkshire Chamber of It is hoped that we will break for lunch about Commerce): From a Lanarkshire perspective, it is 12.30 pm for about an hour, although we will almost the opposite. Our transport infrastructure is decide that later. Depending on the progress we very much linked into Glasgow’s—it is like a make, we may take a further short break in the spider’s web, with everything from Lanarkshire afternoon. Members of the public are of course going into the centre of Glasgow. Getting links to welcome to leave the meeting at any time, but I the east is important to us. We think that the would ask them to do so quietly. Although the railway will help to create job opportunities for meeting is being held in public, it is not a public Lanarkshire people in the east of Scotland. In the meeting; it is the formal work of the Parliament area that will be served by the rail link, there are and I would appreciate everyone’s co-operation in high numbers of unemployed people who do not ensuring the proper conduct of business. have access to cars. It is important to open up transport links to give those people job I ask everyone to ensure that all mobile phones opportunities. That will create wealth in the local and pagers are switched off. economy, which will then be spent in the shops Agenda item 1 is to obtain the committee’s and will benefit the local community. agreement to discuss in private the evidence that The Convener: Thank you. Mr Elder, do you we hear. Is that agreed? have anything to add? Members indicated agreement. 7 4 SEPTEMBER 2006 8 David Elder (Lanarkshire Chamber of 10:45 Commerce): I reiterate what has been said from Douglas Millar: We can look at what happened both points of view. I am also the director of the when the new Larkhall rail line was opened last Scottish Chambers of Commerce and with that hat year. The passenger numbers that were predicted on I can say that people on both sides of the fence for that route have already been exceeded, so we are keen to open up economic links. Douglas can see that the use of a railway line can grow Millar made a good point about individuals who do quite quickly. The impression that we in not have cars. People often talk about getting in Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce have is that if the car and going through to Glasgow for we invest more in the railway infrastructure business, but in many areas, particularly in North throughout central Scotland, people will use it. Lanarkshire, people would benefit from being able Such investment would release people from using to get a job in Livingston or Bathgate. At the their cars on the M8 and, we hope, free up some moment there is no way for them to do that by of the congestion that is hindering business public transport. performance in the central belt. The Convener: I would like to ask a question David Elder: A good example is the station at arising from Mr McDougall’s comments. At Motherwell, which has a large car park. More and present, is there a high number of people from more, because of congestion and parking issues North Lanarkshire going eastwards passing in the centre of Edinburgh, if my colleagues and I people from Lothian going westwards? need to attend meetings there, we use the David McDougall: There is a lot of movement alternative to driving of travelling from a station back and forward. Some of the companies in West with good links. You need only go to Motherwell Lothian bus people in, but that is an expensive station car park of a morning to see it full of cars option that benefits only companies that are over a that would previously have been driven into certain size. Smaller employers have to rely on Edinburgh. Many of those would have contained people being able to come in by car or by public only the driver. transport, but the public transport is not good Cathy Peattie: Would an improved bus service enough to allow people to have flexibility. The shift not do exactly the same thing? patterns of big employers in West Lothian such as Sky and Intelligent Finance are such that they David Elder: The timings of a bus service just need people to be able to travel at 3 o’clock in the do not compare with those of a train. From a afternoon, for example. It is all very well having business point of view, someone could be on a certain options available, but at the moment bus much longer than they would be on a train. companies are restricted in what they can do, Speed and time are an issue. Also, on the train, rather than being liberated to do what they want to they can use a laptop or mobile and do business do. Transport is definitely a constraint, because while they are travelling; that is a big issue for the there is a big demand for people to move back chamber of commerce.