Fiona Hyslop speaks at Railway Industry Association Annual Summit
Keynote speech given by Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP to the Railway Industry Association Annual Summit on 3 September 2024:
Good afternoon. I’m delighted to be here again today in what is one of the flagship conferences in the railway calendar.
Thank you to the Railway Industry Association for inviting me to speak here, and for welcoming me back for a second year. I hope everyone has enjoyed this morning’s speakers and panel discussions.
The Railway Industry Association plays a pivotal role in Scotland’s Railway, and next year’s milestone, the 150 year anniversary, is testimony to the Association’s enduring relevance and importance to the rail sector.
And I want to start by thanking everyone here today, and everyone who works in the rail supply chain for all that you do to support our rail industry and services.
The supply chain already plays an important role in supporting Scotland’s Rail network, with a range of businesses and jobs based here.
In keeping with the Scottish Government’s priority to grow the economy, if there is one message I would hope you can take away from my speech today it is this.
We want to see a larger, stronger rail supply chain based here in Scotland.
Scotland is open for business. We welcome innovation and entrepreneurship in every industry and sector and growth which provides good jobs which last.
So if you are currently thinking about expanding or developing, then we want to talk to you to see if we can make that happen in Scotland.
The opportunity to grow the railway economy goes hand in hand with my clear ambition to grow Scotland’s railway, to make it resilient, reliable, affordable and accessible. New rail investment can create real education, business and tourism opportunities, and help breathe life into communities. This is currently most apparent with the recently opened Levenmouth rail link.
At a time where governments have limited funds, the Scottish Government has invested significant funding in the railway. We expect the outputs and outcomes to reflect the investment made, and that priorities are delivered right from the start of this control period for maximum year on year benefits. As the First Minister made clear in a speech this weekend, we need our funding to work harder and smarter.
We have a renewed opportunity to boost the integration between track and train in Scotland, with both ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper now under public sector control and ownership. I want to see improved integration between Network Rail and these operators, whilst also supporting rail freight and cross-border passenger services. That means improving consideration and communication of essential works and maintenance to minimise disruption and keep Scotland’s rail services operating, as much as we can.
As we all know, a reliable network with affordable and accessible services is far more attractive for passengers, and essential for freight customers. I want more people to choose to travel by train here in Scotland and to and from other parts of the UK – it is in all our interests to work together to make that happen.
And to support a growing economy and to cut emissions, I am keen to see more freight moved by rail too.
A year on since I last spoke to you all, and I can proudly say that the rail industry in Scotland has delivered.
Scotland’s railway has been made more sustainable. For the last 8 months electric services have operated on the Glasgow-Barrhead line, as we continue to make progress on decarbonising passenger and freight services.
Railway stations have been made more accessible and inclusive with improvements to Uddingston and Dumfries Railway Stations, delivering step free accessible routes to platforms.
Opportunities for rail freight have increased. I visited the newest rail freight terminal in Scotland at Blackford, just a few weeks ago, to hear how this investment has supported Highland Spring’s net zero aspirations.
Passenger facilities have been improved. There are now more retail offerings at Edinburgh Haymarket and Glasgow Queen Street station. Troon station has been redeveloped and re-opened since the fire.
Rail services have also been expanded.
Rail travel has returned to East Linton, opening-up education, leisure, and business opportunities for the growing community, while also offering greener ways to travel as we work towards our ambitious Net Zero goals.
And of course, I was pleased to attend the opening of the muti-million pound Levenmouth Rail Link alongside Scotland’s First Minister.
Since 2 June 2024, and for the first time in over 50 years new passengers services are now serving the community of Levenmouth. The Railway is carrying local residents to and from work, and visitors to and from Fife opening up opportunities for business, new and old, taking shoppers to Edinburgh, and tourists, cyclists and walkers to the Fife coast.
And I look forward to next summer’s further service improvement when, following our significant investment in the fleet and growing staff numbers, we expect ScotRail to introduce a second train to Leven each hour. This will connect the Leven area communities directly with opportunities in a wider part of Fife, including Dunfermline.
All this growth is helping to create opportunity for people to work in Scotland’s rail industry.
One of the stand-out achievements of the Levenmouth Rail Link was the Levenmouth Skills Academy, delivered by Network Rail’s supplier QTS and also supported by Fife Council. The Academy equipped nine young people with the competencies, skills, qualifications and work experience, required to thrive in the railway maintenance sector.
I was delighted to learn that many were offered permanent employment.
I am even more delighted to learn that the Skills Academy is also running on the East Kilbride Enhancement project. Aimed at young people living in South Lanarkshire and currently out of employment, it will help to combat the skills shortage and lack of diversity in the rail industry. Initiatives like this are so very important, creating a lasting legacy and encouraging the next generation of railway workers to start their careers.
My vision is for Scotland to have a railway which is reliable, sustainable, inclusive, safe, affordable and accessible, helping to deliver a healthier, fairer, and more prosperous Scotland.
The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland cannot deliver that alone. We already have fantastic people leading and working in Scottish Rail Holdings, ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper, and in cross-border services, who are working closely with us to deliver this vision.
My challenge to everyone here today is this – if you are not already working with us to deliver this exciting vision, why not? If you are already one of our partners, can we deepen and grow that partnership? If there are opportunities not yet being realised, I want to know about them and for us to explore how to do that. If there are barriers in the way, I really want to know about those, so we can work out how to remove them.
Together, we have the opportunity to shape the future of rail in Scotland. Our collective efforts can propel us toward a better, greener rail network that is fit for the future, and meets the needs and interests of the people, businesses and communities of Scotland.
However, in order to deliver this the railway also needs reform.
I welcome the focus that the new UK government transport secretary has brought and how she has made rail one of her priorities.
We are supportive of the UK Government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) bill. Just this morning, I gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament transport committee to recommend that Parliament gives its consent to the bill.
I welcome Louise Haigh’s efforts to settle a pay dispute that has gone on for far too long, and has meant some rail employees have not had a pay rise in over two years. Wherever they work, that is simply not acceptable.
Nor is it acceptable for services in Scotland to be impacted either by ongoing cross-border disputes or struggling rail operators.
The Scottish Government has always been clear that the best way to deliver our vision and to create the railway industry that Scotland needs and deserves is through full devolution of rail to Scotland. I intend to pursue this objective through the planned UK Rail Reform bill and I hope the new UK Government will be willing to work with me to achieve that.
But I want to make very clear that I will withstand any erosion of current powers and any attempt to centralise any aspect of those powers at a UK level.
Where I think I and the UK government transport secretary will be in agreement on, is the need for more funding support for rail. I want to assure you that with the capital allocation available to me, that we are doing all we can to maintain investment in the rail sector in Scotland.
Total funding will be £1.6 billion this financial year. For the next whole five-year funding period (2024-29), the Scottish Government’s investment in Network Rail’s operations, maintenance and renewals alone will increase by £0.45 billion in cash terms from £3.75 billion in 2019-24 to £4.2 billion in 2024-29.
This government has fully funded Network Rail in Scotland, in line with the recommendations made by the independent rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
This is committed expenditure against an ambitious and efficient strategic specification - and I hope to see that delivered in full and on time.
The East Kilbride Enhancement project is our next step in our programme of electrification of the rail network.
The £140m project will electrify 22.4km of railway and see the relocation of Hairmyres station, as well as a new accessible station building at East Kilbride. From December 2025 electric train services will be operating on the route.
Network Rail and its various contractors are making good progress at various locations along the line of route, and
Transport Scotland is working closely with South Lanarkshire Council and Network Rail to ensure the Hairmyres interchange station is open in May 2025.
A novel contracting model is underway in East Lothian. Transport Scotland has contracted with East Lothian Council to fund a project to close Markle Level Crossing, and to construct a bridge as an alternative crossing. This will facilitate the removal of the second last level crossing on the East Coast Main Line in Scotland, removing a significant safety and performance risk from the railway.
We continue to be committed to decarbonising the passenger rail network, which also has clear benefits for rail freight services.
Scotland’s Railway is working to deliver a series of enhancements to the power supply supporting our electrified railway network. As part of a £120m Scottish Government investment, these works will add resilience and capacity into the network.
Upgrading the power supply network will enable the introduction of electric trains on services to East Kilbride, on the Borders line and across Fife, but will also support increased traffic on existing routes such as the East Coast Mainline.
We are working to refresh Transport Scotland’s Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan to reflect the changes which have occurred since its publication. We expect to publish this following the updated Climate Change Plan to ensure they are aligned.
Linked to this are our plans for the replacement of life expired rolling stock on the rail network. We are currently developing specifications for forthcoming fleet replacement programmes.
Resilient, reliable ScotRail services are key to encouraging more people to choose to travel by train rather than car, to cutting our transport emissions and to helping to move people around Scotland for work, leisure and learning. That is why we must build on our investment in Scotland’s railway infrastructure by investing in the services and trains which connect our key cities
I am pleased to be able to advise that I announced to Parliament this morning the commencement of activity to replace the current InterCity trains in Scotland, the High Speed Train fleet which currently operates on routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Over 4 million passenger journeys were made on InterCity trains in the last year – we want to maintain and where possible, increase that number choosing to go by train between Scotland’s cities.
I want to replace the current Intercity fleet with trains which provide more comfort and accessibility for passengers on these routes.
This planned investment will ensure the reliability of our Intercity routes for the long-term, will reduce emissions from Intercity services and will support our efforts to decarbonise Scotland’s railways.
ScotRail has been asked to begin this work and the contract notice will be published in the next few weeks.
Scotland’s Railway is, to coin a phrase, going places.
I want to assure you that the Scottish Government sees our railway as a vital asset to help achieve our priorities, not least to grow the economy and to address the climate emergency.
But with ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper now owned and controlled publicly, and Network Rail in public ownership across the UK, rail is now very much a public service here in Scotland. Improving our public services is also a government priority.
With our budget position the most challenging it has ever been, and no sign of public service investment from the new UK Government, but instead more cuts to come, it is vital that we improve Scotland’s railway where we can, making it more efficient, resilient, and reliable.
We also need to ensure that all our rail employees feel valued and supported, and that we continue to create opportunities for new skills and jobs, especially for young people. In that regard, I hope rail union members will follow the advice of their national bodies and vote to accept the current pay offer.
But with such financial constraints, increasing revenue to help maintain services becomes even more important, as does rooting out inefficiency, delivering more value for money and embracing new ways of working.
Above all else, I want to see Scotland’s Railway grow – and I want us to go on that journey together.
Again, I’d like to thank the Railway Industry Association for inviting me to today’s event. I wish you all an enjoyable afternoon.