Progress since the previous Delivery Plan

Since publishing the fourth Delivery Plan in December 2024, we have made significant progress across the transport portfolio by completing key projects and marking important milestones. At the same time, the Scottish Government remained focused on the essential maintenance and operations of our transport system, which underpins daily life and economic activity by connecting people to jobs, education, services and leisure.

In 2025, we took action to make public transport more accessible and affordable. Concessionary schemes continue to make travel cheaper, with over two million people able to travel by bus for free and eligible island residents receiving free ferry vouchers. ScotRail peak fares were permanently removed to ease cost‑of‑living pressures and encourage sustainable travel, and fares will be frozen for twelve months from 1 April 2026. We also launched a one‑year pilot offering free rail travel for companions of blind and partially sighted people holding a +1 National Entitlement Card.

Free interisland ferry travel for under 22s was introduced in Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles on 1 April 2025 and, in the first nine months, young people made almost 70,000 free interisland journeys using their Young Scot or NEC card. Island residents aged 19–21 can also receive four free annual ferry trips to the mainland. We will retain RET for passenger and islander fares while reviewing how it applies on longer routes. We have introduced new legislation that will allow concessionary travel to be suspended for anti‑social behaviour, and we continued work on accessible travel and invested £20 million in bus infrastructure in 2025-26 to improve journey times and accessibility.

We announced a £342 million investment in new battery‑electric trains and electrification works on the Fife and Borders lines, alongside ongoing upgrades on the Haymarket–Dalmeny route as well as replacing some of Glasgow’s Suburban trains. The Levenmouth rail line’s first year saw around 300,000 journeys, with more frequent services and extra carriages added. Electric trains also began running on the East Kilbride route following major station and accessibility improvements. We published Rail Recharged, outlining plans to replace ageing fleets, and continued work to improve rail safety. Ministers’ rail upgrade requirements are being delivered, and funding supported Regional Transport Partnerships and SPT’s Subway Modernisation Programme. In addition to this, Birmingham International was added as a new calling point to the Highland Caledonian Sleeper service, the first major timetabling change in 30 years.

We remain committed to the A9 Dualling Programme, progressing statutory approvals, awarding the fourth construction contract and starting procurement for the fifth, with capital funding confirmed for all remaining sections. The Scottish Government also reaffirmed its commitment to dualling the A96, completing statutory land acquisition for the Inverness–Nairn section and the Nairn Bypass. Work continues on medium and long‑term improvements at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful, and temporary propping on the M8 Woodside Viaduct. We also continued working with Distribution Network Operators to plan future electricity network capacity to support transport decarbonisation.

We published the Islands Connectivity Plan Strategic Approach and the long‑term Vessels and Ports Plan, and are now carrying out community needs assessments across the ferry network. Despite global supply chain delays affecting new vessel construction, two major vessels - MV Glen Sannox and MV Isle of Islay - have been delivered, and seven new electric ferries have been procured under phase 1 of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme.

We have started the procurement process to replace the MV Lord of Isles and continue the business case development for phase 2 of the Small Vessel Replacement Programme, Transport Scotland and CalMac agreed to bring Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services into full public control from October 2025, supported by nearly £4 billion over ten years, and we have provided over £361 million to local authorities to support local ferry services and interisland connectivity between 2018-19 and 2026-27. CMAL have successfully concluded the negotiations for the purchase of Ardrossan Harbour which will bring the port into public ownership and, following further design and business case development, enable the regeneration of the port.

We continued to reduce casualties in line with the Road Safety Framework to 2030. To support this, a record £48 million was dedicated to road safety in 2025/26, to reduce casualties and risks on our roads delivering against our priorities within our framework. This funding included £12.25 million for low cost trunk engineering measures and 20 mph delivery on trunk roads; £12.25 million Road Safety Improvement Fund for local authorities to enhance local road safety; £10 million to support local authorities to deliver 20 mph speed limits on appropriate local roads by March 2026; £7.7 million to Police Scotland through the Safety Camera Programme to continue to deliver targeted safety cameras deployments; £5.8 million to deliver a series of national driver behaviour change campaigns. We also upgraded variable message signing at 29 motorway gantries and awarded a new long-term contract with a value of up to £25 million to modernise electronic signage across our trunk road network.

We remain committed to reducing our environmental impact and meeting the Scottish Government’s target of net zero by 2045. Under our Carbon Management Plan, we removed gas from our buildings in 2025 and achieved our Scope 1 zero‑emissions target by installing an Air Source Heat Pump at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre. We continue to support decarbonisation by helping councils develop demand‑management policies, promoting sustainable travel, and rolling out zero‑emission buses through the ScotZEB fund.

Rail freight continues to cut emissions, with over twelve thousand freight trains in 2024‑25 removing 67 million lorry miles and saving 347,000 tonnes of carbon. We also allocated £2 million to the LEZ Support Fund, removing over 300 polluting vehicles and helping more than 170 people shift to sustainable transport. We published a renewed policy statement with COSLA to reduce car use and set a draft target to cut car emissions by 16% between 2026–2030. Work is underway to strengthen governance and delivery frameworks for car‑use reduction. Further action includes new five‑yearly carbon budgets, publication of the draft Climate Change Plan, progress on HGV decarbonisation, enhanced climate‑risk planning and a new Trunk Road Adaptation Plan.