Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead

As an agency of the Scottish Government, we remain focused on the national outcomes of the National Performance Framework, and the four priorities of the National Transport Strategy: Reduces Inequalities, Takes Climate Action, Helps Deliver Inclusive Economic Growth and Improves our Health and Wellbeing. Associated outcomes include:

• Peak fares will be permanently abolished from 1 September 2025, to encourage more people to travel by train, reduce car journeys, and help existing peak time rail passengers with the cost of living. A significant marketing programme will support the abolition.
• Continue to deliver the major vessels programme with MV Glen Rosa at the Ferguson Marine shipyard, MV Isle of Islay and three other vessels at the Cemre shipyard expected by summer 2026 and begin work to deliver seven new electric ferries.
• It will be easier for people to walk, wheel, and cycle on everyday journeys by delivering projects through our 2025-26 sustainable travel programmes, including the new Bus Infrastructure Fund.
• Electrification and enhancement of the East Kilbride rail line will be completed in 2025-26, enabling the introduction of electric trains on the route from December 2025.
• Rail power supplies will be upgraded and reconfigured to support existing and future electrification, with a new ‘feeder station’ planned to enter service at Newton in Lanarkshire during 2025-26.
• Procurement of ScotRail’s Intercity Fleet Replacement Programme will continue and options around replacement of ScotRail’s suburban fleet will be explored.
• Our roads will be made safer and the numbers killed or injured will be reduced, through delivery of 20 mph speed limits on appropriate roads by the end 2025-26 and of road safety funding for road authorities.
• New rural and island EV infrastructure grants will be introduced to help deliver approximately 24,000 additional public electric vehicle charge points by 2030.
• A new pilot grant scheme to help households without off-street parking to install cross-pavement EV charging solutions will be introduced
• The Scottish Government has announced a further investment of up to £40 million through the second Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB2). It is estimated that this investment could bring as many as 300 zero-emission buses to Scotland’s bus operators.
• A pilot scheme for a £2 bus fare cap in one of Scotland’s transport regions will be backed by £3 million in this financial year.
• Up to £4 million will be provided to increase the shift of freight from road to rail through the Freight Facilities Grant, and a first round of funding will be introduced for the HGV sector to explore investments in decarbonised vehicles, charging and fuelling options.
• Support for skills to help businesses and the workforce to adapt to zero emission vehicles will be expanded, with £350,000 invested to develop capacity in colleges in EV and charge point maintenance and repair and a further £400,000 invested for a new heavy-duty vehicle just transition initiative.
• A renewed policy statement on reducing car use in Scotland was published in June 2025, this was jointly with COSLA which will set a successor target for car use reduction aligned with the development of the draft Climate Change Plan and working with COSLA and regional transport partnerships to develop delivery plans for car use reduction, reflective of different communities and places.
• A Trunk Road Adaptation Plan will be published, and work will continue to improve the resilience of our railways.

Future Spending Plans

The Scottish Budget 2025-26 provides details of our spending plans that will help deliver sustainable economic growth. The table below presents the allocations that were provided in line with the Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 – gov.scot.

The 2025-26 Budget of £4.009 billion (2024-25 £3.841 billion) is an increase of 4.4% from the prior year’s Budget.

The going concern basis has been used in preparation of this Annual Report and Accounts as all activities performed by Transport Scotland are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Alison Irvine
Chief Executive

The Accountable Officer authorised these financial statements for issue on 19 September 2025.