FTA welcomes key Scottish rail freight investment fund

The Freight Transport Association has welcomed the announcement by Scottish Government of a £30 million investment in strategic Scottish rail freight enhancements.

The announcement was published as part of the Scottish Minister’s High Level Output Specification (HLOS) and Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) between 2014 and 2019.

According to the HLOS, the fund should support sustainable transport for freight, thereby reducing the supply chain’s transport emissions and reducing road congestion. It will facilitate, or contribute towards, strategic infrastructure interventions on the Scottish Network to enable rail freight to deliver against these objectives.

FTA’s Head of Policy in Scotland Chris MacRae praised the news as good for both Scotland’s economy and its international connectivity. He said: "England has already benefited from an equivalent freight focussed scheme, so it is great that Scotland now has likewise; this has been a key objective of ours."

FTA continues its efforts to promote and support modal shift within the industry and Macrae stated that this investment will assist those wishing to make the shift to rail. He continued: "FTA has already lobbied the Scottish Government and Parliament on key rail freight infrastructure enhancement schemes. The announcement of this fund, together with the policy oversight body that will manage this and that FTA will participate in, is welcome progress on these objectives."