rail

Crossrail aims to provide a frequent, cross-city rail service between Inverurie, Aberdeen and Stonehaven, coupled with new stations. A feasibility and technical study into the project indicated that Crossrail can best be delivered on an incremental basis. Nestrans' Draft Rail Action Plan 2010-2021 considers how to achieve frequency and service improvements in the short term, leading to the opening of new stations - such as at Kintore - and more significant service enhancements over time.

Laurencekirk Station was re-opened on 18 May 2009. Passenger numbers in the first year of opening of around 64,000 were well in excess of the initial expectations of around 36,000 per annum.

Nestrans has sought to safeguard through trains on the Aberdeen to London East Coast Line.  The Secretary of State has since ruled out the option that would require passengers to change trains for services to Aberdeen from London.  The Transport Secretary later announced the go-ahead for a £4.5bn Intercity Express Programme to replace ageing Intercity 125 diesel fleet with new higher capacity, more environmentally friendly trains.

Network Rail has completed a GRIP2 study to investigate options for Aberdeen - Inverness line improvements, including consideration of a new station at Kintore.  The report was published on the Transport Scotland website on 22 March 2011.    This confirmed that an hourly service frequency and 2 hour journey time are feasible. The Stage 3 study examining the range of options in greater detail and selecting and costing a single option is underway and is expected to be completed by early 2012.

Nestrans and Hitrans have submitted further information to Transport Scotland in support of an enhanced Aberdeen to Inverness Sunday service and are proposing to contribute to the initial funding of this service with the aim of seeking a revision to the December 2011 timetable.  Nestrans has written to ScotRail requesting that they allocate sufficient resources to deal with the proposals. 

A North East Railway Station Guide and local timetables were launched in 2010 to encourage people to leave their car behind and see the train as a local service and not just for long distance journeys.  Updates to the local timetables can be found on the Getabout website.