Studies
Nestrans commission and assist with a number of transport studies for the north east.
In addition to leading on a number of projects, Nestrans also sits on a number of client groups for other regional consultancy work.
Current Studies
Nestrans, in partnership with Tactran, Aberdeenshire Council and Angus Council, are conducting a study on transport connectivity in the Stonehaven, Mearns and North Angus area, supported through the Aberdeen City Regional Deal - Strategic Transport Appraisal funding.
As part of this study, a public survey has been developed to understand how people travel across the study area and how journeys could be improved. The survey asks questions on general transport concerns, specific travel patterns to work, school and leisure and a sample set of personas and travel scenarios to prompt reflections on how the transport network supports everyday journeys. The survey will be live between Monday 13th July and Sunday 16th August.
Nestrans, with appointed consultants Stantec in partnership with AECOM, are undertaking an appraisal of the strategic transport links between Ellon, Peterhead, and Fraserburgh in north east Aberdeenshire in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).
The study is undertaken as part of the Strategic Transport Appraisal, which is funded by the Aberdeen City Region Deal, with the focus on identifying short-to-medium term interventions. The study complements the Buchan Sustainable Transport Study which looked at longer term options.
In February 2025, the Detailed Options Appraisal was presented to the Nestrans board. A preferred package of options was approved to progress to Outline Business Case.
This study looks at current and future strategic accessibility problems and opportunities along the corridor, to then to identify and appraise alternative options for achieving an increased public transport and sustainable mode share for trips along the corridor, particularly peak period commuting.
The preliminary appraisal, commissioned in 2023, explored a wide range of opportunities that would encourage people to travel sustainably on the Aberdeen to Laurencekirk corridor. The study was funded by Transport Scotland’s Bus Partnership Fund, allowing the work to be progressed alongside ongoing studies for Aberdeen Rapid Transit.
The options were originally identified during the development of the earlier Case for Change study, supported by Transport Scotland through their Local Rail Development Fund. The Case for Change was supported by public travel behaviour and opinions research in Autumn 2021, including an online survey which attracted over 1,000 responses. Both studies have been undertaken by consultants AECOM.
A detailed assessment of the option short list was completed following further consultation took place in Autumn 2024 which asked those who use the route for their views on the options in order to inform the assessment.
This report was endorsed by the Nestrans board in June 2025 and then presented to the relevant committees of Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council for review.
This study focuses on emerging transport technologies, particularly drones and automated logistics systems. The study will assess current and future capabilities, explore potential applications within the North East Scotland context, and identify key opportunities, constraints and infrastructure requirements to support deployment.
Funded through Aberdeen City Region Deal, the study will provide an initial evidence base on the role of emerging technologies in the future transport and logistics system, helping to identify opportunities for improved efficiency, resilience and connectivity. It will also support the region’s wider ambition to embrace innovation, informing future policy, investment and regulatory approaches.
The study, funded through the Aberdeen City Region Deal, is being undertaken in response to the scale of investment emerging across the region, particularly in energy transition and other high-growth sectors. These developments are expected to create significant pressures on transport infrastructure, including roads, rail, ports, freight logistics and workforce movement.
The study will, subsequently, identify and assess the scale, distribution and nature of transformational investment, and the implications this may have for the capacity, resilience and readiness of the region’s strategic transport networks.
Nestrans, in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council and the Cairngorms National Park Authority, has been exploring options to relocate the bus stop on Ballater’s Golf Road and looking at the potential of combining it with a mobility hub for the community. This work is being funded through the Aberdeen City Region Deal.
Mobility hubs offer a range of transport options in one prominent location, bringing together different means of sustainable transport including buses, electric vehicle charging and secure cycle parking, as well as community facilities.
A consultation was held in December 2025, including a public drop-in event and an event.
Responses from the community will now be fed-back into the designs and a final business case developed, ready to seek funding approval. Designs and planning for alternative coach parking will be progressed separately.
Funded through Aberdeen City Region Deal, this study will assess current connectivity and explore how people, businesses and freight use the corridor, identifying how these patterns may change under a range of future development and investment scenarios. This includes consideration of road based transport options, as well as rail development, for both passengers and freight.
The study will provide a place-based evidence base to support future investment decisions along the corridor, improving understanding of connectivity challenges and opportunities for communities, businesses and the freight sector. It will also support the development of a clear investment narrative and inform future business cases, building on existing work and aligning with wider regional objectives. Communities, stakeholders, businesses will be consulted during the study, including groups such as Campaign for North East rail, complementing earlier work.
Completed Studies
Commissioned by Nestrans and delivered by SYSTRA and MDS Transmodal, the feasibility study was a multi-stage technical and economic assessment of the viability of transitioning the North East’s HGV fleet to battery electric vehicles.
The study set to inform strategic planning and infrastructure investment by evaluating freight characteristics, technological readiness, and commercial feasibility. It included detailed data analysis, stakeholder engagement, scenario development, and policy recommendations, with a particular focus on identifying high-impact locations for shared charging infrastructure and understanding the role of public sector interventions in enabling the transition.
This study assessed scalable hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for the region, including the consideration of tri-modal Hydrogen fuelling opportunities. It was funded through the Aberdeen City Region Deal. The study showed that there are viable options for hydrogen refuelling stations that can be applied across the region, although cost and projections of future demand require careful consideration.
This study set out the case for investment in developing future Mobility Hub trials in the North East Funded by Aberdeen City Region Deal. Strategic Business Case completed. Ballater Mobility hub progressing and work continues to consider options for mobility hubs in other urban areas in might be deployed.
Nestrans, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council led the development of a Regional Active Travel Network (RATN) study which identifies aspirations for a high-quality, cohesive network for walking, wheeling and cycling across the North East of Scotland.
Our two local authorities will use the RATN for consideration within their Local Transport Strategy delivery plans. It is anticipated that both local authorities will wish to continue consideration of the plan in relation to prioritisation and phasing over the short to medium-term. This provides the opportunity to more clearly articulate the anticipated delivery pipeline of projects.
The proposals will also be used by regional partners to support future funding applications, and future national assessments of regional capacity and capability, and facilitate wider discussions on active travel development with our stakeholders and partners.
A study was undertaken in 2019 for improving access at Insch station. AECOM were appointed to undertake a feasibility study, which included consultation with residents, local MPs, MSPs, Councillors, access and disability groups and the local Community Council. This was a result of local concerns about accessibility to Insch Railway station and in particular platform 1, which is only accessible by a footbridge with stairs. The project was funded by Nestrans and the Local Rail Development Fund.
Some years ago, studies were undertaken to look at the arguments for improving the road corridors and the potential options which could be taken forward. However, since these studies were completed, there have been wider changes which have impacted travel in the area. Nestrans appointed consultants Stantec to update the previous studies which examined the case for making improvements to the A90(N) and A952 corridors from Ellon to Peterhead and Fraserburgh.
A review and update of these studies has now been completed and included:
- a desktop review of wider policy and existing data
- traffic surveys to examine behaviour and volumes of traffic on the network
- stakeholder engagement with selected stakeholders.
Nestrans, in collaboration with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council, commissioned this report to provide regional partners with insights on potential appropriate car km reduction targets for the North East of Scotland.
Nestrans and Aberdeen City Council commissioned AECOM to conduct transport studies on the Wellington Road corridor in 2014, 2017, and 2018. The studies aimed to address current and future transport needs, assess options, and improve strategic connections and active travel. The process involved identifying key issues, generating options, and conducting appraisals to recommend improvement options for detailed consideration.
In August 2018, the Strategic Development Planning Authority (SDPA) agreed that the Proposed Aberdeen City & Shire Strategic Development Plan (SDP) represented the final settled view of recommended development content for the City Region.
As part of the Plan process SYSTRA was commissioned to identify the cumulative transport impacts resulting from the delivery of the SDP, and reported the outcomes through a ‘Cumulative Transport Appraisal’ (CTA) in August 2018, prior to the publication of the Proposed SDP. Following this study, supplementary appraisal was undertaken to consider amendments to the level of development content contained in the final Proposed SDP, and critically, to understand how a range of transport intervention proposals would mitigate predicted impacts to facilitate the delivery of the Proposed Plan.
Aberdeen City Council, along with Nestrans, Aberdeenshire Council and the Strategic Development Planning Authority (SDPA), as regional partners, wish to take advantage of the current investment in transport infrastructure (road and rail) in the City Region to facilitate the implementation of the City Centre Masterplan’s (CCMP’s) aim of creating a vibrant city centre with an environment that encourages visits to and lengthens stays in the city centre and to lock-in the benefits of this investment for the whole city. The partners sought to update the city’s roads hierarchy to provide a system that reflects the new role of the city centre (as a destination) and makes the most effective use of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) for distributing traffic around the city to the most appropriate radial route to reduce the extent of cross-city traffic movements. AECOM was commissioned by Nestrans and Aberdeen City Council in 2018 to develop options an updated roads hierarchy and to identify possible levels of intervention that could be implemented to support the delivery of the updated hierarchy.
In 2014 Nestrans appointed SIAS, Peter Brett Associates and Natural Capital, to undertake the Fraserburgh and Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study. The purpose of the all-modes study was to identify and examine the options for improving strategic transport connections between Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Aberdeen.
Funding was provided by Nestrans and Transport Scotland and was undertaken in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).
The STAG Part 1 appraisal was reported to Nestrans Board in April 2016, following which further consultations were held with bus and rail operators, local authorities and Transport Scotland. In September 2016, the Nestrans Board agreed to undertake further assessment on the costs and benefits and to develop further the main options, including reopening the former railway line between Dyce and Ellon and a roads option with an indicative package containing sections of dualling, junction improvements and safety enhancements on the corridor.
View Fraserburgh and Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study
In 2013, Nestrans commissions consultants CH2M to develop a robust evidence case for a preferred solution for access between the A90 trunk road and Laurencekirk and the north of Angus that is cost effective, improves road safety, allows the efficient operation of Laurencekirk High Street and meets the needs of local businesses and residents. The study showed that there is a strong case for intervention to improve the efficiency of the road network, support economic growth and reduce the risk of accidents.
View study documents for: