I AM concerned regarding the letter by John Black in today’s National, where he calls for a “flagship rail service”, serving the “two population centres in Scotland”. He is distressed at the delays of up to eight minutes on the route as the train can have up to three stops, such as Falkirk, Linlithgow and Lenzie.
Any time I travel between Glasgow and Edinburgh I find there are buses and trains plying the route every few minutes. What an inconvenience these Falkirk and West Lothian passengers must be.
A flagship Scottish rail service needs to include the destinations of Dundee and Aberdeen in the East, Perthshire and Inverness centrally, as well as the Highland lines and far north service to Wick. Note that several areas are still suffering from the result of the Beecham dismantlement in the mid-1960s.
My concern goes beyond transport availability, however. As a resident of the north-east, I can assure you that perception of “Central-Beltism” is a major determinant against the vote for independence. It does Scotland’s cause no good whatsoever to ignore these communities and we really should sort this out.
Dave Moir
Aberdeen
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