Oliver Mundell

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the estimated cost of dualling the A75 between Dumfries and (a) the M74 and (b) Stranraer.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As I announced at the Dumfries Transport Summit on the 22 August, we will further assess recommendations for strategic transport infrastructure priorities in Dumfries and Galloway and the rest of Scotland as part of an update to the Strategic Transport Proje…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the estimated cost of undertaking a feasibility study into dualling the A75.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The forthcoming review of the Strategic Transport Projects Review will assess recommendations for strategic transport infrastructure priorities in Dumfries and Galloway and the rest of Scotland. Within the review options for the A75 corridor between Gretna an…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many square meters of the land adjacent to the M74 between Moffat and Gretna are in its ownership and what plans it has for this land.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The area of land adjacent to the M74 between Moffat and Gretna which the Scottish Government owns is approximately 3.01 million square metres, that includes any area of land which, if found to be surplus to Scottish Government requirements, will be subject to…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made regarding the cost of rail fares between stations in Dumfries and Galloway and the Central Belt.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Rail fares are set by franchisees on a commercial basis. For the majority of rail services between Dumfries and Galloway and the Central Belt, fares are set by ScotRail. In the current franchise period, the Scottish Government has taken action to help keep S…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to smaller rural communities when setting the assessment criteria for the Scottish Stations Fund.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The assessment criteria for the £30 million Scottish Stations Fund, which aims to lever in third party funding to provide new and improved stations, covers both rural and urban communities. All proposals for stations should firstly be directed to the releva…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its total investment in rail has been in each year since 2007.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Between 2007-08 and 2015-16, we have spent over £7 billion in our Rail Network, including 76km of new railways delivered and 13 new stations opened. The budgeted spend on rail in 2016-17 totals a further £0.75 million. The totals for each year are as follows…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding cross-border rail services.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has had discussions with the UK Government regarding the Scottish Minister’s aspirations in relation to the specification of cross-border rail franchises, including the Inter City East Coast, Inter City West Coast, TransPennine Express…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the creation of a new rail service using existing lines between Edinburgh/Glasgow and Carlisle that would allow a local service to call at a re-opened Beattock Station.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has considered opportunities to provide services between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh but found that a ScotRail service could not be supported due to the cost of providing this service, the capacity constraints on the route for addit…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has made in transport infrastructure in each year since 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Total expenditure on transport infrastructure, as reported within The National Transport Statistics 2015 edition and within the Transport Scotland Annual Report and Accounts, totals £18billion since 2007. The totals for each year are shown in the following ta…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what targets it has set for the completion of remedial repairs on trunk roads across the Transport Scotland network.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland’s Road Asset Management Plan (RAMP) sets out how our trunk road network is maintained safely, strategically and efficiently to protect our assets and ensure maximum value for money from our road maintenance activities. The RAMP can be acces…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has made in the (a) A75, (b) A7 and (c) A701 in each year since 2007.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The following table contains the total expenditure each year for each trunk road. This figure includes maintenance and major infrastructure project costs (including land, site supervision, utilities, site investigation and construction costs). Higher annual s…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what triggers and warning systems are in place to alert it when delays to essential repair works on trunk roads exceed a (a) six- (b) twelve-month period.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland has regular programming meetings with its Operating Companies to ensure all safety-critical work is prioritised, so that risks to delivery and public safety are effectively mitigated and managed. The criteria for inspection and repairs on t…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost would be of extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle; what the timescale would be to complete the extension; what financial resources it has set aside to explore whether to proceed with this; what the cost of the feasibilty study would be; what criteria would be used to de…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland will lead a multi modal study assessing transport constraints and opportunities in the Borders, including examining the case for extending the railway. Procurement of the study is currently under way, funding will come from existing budgets…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it has made in the Dumfries-Kilmarnock rail line in each year since 2007.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Investing in rail is a key priority of the Scottish Government, with over £7 billion committed since 2007 to support Network Rail’s operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the rail infrastructure, and to deliver the economic and social benefits of …

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position on the possible electrification of the Dumfries-Kilmarnock rail line; how much it would cost to electrify the line, and what the reduction in journey times would be.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to rail electrification recognising the key benefits it brings in terms of improved journey times and connectivity, environmental benefits and reduced industry costs. As part of this commitment we will include all remainin…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to ScotRail regarding the frequency of train services between Dumfries and Carlisle.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: An option for a more frequent weekday service between Dumfries and Carlisle formed part of the recent ScotRail Franchise tendering process. As a result ScotRail are scheduled to introduce an enhanced timetable from December 2017.

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) First TransPennine, (b) Virgin West Coast and (c) ScotRail regarding introducing additional passenger services at Lockerbie station.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government recognises that Lockerbie provides a key rail hub, with links both north and south, and therefore aims to protect and enhance the number of stopping services at Lockerbie Station. Lockerbie station is served predominantly by First Tran…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in road infrastructure in each year since 2007.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: By the end of 2016-17, we will have spent over £8 billion on our Motorways and Trunk Road Network, including 23 completed major improvements projects such as the M80 Stepps to Haggs and the completion of the M74, and over 254 lane kilometres of trunk road. A…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many transport infrastructure feasibility studies it has commissioned in each year since 2007.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland undertake numerous studies in relation to minor improvements, including bridges and road safety, on the trunk road network each year and this work is undertaken as part of the routine work of the Operating Companies. The following table ind…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what commitments it has made regarding (a) the cost and (b) timetable for completing the upgrading works on the A7.

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with the relevant local authorities to ensure the viability of the (a) A701, (b) A7 and (c) A76.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland and its Operating Companies, Amey and Scotland Transerv, formally meet with representatives from Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scottish Borders Council and East Ayrshire Council on a regular basis. The purpo…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Transport Scotland surveys the trunk road network to identify any need for repairs.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Our inspection regime is designed to ensure that the trunk road network is safe for use and fit for purpose and to provide the data required to support asset maintenance planning. The regime is set out in the Road Asset Management Plan for Scottish Trunk Road…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that (a) pavements, (b) road signage and (c) street furniture in towns and villages on trunk routes are maintained.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02786 on 27 September 2016. All written answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/par…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost per mile is of the work to dual the A9.

Answer · Keith Brown: We will only know the true cost per mile of the A9 once we have taken it to the market, however our current estimates are in the region of £19million per mile, rising to £37million per mile once risk, optimism bias and inflation are included. This produces a …

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with (a) Transport Scotland and (b) Amey regarding the maintenance of (i) pavements, (ii) road signage and (iii) street furniture in Langholm.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland is part of the Scottish Government and discussions / meetings with occur regularly in the normal course of business. Transport Scotland continues to have regular and frequent discussions with its Operating Company (Amey) regarding the effe…

14 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many sets of temporary traffic lights there are on the Transport Scotland road network (a) nationally and (b) in Dumfries and Galloway.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The number of temporary traffic signals on the trunk road network changes daily according to demands. On a typical day such as the 21st September 2019 there were 76 sets of temporary traffic signals three of which were in Dumfries and Galloway.

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on calls to reopen Thornhill railway station.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Although a new station at Thornhill does not feature in our current £5 billion investment programme in Scotland’s railways to 2019, we are committed to on-going improvements to rail services and connectivity. Funding for new railway stations can be considere…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on calls to reopen Beattock railway station.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Although a new station at Beattock does not feature in our current £5 billion investment programme in Scotland’s railways to 2019, we are committed to on-going improvements to rail services and connectivity. Funding for new railway stations can be considered…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on calls to reopen Eastriggs railway station.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Although a new station at Eastriggs does not feature in our current £5 billion investment programme in Scotland’s railways to 2019, we are committed to on-going improvements to rail services and connectivity. Funding for new railway stations can be considere…

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much financial assistance it has provided in each year since 2007 to support cycling.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT WRITTEN ANSWER 21 September 2016 Index Heading: Transport Scotland Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much financial assistance it has provided in each year sin…