Lanarkshire Chamber has submitted the following evidence to the Scottish Parliament on the Bill to develop the Airdrie Bathgate Railway.

"AIRDRIE � BATHGATE RAILWAY AND LINKED IMPROVEMENTS BILL

1. Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce is delighted to have been given the opportunity to submit evidence to the Committee in respect of the above Private Bill.

2. The Chamber of Commerce has been concerned for some time that public transport links within Lanarkshire are not good enough to meet the needs of the local community and while across most of the county we have good links with Glasgow, links to the east and across the county are in some areas poor or non existent. The Chamber has evidence of many businesses on industrial estates that have poor public transport links and as a result find it difficult to recruit staff or find that the pool of potential employees is restricted to those with access to cars. The Chamber therefore very much welcomes the proposal to develop a rail link between Airdrie and Bathgate. We feel that it will not only open up employment opportunities in the Lothians for Lanarkshire residents but it will also lead to the economic regeneration of a part of north Lanarkshire that has been neglected for some time.

3. While we are supportive of the project as a whole we have two areas of concern. These are as follows:-

Plains Station

3(a)       The Chamber is disappointed that Network Rail has not included provision in the Bill for a new station at Plains.  This is one area of Lanarkshire which is currently poorly served by public transport and has a higher than average level of unemployment (circa 5%). The Chamber understands that the current bus services to the area are poor and virtually non existent in the evenings and a very limited service operating at weekends. The local population, which at present is around 2,300 is therefore poorly served by public transport and unemployed residents in the area find it difficult to find work because of the current public transport restrictions. The Chamber is not convinced that a rail shuttle bus between the village of Plains and the proposed station at Clarkston will properly meet the transport needs of the community in Plains. There are currently plans for increased residential development in the area (over 300 house plots are either subject to planning consent or under construction and this number may grow). The Chamber feels that the establishment of a station at Plains will not only open up employment opportunities in a remote area but also encourage further development investment in the area.       

In discussions with Network Rail the Chamber understands that one of the reasons they have not made provision for a station at Plains is that it would add around 2 minutes to the total journey time. However, if different more modern rolling stock was used for the provision of the new service, journey times could be kept to broadly the same as those in the current proposal. The Chamber believes that the provision of a station at Plains is of greater importance than overall journey times on the full length of the route as we do not believe that many people will regularly travel the full length of the route.

Airdrie Station

3(b)  The Chamber is disappointed that provision has only been made for an additional 16 car park places at Airdrie Station. We believe that the opening up of the Airdrie � Bathgate link will generate a substantial increase in the use of the station and that 16 places will be insufficient to meet demand. There is virtually no spare capacity in existing town centre car parks in Airdrie Town Centre and there is a danger that any additional rail commuters may use up spaces in the town centre which are vital for the effective normal day to day conduct of business in the town centre. The Chamber therefore feels that increased car parking provision at or close to Airdrie Station will be vital if commuters are going to be successfully persuaded to stop using their cars for travel to the East. The Chamber accepts that the new Drumgelloch station will have 336 car parking spaces but in view of the fact that it is proposed that the new Drumgelloch station will have a half hourly service we do not believe that car users who would use Airdrie will drive to Drumgelloch to use a less frequent service.

4. Despite these two reservations the Chamber is very keen to see this rail link developed and to see trains running on the route by 2010 at the latest.  

Douglas Millar"

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