CALLS have been made to scrap an ambitious £3billion road dualling project – and upgrade train links instead.
James MacKessack-Leitch, convener of the Moray Greens, said the government should concentrate on rail enhancements rather than push ahead with the £3billion A96 scheme.
He claimed that plans for the Inverness-Aberdeen trunk road programme were “flimsy” compared with the benefits of improving the railway running between the two cities.
But locals have hit back, claiming rail links would not benefit smaller communities.
And chamber of commerce bosses insist dualling the road would help the region to prosper.
The Transport Scotland project, scheduled for completion by 2030, will include the construction of bypasses at Nairn, Forres, Elgin and Keith.
Initial public consultation meetings are ongoing, with an event to be held at Fochabers on Friday.
Mr MacKessack-Leitch said he was concerned that alternatives to the project had been “ignored” – and suggested the rail route could be dualled and electrified for around a third of the cost of the A96 scheme.
He said: “While bypasses for Nairn and Elgin in particular are welcome, it seems to many people that the case for dualling the entire length of the A96 is rather flimsy. I believe that many people would much rather see improvements in other transport infrastructure, such as long-distance cycle paths and the railways.”
He said he feared the Scottish Government had an “unhealthy fixation” with road-building.
“We already know that the supermarkets make use of the existing railway infrastructure and the current Lifting the Spirit project – taking bulk spirit produced in Speyside distilleries from Elgin to the central belt – shows what can be achieved with limited investment,” said Mr MacKessack-Leitch.
“With meaningful investment in the rail lines, we could facilitate far more goods traffic moving from road to rail, improve journey times for travellers and reduce environmental impacts all at the same time – and at a significantly lower price.”
But Fochabers resident Janet Hallyburton said rail improvements would not benefit smaller communities which do not have a train station, such as the town in which she lives.
She also said it smacked of short-sightedness that the £31million Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass, which opened last January, was not dualled.
Mrs Hallyburton, a member of the Fochabers Institute committee, said: “The bypass has made a huge difference. A lot of people were quite worried that it would take away from local business, but most have prospered from it.
“We don’t have a railway station, so for me to get a train I would have to go to Keith or Elgin, which sort of defeats the purpose, and at most stations there is not enough car parking.”
She added: “I can’t believe that they have just spent all that money on the bypass and didn’t dual it. It just shows you how short-sighted the planners are.”
Graham Philips, chairman of Highland Council’s transport, environmental and community services committee, said: “Communities surrounding the A96 have been wanting to see the road upgraded for many years, so I’m delighted the Scottish Government has been able to move forward on this.
“There is a need to upgrade the railway line, as it is at capacity, but we need to remember the damage done to the lives of people living in the town centres and the fabric of the town centres by the heavy goods vehicles that pass through all day every day. It is essential to go forward with dualling the A96.”
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: “I do understand the environmental issues around increasing road usage but I think the really important thing for all of us, regardless of our green agenda, is that we do things that benefit our economy and economic activity.”
He added: “I would be strongly in favour of dualling the A96 as that would bring more significant and immediate benefits to the economy of the Highlands and also Moray and Aberdeenshire.”
A Transport Scotland spokesman said last night: “In addition to our ambitious plans to dual nearly 170 miles of single trunk road on both the A9 and A96 worth around £6billion, we are also investing heavily to encourage more people to use the train.
“Our £5billion package of funding and investment for our railways until 2019 will support improvements to infrastructure and services across the network benefiting both passengers and freight alike.
“This includes substantial improvements to the Highland main line to complement the A9 improvements, and the route between Aberdeen and Inverness which aims to deliver an hourly service, two-hour journey time, enhanced commuter services into both cities, and new stations at Kintore in Aberdeenshire and Dalcross near Inverness Airport.”