Chamber and committees

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 and CrossCountry Franchises.

Additionally, Transport Scotland officials engage directly with cross-border train operating companies to ensure that Scotland’s interests continue to be met over the course of the Franchise.

Most recently, in response to UK Government’s consultation on the future of the Inter City West Coast franchise, the Scottish Government made clear the aspiration for safe, fast, frequent, reliable, punctual services connecting Scotland to London and intermediate locations, with on-board facilities and fares that attract and retain passengers, underpinned by the strategic aims including enhanced connectivity between the main centres of business on each side of the Border served by this route for the mutual benefit of the Scottish and UK economy, and to maintain and if possible, improve the connectivity for intermediate communities, especially those where connectivity has worsened as a consequence of previous timetable changes.

The Scottish Government recognises that road infrastructure in Scotland is hugely important in promoting sustainable economic growth. Since 2007, over £8.2 billion has been invested in our Motorways and Trunk Road Network and we are currently committed to the largest road investment programme that Scotland has ever seen.

We also recognise that in order to support this investment in new infrastructure, a considerable part of Transport Scotland's budget must continue to be directed to maintain and safely operate the existing network, despite cuts to the Scottish Government Capital budget by the UK Government. In 2015-16, we allocated £275 million for the maintenance of motorways and trunk roads and strengthened or resurfaced 378 lane-km of trunk road carriageways.

While the responsibility for local road repairs lies with local authorities, we are committed to working with local government through the Road Collaboration Programme to improve the condition of roads throughout Scotland.

Furthermore, Transport Scotland has commissioned a study to estimate the contribution of the motorway and trunk road network to the society and economy. This study will seek to quantify the social and economic cost and benefits of roads maintenance spending in Scotland.

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 Roads which can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/road-asset-management-plan

We commission annual machine-based road condition surveys to ensure that we achieve best value from our structural maintenance programme. Deflectograph surveys provide an indication of road structural strength to estimate remaining useful life; Scanner surveys provide an assessment of current surface condition and SCRIM surveys provide a measure of wet skidding resistance.

Also, in accordance with their contractual requirements, our trunk road operating companies are required to carry out safety inspections, safety patrols, night time survey patrols, detailed inspections and condition surveys. Our operating company contracts can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/operating-companies .

Since 2007 a total of £39,023,818 has been invested in the A76. This figure includes £5,553,485 investment for the Glen Airlie improvement scheme.

Transport Scotland were first aware of slope stability issues in Enterkinfoot in mid-September 2014.

The temporary lights on the A76 at Enterkinfoot have ceased to operate as required on five occasions. These were identified through the Operating Company’s daily inspections and were quickly made serviceable again.

Transport Scotland is part of the Scottish Government and discussions/meetings with Ministers occur regularly in thenormal course of business. This specific issue was most recently discussed in early September.

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 accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/road-asset-management-plan

Trunk road defects are repaired in accordance with the timescales specified in the Operating Company contracts. These can be accessed at: http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/operating-companies .

The Scottish Government is continuing to co-fund the Road Collaboration Programme. The Programme was established in December 2013 to explore opportunities for road authorities to share services and is overseen by a Board comprising Transport Scotland, members of the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS), SOLACE, COSLA and the Improvement Service. The Programme's aims include encouraging and supporting authorities to share best practice, innovation and expertise.

Furthermore, the Scottish Road Research board meet quarterly to commission and co-ordinate research projects.

to deliver improvements in safety, construction, operation and maintenance to both the trunk and local road network. The Board's objectives include promoting and delivering innovation, sharing new products, techniques and knowledge across Scotland’s road sector.

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.