Dornoch Rail Bridge

[ObservationCar]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14930891

Following on from HML Thread, to save it getting loads of strands, and has also been in the news locally up here. The question is should their be a Dornoch Rail Bridge? There are many for and many against, So what's your opinion based on the pros and cons?

At the moment they are
Pros:

- Will cut 45 mins off Inverness to Caithness, with other improvements in infrastructure this could be more, but these are reduced speed at points on passing loops, which need long term sollutions.
- Train service will compete better with the bus increasing patronage and revenue. (regular bus service is over an hour faster than train)
- Freight to north becomes more attractive with improved resilience with faster times.
- Social benefit to population base of more than 30,000 north of the Dornoch Firth all be it sparcially populated areas
- Dornoch would recieve a rail service, although a small town, is a massive pull for tourists with top 10 golf course in world, stunning beaches, and a lot of accomodation. (local services could terminate here instead of Tain)
-Improve access to tourists visiting Caithness and Sutherland.

Cons:
- Cost, as stated before in HML thread, in BR days £3m, today multiply by 10 and add a variable number.
- Ardgay, Lairg, Culrain, Invershin, LAIRG, Rogart all possibly losing a rail service (loop would be feasable but signalling for the two junctions may be costly with the local signal box over 50 miles away)
- Environmental impact to land between Dornoch and The Mound/Loch Fleet
- Engineering difficulty at The Mound as old alignment goes towards the South, and with a loch, a river, and very steep hill in the way, the angle would be tight to make a line to connect to the North.

With talk of Nuclear traffic on the Far North Line again, this may be a once in a generation opertunity to procure a project with a stakeholder with a blank cheque to upgrade this vital link for many. Without the improved links we may see a return to the Highland Clearances again, as the major employer becomes wound down in Dounreay, and new businesses will only set up shop if 21st century communications are in place, and can access customers throughout Scotland and the UK within a reasonable, competitive time scale. This applies to Freight as well as passenger traffic.

Personal opinion, Living close by, and my Father lives in Dornoch, I would welcome a rail service to save changing from T(r)ain to Bus, which don't connect or driving. I would hope the Lairg loop would be retained with a commuter service and an an excellent heritage line with steam or Diesel haulage which would have a constant stream of tourists coming off the Liner's at Invergordon daily, as the area lacks choice for tourists, other than to jump on a coach to be driven around.

I do think that for the past 10-15 years or so this has not been on the agenda of pressure groups such as the Friends of Far North Line or the local HiTrans Partnership, as many of their members live on a section of line which could be in danger, what benefits the Far North is more important though, but with good management, the loop would have a secure future.

P.S. I am not affiliated with any pressure groups for or against the link. Since posting this thread I have just discovered the Dornoch Rail Link Action groups website.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I did despair to learn that the new bridge was to carry road only and not rail.

The population in many of the NE communities may be small, but they are also dispersed and most of that dispersal follows the long coast line and the railway. At a time when universal car ownership and bus services are being questioned again, the provision of an effective rail service becomes more attractive.
"Highlands & Islands Enterprise" (HIE) have been very successful in stimulating economic development and investment and although I'm not in as regular contact with colleagues there as I was a few years ago, I'd hope and expect that this was still an open issue. The improvements of rail service to Tain certainly contributed to the rapid development of that town; I would expect that our economic shift might now be favouring developments around Milton of Leys, but the potential for retaining existing population (an HIE priority) in towns such as Golspie, Helmsdale etc, etc. and the great potential for heavy industry (incl nuclear) does give added weight to a rail bridge at Dornoch.

But what I was surprised not to find in the OP's question was reference to a rail bridge over the Beauly Firth at Kessock and another over the Cromarty Firth. Depending on locations, these could turn the tables and provide a shorter route than the A9.

Geez, why not go the whole hog and build a station where the Inverness-Aberdeen line already passes the Airport? With a bridge across the Cromarty at Cromarty itself, then the NE would have better rail connections than Heathrow or Stansted!

 

[shinkansen1966]

I did despair to learn that the new bridge was to carry road only and not rail.

Especially so as the EU offered money for the Durnoch Bridge to carry both road and rail. But the DfT said road only.

 

[HSTEd]

Could the Lairg Loop be retained by only connecting to the "new" Far North Line at the south end? that would cut back on the maintenance of a second junction and I doubt there is that much traffic from Lairg north to Wick/Thurso.

 

[43106]

...the EU offered money for the Dornoch Bridge to carry both road and rail, but the DfT said road only.

I remember the furore when Malcolm Rifkind said that it was to be road only. I can't remember, though, if Rifkind was Transport Minister or Scottish Minister when he made the decision. As it was road only, did the EU offer any money?
I am of the opinion that Rifkind said 'no', because the Tories were never keen on railways. Well, that's what I thought at the time!!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Could the Lairg Loop be retained by only connecting to the "new" Far North Line at the south end? that would cut back on the maintenance of a second junction and I doubt there is that much traffic from Lairg north to Wick/Thurso.

Or alternatively a bay platform at the north end of the loop ( Golspie ) providing a cross platform connection for onward travel without physically connecting the track...?

You then run a two tier service consisting of an all stops train between Inverness and that point ( Golspie ) and a faster service which would call only at inverness, Beauly, Muir of Ord, Dingwall, Dornoch, Golspie then all stations north of there.

It can afford to miss out Alness to Tain because of the connection at Gospie; running fast through those four stations would gain a further 10 - 15 minutes on top of the 45 minutes saved by a Dornoch routing. This results in the Inverness - Wick time coming down by as much as an hour* while being able to boost the service on the busier southern part of the line. The access to the north from the intermediate stations on the Lairg loop is maintained, so that business is retained; it may not be much but can we afford to lose it?

The key to this would be to make very sure that the two services connect properly at Golspie, though.


*The same margin of gain obviously applies for Inverness to Golspie and all stations north of there, not just Wick.

 

[class26]

Or alternatively a bay platform at the north end of the loop ( Golspie ) providing a cross platform connection for onward travel without physically connecting the track...?

You then run a two tier service consisting of an all stops train between Inverness and that point ( Golspie ) and a faster service which would call only at inverness, Beauly, Muir of Ord, Dingwall, Dornoch, Golspie then all stations north of there.

It can afford to miss out Alness to Tain because of the connection at Gospie; running fast through those four stations would gain a further 10 - 15 minutes on top of the 45 minutes saved by a Dornoch routing. This results in the Inverness - Wick time coming down by as much as an hour* while being able to boost the service on the busier southern part of the line. The access to the north from the intermediate stations on the Lairg loop is maintained, so that business is retained; it may not be much but can we afford to lose it?

The key to this would be to make very sure that the two services connect properly at Golspie, though.


*The same margin of gain obviously applies for Inverness to Golspie and all stations north of there, not just Wick.

Now the extra "Invernet" serrvices are running the logical answer to the old question of Lairg being cut off its to run these the "old" way, terminating at Lairg, the Wick and Thurso servcies to go over the Dornoch bridge. When the bridge was first mooted the Invernet serevcies didn`t exist and no one could have invisaged that level of service on the Far North Line.

 

[Greenback]

I would prefer to retain the entire loop to ensure that the communities along the northerly section do not become even more isolated than they already are.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I would prefer to retain the entire loop to ensure that the communities along the northerly section do not become even more isolated than they already are.

I agree; that's why I'd run them to Golspie rathar than just Lairg.

 

[Buttsy]

You could timetable a couple of the Lairg route ones about an hour ahead of the Dornoch route train, combine at Golspie and give additional capacity on the far north line by still using a 158 pair on the Dornoch route and a single one on the Lairg route.

This probably wouldn't work too well for the early morning trains, but certainly worth it for the late morning and afternoon trains

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Not really; the idea of terminating in a bay at Golspie is based on the cost saving "connect it at the southern end only" suggestion early on in the thread.