Inverness Station redevelopment

[BRX]

As with any small town which has grown rapidly, Inverness has a legacy centre with an awkward road layout, and nearly all new employment on the fringes. Further/Higher education has also moved out. Its town centre shopping battles with malls on the outside.
Rail will struggle for commuters unless new offices are built and there are more reasons for people to need to access the central area.
BTW I was born in Inverness.

Like many places in the UK, it's a long-term town planning disaster zone, where planning decisions have favoured private car use for many years, and continue to do so.

 

[Gonzoiku]

As with any small town which has grown rapidly, Inverness has a legacy centre with an awkward road layout, and nearly all new employment on the fringes. Further/Higher education has also moved out. Its town centre shopping battles with malls on the outside.
Rail will struggle for commuters unless new offices are built and there are more reasons for people to need to access the central area.
BTW I was born in Inverness.

You might find this report produced for HiTrans last year interesting:
Inverness_Rail_East_Feasibility_Study.pdf

It is *not* concerned with the Dalcross proposals.

GZ

 

[BRX]

You might find this report produced for HiTrans last year interesting:
Inverness_Rail_East_Feasibility_Study.pdf

It is *not* concerned with the Dalcross proposals.

GZ

Thanks for posting this! I'll have a proper read of it later.

 

[Northhighland]

Like many places in the UK, it's a long-term town planning disaster zone, where planning decisions have favoured private car use for many years, and continue to do so.

To be fair private car use is pretty essential in the Highlands. You still can’t really live in Inverness without a car. The dream of public transport is incredibly difficult to make a reality in a rural area like the highlands.

 

[route:oxford]

Like many places in the UK, it's a long-term town planning disaster zone, where planning decisions have favoured private car use for many years, and continue to do so.

How would you design an effective non-car focussed public transport system in the Highlands?

Inverness (population 48,000), spread over 28 square kilometres is the key employment and shopping area for the remaining 185,000 people spread out over 25,628 square kilometres of Highland Council

To give a form of scale, the population of the Highlands, outside Inverness, is approximate equal to the population of Hammersmith & Fulham - but spread out over an area 1600 times bigger.

 

[Struner]

Buying by mail order has been part of life in the Highlands & Islands (Shetland,
Orkney & Western Isles) for as long as I remember. & going on a shopping spree to a place like Glasgow or Edinburgh once a year (if you can afford it) as well.
It’s getting to your relatives & friends, your GP, your PO & bank that you need transport for.
So yes, you need a car (or any old banger - no need to tell me )

 

[BRX]

How would you design an effective non-car focussed public transport system in the Highlands?

Inverness (population 48,000), spread over 28 square kilometres is the key employment and shopping area for the remaining 185,000 people spread out over 25,628 square kilometres of Highland Council

To give a form of scale, the population of the Highlands, outside Inverness, is approximate equal to the population of Hammersmith & Fulham - but spread out over an area 1600 times bigger.

I don't want to write an extensive reply only to find it deleted for going off-topic. But briefly -

It's more difficult for the wider highlands of course. But there is lots that could be done, or could have been done better for Inverness.

It has a wide commuter hinterland where development could be encouraged to centre more on routes with viable public transport. Provide much better bus services. Encourage more local shopping facilities etc - so that people are at least only driving 5 miles to their more local supermarket, rather than everyone driving 20 or 30 miles into Inverness.

And the development of Inverness itself has been allowed to be sprawling and in a form that encourages car dependency.

These are problems that are common to nearly every smaller town/city in the UK. While the Highlands as a whole are in some ways a unique transport problem, Inverness and its commuter belt aren't, and there are plenty examples around the world that show how it can be done better.

 

[InOban]

I quite agree. Huge areas of little boxes, making the provision of any viable public transport impossible. Did you know that in many areas the commonest number of people in a household is 1?

 

[waverley47]

These are problems that are common to nearly every smaller town/city in the UK. While the Highlands as a whole are in some ways a unique transport problem, Inverness and its commuter belt aren't, and there are plenty examples around the world that show how it can be done better.

Inverness doesn't really have a commuter belt. Dalcross, Beauty and Dingwall at a push, the Black Isle and some hinterland definitley, but it doesn't have a commuter belt in the same way that other cities do.

Inverness, Fort William and to a lesser extent Oban act as anchors for the Highland economy. I grew up in the Highlands and people will run into these big towns very infrequently. Look at Campbeltown for the perfect example. Maybe 10000 people living on the Kintyre peninsula and an anchor town of 4500; it's too small for public transport and the population is too spread out. Cars are a part of life for the Highlands, they have to be because without them there isn't freedom to move. People will always drive into Inverness once a month to go to the 'big shops' and apart from that shop at the small supermarket in their local town.

Public transport in Argyll, the Islands and the Northwest Highlands should be about transporting people into the central belt or further beyond, as then you can attract people out of their cars. Look at Campbeltown again. It's too small for public transport to work well getting into the town, but the busses and ferry/train from Ardrossan are very well used.

Advocating busses throughout the Highlands is great, but people won't switch unless the frequency is high enough, meaning most of the time they'll be carting around fresh air. The redevelopment of Inverness is great, it encourages the long distance trips from Aberdeen, the Central Belt out of cars, which is what trains are good at.

 

[BRX]

Inverness doesn't really have a commuter belt. Dalcross, Beauty and Dingwall at a push, the Black Isle and some hinterland definitley, but it doesn't have a commuter belt in the same way that other cities do.

It has a commuter belt - I grew up in it, and since then it has grown. And that commuter belt could be much better served by public transport than it currently is. There are lots of places within about 30-40 minutes of Inverness which are nominally rural but where a large proportion of the population work in town, and they each individually drive there and back, every day.

Like I said, I'm not talking about the wider Highlands here but Inverness and its surrounding areas (that means a radius of 20-30 miles or so).

 

[InOban]

You only have to observe the rush hour congestion on the Kessock bridge to know that Inverness has a lot of commuting, almost all by car.

 

[waverley47]

It has a commuter belt - I grew up in it, and since then it has grown. And that commuter belt could be much better served by public transport than it currently is. There are lots of places within about 30-40 minutes of Inverness which are nominally rural but where a large proportion of the population work in town, and they each individually drive there and back, every day.

Like I said, I'm not talking about the wider Highlands here but Inverness and its surrounding areas (that means a radius of 20-30 miles or so).

You only have to observe the rush hour congestion on the Kessock bridge to know that Inverness has a lot of commuting, almost all by car.

Ah, I thought you were talking about the wider area. I'd agree in that case, there are very bad traffic problems over the Kessock bridge, I tend to avoid that whenever possible. I remember driving in from Cromarty for a couple of days last year and it was awful.

The problem still stands however, it's difficult to serve all the smaller towns around the area. Most of the towns are incredibly dispersed, and there are few routes where a bus could do a decent job of transporting commuters. The road to Invergordon definitely, Nairn and the Black Isle, but apart from that where would have enough potential market? Personally I think a couple of busses in the morning and evening are about all that could be done. The Inverness redevelopment surely should focus on the longer distance journeys because they can be attracted to rail.

 

[Gonzoiku]

A step forward: TKMaxx site has been acquired by ScotRail.

Inverness set for road and rail revolution

A game-changing multimillion-pound transport hub which will revolutionise Inverness city centre is a giant step closer to being built.

www.inverness-courier.co.uk

GZ

 

[Dr Hoo]

A step forward: TKMaxx site has been acquired by ScotRail.

Inverness set for road and rail revolution

A game-changing multimillion-pound transport hub which will revolutionise Inverness city centre is a giant step closer to being built.

www.inverness-courier.co.uk

GZ

The linked article doesn't even mention ScotRail. It says that the land has been purchased by Network Rail (although there is a reference to funding by Transport Scotland too).

But good to see at least some action on a scheme that has been around in various forms for many years. I remember going to meetings about the concept back in the early 1990s!

 

[Gonzoiku]

The linked article doesn't even mention ScotRail. It says that the land has been purchased by Network Rail (although there is a reference to funding by Transport Scotland too)

My mistake, please forgive such a slipshod, lackadaisical, indeed careless posting.

GZ

 

[theironroad]

Lots of aspirational stuff and vision in there from the hi-trans spokesman.

Also, talk of "electric/non-diesel" trains. When is this scheduled for?

 

[Northhighland]

Inverness sorely needs improved public transport. This is a great opportunity to create something transformational. It could hopefully also create new potential opportunities for new transport routes. If buses and trains can be linked then it could stop car travel being so prevelant.

 

[Gonzoiku]

There is still life in the project, it seems:

"Vital connection to reinvent Inverness city centre" https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/vital-connection-to-reinvent-inverness-city-centre-227943/

New multimillion-pound transport hub plans for Inverness have taken another major step forward.
Despite the privations of coronavirus and the challenges of lockdown, the major stakeholders in realising what is being referred to as the Inverness Masterplan have now held their first formal meeting
As the Courier exclusively reported last year, several key city centre sites have been bought with Transport Scotland cash to pave the way for the development, including the former Royal Mail sorting office and car park, the TK Maxx and Sports Direct buildings, Strothers Lane car park and Highland Rail House, on the north side of Station Square.
Led by HiTrans and Transport Scotland, the group will oversee the creation of an integrated transport hub in the city centre.
Other partners include Network Rail, Abellio ScotRail and Highland Council who have now agreed terms of reference and the overall vision for the project, which they call “transformational”.
A report for the recent meeting said: “This investment by Transport Scotland will enable long held aspirations to improve facilities to be realised.
“Highland Council plans to transform the city centre, enhancing its public realm and its reputation as a destination, a desirable place to live and as a regional centre for business, educational, retail and commercial activities.
“Abellio ScotRail has a franchise commitment to carry out feasibility work to redevelop Inverness station.
“They worked with stakeholders to agree key priorities for the station and agreed a scope that would upgrade the station and improve connectivity with the centre of Inverness and other modes of transport."
The vision also includes plans to include the local community, to encourage ‘ownership’ of the development which, as well as better integration between the city’s train and bus stations, will offer a range of new shop and café opportunities.

Frank Roach, HiTrans partnership manager, said: “This is a unique opportunity to redesign the city centre around an integrated public transport hub which will help us move towards Scotland’s 2045 net zero target.”

A spokesman for Transport Scotland said: “The meeting was extremely positive with all attendees recognising the exciting opportunity that the masterplan presents.

“The masterplan envisages a station that puts the needs of passengers and freight at its heart, operates as part of an integrated transport interchange, opens up economic and commercial opportunities, and becomes an integral part of Inverness’s public space through community engagement and placemaking.”

GZ