PASSENGERS will benefit from new cross-border train routes if Scotland’s rail network is opened up to competition, a former UK transport minister has said.

In a new report for a leading think tank, Tom Harris has called on Holyrood ministers to work with competition watchdogs to explore how ‘open access’ proposals could benefit routes within Scotland and to key English cities.

In a paper for right-of-centre Reform Scotland, the former member of Tony Blair’s government said the creation of an infrastructure tsar to stand detached from party politics and steer major transport projects was needed in the long term interests of the economy.

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Mr Harris said a Scottish Rail Infrastructure Commission would “inject some bigger thinking into our long-term rail vision”, including exploring developments such as a new high-speed lines to the Highlands from the central belt, and links to the south and airports.

One senior rail industry insider said Scotland was already at a disadvantage to the rest of the UK, where a similar commission was “taking a long-term, independent appraisal of the country’s infrastructure requirements”.

In its response to Transport Scotland’s rail infrastructure strategy consultation, which is seeking views on the how services should be developed in the future, Reform Scotland said the Competition and Markets Authority should be a significantly bigger role for open access operators between UK cities.

While Scotland’s relatively small and over-stretched network would be limited in reaping any benefits from competition, it cites recent interest from one firm in operating a direct service between Glasgow and Liverpool as an example of what could be introduced.

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The report claims the Borders Railway was short sighted as it “is not electrified and single-track, with bridges built only to accommodate the width of single-track, and therefore has limited potential for expansion”.

Mr Harris also criticised the rail focus across the UK “not on bringing different areas together, but bringing everywhere closer to London”.

Calling on the Scottish Government to set up a commission, the report states: “Is a new high speed, or even considerably-faster-than-current speed, line to the Highlands from the central belt worth considering?

“What about the potential of linking up the north and south networks. What about a direct link between Edinburgh and Dumfries? Or rail links to our airports? Not everything is possible, or necessarily desirable, but if we want to make any ambitious change we need to start thinking now about the sort of connectivity we want over the next 30 years. Surely, this is at least worth investigating.”

Mr Harris said: “We are in danger of missing the bigger picture when it comes to discussing rail in Scotland. We talk in very narrow terms about ScotRail and its operation.

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“The Borders Railway showed us that there is an appetite for new railways in Scotland, but it also showed us that our thinking is too small and our planning too short-term. That ship has now sailed, but we must learn the lessons from it, think big, and plan long, and that is why the need for a Commission is now critical.”

But a senior industry source said: “More competition in rail would be healthy but as recent experiences have shown, open access isn’t the way to deliver that.

“It’s also highly questionable whether there would be any appetite from private operators to take over routes in Scotland, where the passenger services receive the second highest level of subsidy of anywhere in the UK. There are only a few profitable routes, such as Edinburgh-Glasgow, and the Scottish Government needs those to help subsidise loss-making parts of the network.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are grateful to Reform Scotland for their comments, as we are to all respondents to our consultation on our future investment strategy for Scotland’s railways.  The think-tank has raised issues about structure and vision.  Whilst there will be different views on structures to realise the vision for Scotland’s railways it is clear that the ambitions for our railway to be a driver of economic growth and a positive, integral part of our social fabric is an ambition that is shared right across Scotland.

“The reopening of the Borders Railway was a cause for celebration for residents of the Borders and Midlothian who waited almost half a century to see services return to their area.  We were always confident that, in time, it would deliver major economic opportunities and attract new investment, so it is pleasing to see strong evidence that visits and spending are up significantly as a direct result of the new railway.

“With over 1.2 million passenger journeys in its first year alone, additional seats on peak time services and more improvements and initiatives in the pipeline, we look forward to seeing even more investment and interest in the area in the months and years ahead.”