This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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NESTRANS gets £1.3 million funding
01/06/2004
Regional transport partnership
NESTRANS will receive £1.3 million for public transport
developments in 2004/05, it was announced today along with
publication of its annual report.
The money will finance a range of
projects including the introduction of interchange and park
and ride facilities at Peterhead, Inverurie and
Banchory.
Transport Minister Nicol Stephen also
confirmed that the Executive will separately provide £2.4
million for the £3.6 million park and ride projects, with
additional funding coming from the local council and other
sources.
He said:
"Passengers and businesses want
attractive, safe and convenient public transport. This
extra funding will allow NESTRANS to continue improving
public transport in the North East and help develop new
facilities, such as park and ride and this train-to-bus
interchange at Inverurie. This will make travel by public
transport easier for commuters and so reduce congestion
around Aberdeen which will benefit the economy and the
environment.
"I am also determined that we maintain
progress on the Aberdeen Crossrail project. Thousands of
commuters would benefit from a regular high frequency
Inverurie-Aberdeen-Stonehaven service, with extra rail
stations.
"The Strategic Rail Authority is not
yet proceeding with improvements to the Aberdeen-Inverness
line. This work had previously been regarded as an
important part of developing the Crossrail scheme.
"I want NESTRANS and the Scottish
Executive to look at alternatives over the summer that will
allow Crossrail to get moving. We will support and fund the
development work needed to hammer out a sensible phase one
Crossrail scheme.
"We continue to believe that the
Aberdeen-Inverness improvements are very important and we
will keep up the pressure on the SRA. We need to get moving
on Crossrail now.
"NESTRANS' annual report shows the
good progress that we are making on transport improvements
in the North East. The Executive continues to work closely
with them on a range of projects like the Aberdeen bypass
and Crossrail, and plans to switch freight distribution
from road to rail.
"It will be for NESTRANS to decide how
best to spend the funds. The key requirement is to make
public transport more attractive to use."
Today's award of £1,295,452 million
funding for NESTRANS comes from the Other Public Transport
budget. Projects supported last year included bus
improvements in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, such as new
shelters, raised kerbs and better information for
passengers.
The Executive announced £2 million
towards Aberdeenshire Council's park and ride scheme in
October 2002. Following further work to develop the
project, the total estimated cost is now £3.6 million. The
Executive will therefore provide £2.4 million, with
Aberdeenshire Council contributing £600,000, £300,000
coming from the award announced today for NESTRANS and a
further £300,000 being provided by third parties.