A major study has been launched to find out why more local people do not travel on the picturesque West Highland Line.
It will also gather the views of tourists to help discover ways to make it more attractive for both locals and visitors.
The survey has been commissioned by the West Highland Community Rail Partnership – known as the Westie – which is a newly established community organisation covering the West Highland railway corridor from Mallaig to Crianlarich and the surrounding area.
Benny MacDonald, the partnership board member who is leading on this project, explained that the group had commissioned the Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research (CRTC) at the University of the Highlands and Islands to conduct a survey of the local population.
He said local accommodation providers and visiting tourists would also be surveyed.
Mr MacDonald said: “The partnership works with the railway industry to make train travel a more attractive option for locals and visitors alike.
“We want to keep the roads less busy and the air less polluted.
“To make sure our work addresses the real obstacles to train travel, we need to prove where and what the existing barriers are.
“We want to know why many of us don’t travel by train.
“And, once we know, we intend to do something about it.”
He added that the CRTC had been asked to establish what people’s existing travel needs were and why they chose to go by train – or not.
The results of the survey, funded by ScotRail and the Association of Community Rail Partnerships, will then be compiled by the CRTC and will be available on the Westie’s website – www.westhighlandcrp.co.uk – which will be going live soon.
Mr MacDonald said all community councils in the Westie’s membership area would be notified when the results were ready and asked to suggest schemes that may address the problems identified.
Membership of the Westie open to any organisation with an interest in the West Highland Line and all community councils in the area it covers are automatically given associate membership.
The survey questionnaire is available online at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/westie
Hard copies will also be available at local village shops and post offices from June 1.
