Pressure is mounting on roads bosses to install a pedestrian crossing to improve safety at Forres train station.
Yesterday officials from Transport Scotland and Network Rail held talks with the town’s community council, MSPs and councillors.
During a heated debate Ken Aitken, a planning officer at the roads agency, repeatedly insisted the busy A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road that goes through the town was not dangerous.
The official explained there had only been one injury caused to a pedestrian on that stretch of the A96 in the last 27 years.
But Highlands and Islands MSP Douglas Ross insisted immediate action was needed while work is being done to relocate the station.
He said: “I’m often concerned when statistics are used to say that work will only get done if you reach a target of five accidents, or similar.
“The target should be zero and if we are not at zero then it suggests there is a problem. I think the work to move the station is an opportunity the people of Forres will expect us to take.”
Following the talks, Mr Aitken agreed to carry out an assessment to determine whether there is a case for a pedestrian crossing to be introduced in addition to safety audits. A footbridge has already been ruled out as a solution due to the lack of space on either side of the road.
Passengers on trains from Forres are expected to surge by 75% in the coming years with extra services to be introduced. About 400 people currently walk to the station every day.
Forres community councillor Eleanor Hayward warned it was only a matter of time until somebody crossing the busy road was killed.
She said: “People have to contemplate hiring a taxi to get over the road at the moment. There isn’t even a shuttle bus.”
Network Rail is introducing new footpaths on the A96 as part of the station project, which is expected to be completed in October next year.
But Stacey Lynch from the railway agency explained the organisation had no duty to look at crossings.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead insisted any improvements should be able to cope with the expected increase in train passengers.
Mr Aitken said: “I don’t know what the assessment is going to recommend but we can carry it out and report the findings back to the community.”
