Last month in London a gorilla escaped! Initially I had thought it was Boris covered in BS, but once I saw the hair I knew it couldn’t be him. Well there’s no mistaking the hair on this month’s escapee. FM, who would have thought the head green keeper at Turnberry would be president-elect? Surely he won’t keep his day job? I think whoever said: “if Hillary couldn’t control her man’s urges – then how could she be trusted with control the USA” can take some credit, if that’s the right word, for the amazing result. USA; USA; USA! Trump and Putin! My money’s on a new golf course in the grounds of the Kremlin!
How does it affect Scotland? Well Alex will need to behave and not have wind turbines blowing yer man’s hair aboot! Donald loves Scotland so I think the rest of us will be OK.
Three Just men with funny hair, too, delivered a mousey crawler up Theresa’s leg with the Brexit decision. So another ill thought out piece of politics gets a kick up the proverbial. When Donald does renegotiate trade agreements he deems unfavourable to the star spangled banner, then the UK “may” need to hang on to the ones we have with Europe. In any case as I can’t see the UK being at the front of his queue my old Chinas?
Nicely in to hard Brexit then – the rest of the world has devalued the pound by 30% and yet the UKIP branch that now leads the Tory party hails Brexit has a good thing? That Standard and Poor have down rated the UK’s credit rating is again of no consequence to the Brexiteers. That leaving Europe the hard way will cost £66billion a year is of no consequence these xenophobes – the vote swinging jingle – “the NHS will be £350million a week better off” looks like a downright lie or as a politician would say “that’s not what I actually said err let’s move on”.
I heard Nicola on Radio 4 one morning quite rightly making political capital out of Brexit. The interviewer asked the question: “should Scotland either leave the UK or get a different deal from the rest of the UK with Europe how would the gates on Hadrian’s wall work?”. A very nimble Nicola retorted that the UK government has said leaving the EU would not cause any problems on the border between Northern and Southern Ireland, so how could Hadrian be a problem? Game, set and match Ms Sturgeon.
Where does all this leave a lonely businessman? Well I have more in common with Nicola than I do with Theresa! I have been in Scotland for 36 years – just over half my life. So technically I can be regarded as Scottish and the kilt I bought a number of years ago when I was chairman of ICT is looking more and more appealing. I am not saying I am joining the SNP, but if Nicola requires a shift every now and again …… for another thing I like her Chinese leanings – more to come.
Back to business – Aberdeen and Inverness like a public celebration. Crowds of thousands turned out to see the cities’ football teams win their respective cups in 2014 and 2015. Despite significant market slowdown in terms of energy and property, there’s more to celebrate now as a major infrastructure project bodes well.
There is a lot of investment already being made in both cities but what makes me cheer most is the forthcoming £170million investment in the Aberdeen to Inverness rail network. More trains will not only enhance our local economy but provide significant benefits to our local people.
Inverness has already benefited from the Scottish Government’s investment to create one of Scotland’s most ambitious projects, the Inverness Campus. Its success is clear to see; leading the way in Scotland’s life sciences arena.
With Inverness securing the £315million City Region Deal to improve transport links, enhance digital connectivity and help develop new skills academies the proposed new infrastructure project is exceptionally timely.
Highland Council announced plans to draw down £48million from this budget to turn Inverness Castle into a tourist attraction and create a Northern Innovation Hub. Meanwhile, the University of Highlands and Islands has bid for a new school of health, social care and life sciences.
Aberdeen is looking forward to the opening of the £745million Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR), and has already benefitted from the £22million Third Don Crossing with funding from its Aberdeen City and Shire Region Deals, worth a combined £504million. This investment in Aberdeen’s transport network will reduce congestion and improve journey times, ultimately attracting more business and job opportunities.
Some of these benefits can already be seen with infrastructure projects, such as the £107million Marischal Square development. Potential improvements to the city’s Union Street and bids for major retail and business opportunities on the outskirts of Aberdeen also show a continued appetite for growth and jobs creation.
At Orion Group we fully welcome the enhancement of our railway network which I believe will bring multi-benefits to both cities.
The Scottish Government vows to improve journey times and flexibility for customers with passenger and freight services reaping many benefits.
Mistakes have been made throughout the history of Scotland’s rail network. The days of the 1960s when Dr Beeching, another Tory BB, recommended to government that all non-profitable lines were cut resulted in the loss of 30% of the UK’s network. What a plonker.
Today we’re in greater need for train lines linking Aberdeen to Fraserburgh, for both commuting and cargo requirements. Another major loss was the Waverley Route from Edinburgh to Carlisle, but thankfully part of this has been reinstated with the celebrated Borders Railway running from the capital to Galashiels and Tweedbank.
I’m also glad to see new station openings at Kintore and Dalcross, doubling of parts of the North line and reconfiguring of Forres station will result in greater convenience for customers between Aberdeen and Inverness.
The ambition is to deliver two-hour journey time service between the two cities and departing every hour at key times. This will mean a dramatic improvement on two hour 25 minute journey times and irregular departure times only every two hours. This will finally mean rail becomes an attractive alternative to driving the 102 miles.
I remain a strong believer in the power of our railways nationally, and continuing to take steps to reverse some of the damage done by Beeching is vital. Better transport systems and communication networks lead to better and stronger economies.
Orion Rail and Training Services (ORTS) has grown over the last two decades to become a fully accredited and certified rail service provider to Network Rail. We are also accredited by the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE) and our rail teams operate across a number of locations throughout the UK.
Last year, we were proud to launch our new Rail and Training Centre in Wigan to fit alongside the one we have in Glasgow and recognise the importance of the rail industry to our economy. The centres’ aims are to deliver commercial and safety critical training for current staff and new recruits. They focus on improving management, supervisory and occupational health training, supporting staff to learn on the job and encouraging promotion from within.
These facilities are also a hub to nurture our next generation of rail talent through apprenticeship and training courses across the industry. This is work that I’m fully behind and we know this is the type of investment the country needs to thrive. I look forward to the increased business opportunities and faster commuting times the improved Aberdeen to Inverness line will bring over the next few years.
