Cycle-rail projects in Scotland to get £400k boost

A £400,000 fund to help make Scotland’s rail stations more cyclist-friendly is being offered to councils and community organisations. The Scotrail Alliance – a partnership between Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail – is offering £100,000 a year to cycle-rail projects, which must provide at least 50% match funding. The Deadline for applications to the fund is 20 April 2018.

The Scotrail Alliance says the fund will contribute to its vision of providing a ‘doorstep to destination’ journey for customers, while reducing congestion and pollution.

The fund can be used to support projects that will:

• Improve directions and signs for cyclists to and from stations.
• Upgrade connections between stations and other local services such as schools and town centres.
• Improve marketing and promotion of cycling to stations including digital; or
• Introduce new facilities for customers accessing stations by bike.

The fund could also go towards the cost of docked cycle hire schemes, said a ScotRail spokesman. 

While pledging to improve bike facilities at stations, ScotRail also looks set to halve bike storage capacity on long distance services. Currently four bikes are allowed on each train, but once the operator rolls out its new high speed train (HST) fleet this will drop to two. The rail operator is considering storage for six further bikes in the two power cars at each end of the train. This would bring the total bike capacity on each train to eight, still way below the 20 spaces Abellio had previously indicated in talks with the Scottish government in 2015.

ScotRail Alliance Cycling Manager Kathryn Mackay said: “We’ve delivered an unprecedented investment in cycling in recent years, with the provision of Bike & Go at 12 stations, and over 1,200 extra cycle spaces.

“The £400,000 Cycling Fund will allow us to continue this investment by delivering our vision of a seamless ‘doorstep to destination’ journey for customers. We are encouraging councils and local community groups to take advantage of this great opportunity.”

While pledging to improve bike facilities at stations, ScotRail also looks set to halve bike storage capacity on long distance services. Currently four bikes are allowed on each train, but once the operator rolls out its new high speed train (HST) fleet this will drop to two. The rail operator is considering storage for six further bikes in the two power cars at each end of the train. This would bring the total bike capacity on each train to eight, still way below the 20 spaces Abellio had previously indicated in talks with the Scottish government in 2015.

The first of the new fleet - refurbished 40-year-old InterCity 125 High Speed Trains - are due to be in service from May.