ScotRail must do ‘urgent rethink’ over failure to resume late night trains between Inverness, Beauly, Conon Bridge, Muir of Ord, Dingwall, Alness, Invergordon, Fearn and Tain, insist Highland business and political figures
Rail bosses must urgently rethink their decision not to resume late night trains between Inverness and the north, business and political figures have insisted.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, late night trains used to run from Inverness to Tain and back every Friday and Saturday night - providing vital transport links for people living in communities in-between who were eager to enjoy the Highland capital’s nightlife.
Lockdown sparked the ‘temporary’ withdrawal of those journeys from the timetable - and they did not return when the pandemic was over.
Despite passenger numbers gradually recovering, ScotRail has still to resume them - much to the frustration of businesses in the Highland capital, who have previously warned it is hitting the city’s night-time economy.
And any resumption of the late-night trains in the near future appears to have been knocked back again after ScotRail published its new timetables for the coming months and they were once again absent from the schedules.
The new timetables take effect in mid December and will remain in place until May of next year, meaning they will not return until late spring or summer 2025 at the earliest.
Their absence has been greeted with “great disappointment” by a Highland MP, who added that they could not see any justification for the service’s continued absence.
Jamie Stone, who represents Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, and is also president of the Friends of the Far North Line campaign group, said: "My approach to rail services is that above all else, they are a public service. For this reason, I am greatly disappointed by ScotRail's failure to restore adequate services for their customers.
“The argument is really very simple: if there is no service, the public will not use it. But if a service is restored, then the public will use it and it will, in turn, invite an ever-increasing number of passengers.
“This way, it will serve the rail line and the people who desperately need it - especially in such a vast and remote place as the Far North. This simple piece of logic seems to have escaped ScotRail and I fail to see the justification for the continued absence of this service. It needs an urgent rethink."
Mike Duncan, North Scotland Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said he had first-hand experience of late night trains in the north, saying that he had made use of the 10.15pm Inverness-Elgin train which was itself mothballed during Covid before being brought back for a trial run last December that had since become permanent after proving successful.
He said: “Having used the late-night train from Inverness back to Elgin, usually after attending the Panto at Eden Court with family and friends, I’ve experienced first-hand the difference this kind of service can make.
“For my group of seven, this train not only takes two cars off the A96, but it allows the adults to have a drink and financially support any of the fantastic independent bars and restaurants that Inverness offers.
“From speaking to local business owners, this kind of support could be vital to struggling hospitality businesses.
“Carrie Forbes, who runs The Highland Voiceover Studio [in Tain], can remember using the late-night Inverness-Tain train service before it was cut during the pandemic. She recalls going for meals and drinks with friends in the city, taking the train home, then continuing the evening in Tain itself. Carrie told me that all this has stopped since the train was cancelled, and she can see it affecting the hospitality trade at either end of the railway line.
“From an FSB perspective, bars and restaurants are being squeezed by a combination of rising costs and customers cautious about spending. Many are operating on extremely thin margins and contemplating hard decisions as they try to protect staff jobs and secure their futures.
“Many of these small businesses need all the help they can get to survive the current pressures.
“Our members tell us they need to see clear signs the Scottish Government understands the size of the challenges they face. One small but important step to show their support for the Highland hospitality sector, would be to compel ScotRail to reintroduce this important late-night train service.”
Ian Budd, who is convener of the Friends of the Far North Line, criticised what he sees as a “too cautious” approach by ScotRail.
He said: We wonder whether ScotRail is being too cautious in re-instating the late evening service to Tain and the Fri-Sat late return. These were lost during Covid and it was said that there was not enough evidence of the need for the services. We note that Inverness to Elgin late services were reintroduced experimentally and have now become part of the timetable. We would like to see ScotRail do the same for Tain.”
ScotRail has previously defended its decision to with-hold the resumption of the late-night trains, citing different commuting travel behaviour in the post-Covid world, and adding that passenger numbers had yet to recover sufficiently.
It did not directly address the absence of the late-night Tain trains when asked for comment on their absence from the new timetable, but did say that it had “completed a detailed review of the timetable currently serving Inverness” and that it is “now working through the changes we can make in 2025.
The spokesperson added that it will “communicate these [changes] around Easter”, implying that there could yet be positive news on the trains next year.
The statement from ScotRail said: “The way passengers use rail to and from Inverness has fundamentally changed over the last four years.
“We have completed a detailed review of the timetable currently serving Inverness and how it aligns with customer needs. The review included evening services and we are delighted the 2215 Inverness to Elgin service introduced last December has been attracting new passengers.
“We are now working through the changes we can make in 2025 and will communicate these around Easter.”
