Author: Jordan Jack

Evidencing the North-South divide in Buchan.
Why a new railway must go beyond Ellon.

One aspect of the study area that CNER are keen to highlight is the incongruous nature of quality of life across the region. A ‘north-south’ divide exists, settlements north of Ellon suffer key challenges raised in previous studies to a much greater degree than settlements south of Ellon. Effort should be made to evidence this divide such that the rationale for intervention beyond Ellon becomes clear in the final report. This document is intended to highlight avenues that we believe are worth pursuing that may lead to such an outcome. This is a key point for CNER, intervention that terminate at Ellon and do not serve settlements to the north will exacerbate this divide, and will encourage more employers, investment and residents to shift away from the coast, straining the regeneration of Fraserburgh and Peterhead through the Just Transition. Peterhead is the largest settlement in mainland UK the furthest from a railway station. Fraserburgh is second.
1. The North East Coast has already lost jobs and businesses to Ellon due to a lack of good transport links.
Two multi-million pound, globally trading companies relocated from Fraserburgh to Ellon. Powerjacks and Brewdog both originated in and operated in Fraserburgh for many years before making the decision to relocate only 25 miles closer to Aberdeen. It is clear that these companies found it difficult to continue to grow in Fraserburgh, questions should be asked to establish why this was the case, was Transport a significant factor in the decision? If so, is it reasonable to then say that Transport would be a factor preventing companies from investing in Fraserburgh? Does perceived remoteness play a factor in attracting skilled workers to the area, would a rail connection have helped alleviate this perception? Powerjacks have since relocated again from Ellon to Westhill on the outskirts of Aberdeen, and Brewdog have taken over their former Ellon site.
2. The A90 at Ellon is dual carriageway between Ellon and Aberdeen.
Challenges identified in 2016 persist to this day. However, the 2019 opening of the AWPR has since provided a continuous dual carriageway between Aberdeen and Ellon, the A90 and A952 to Peterhead and Fraserburgh remain single carriageway, shared between private cars, buses and many HGVs carrying tonnes of freight to and from Buchan. This results in a slow and frustration driving experience to Ellon, followed by sudden relief from congestion. This results in bottlenecks and queueing in busy periods around Ellon, exacerbating the unpredictable nature of journey times. This was identified, and predicted in 2016:
“Delay on the strategic roads in the study area mean trips must be started earlier or later to avoid heavily congested times, making people late for appointments and meetings, and also creating strong feelings of isolation. The proportion and speed of freight traffic on key road routes was a cause of frustration for the public when undertaking day-to-day activities. This frustration at delay on the roads was felt to be the key cause of the high road accident occurrences in the study area. The impact of accidents and the delay they cause was also noted by the business community in terms of the impact on business operations and the difficulty in planning with this element of unreliability and unpredictability in travel times by road.”
“Modelling of the future transport network with the AWPR and other major [now completed] transport interventions included, as well as the travel demand associated with housing and employment build-out, suggest that by 2023 there will be increased traffic and increased travel time on the road routes north of Ellon. Overall the analysis emphasises that the future ability to efficiently move people and goods is paramount in order to anchor local businesses and employment opportunities in the area – enabling wider access to regional health and social facilities, and reducing the inequalities gap.” [Fraserburgh & Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study, Peter Brett, SIAS, 2016]
This competition between Peterhead and Fraserburgh, and towns to the south will become a key challenge as settlements try to attract new green industry throughout the Just Transition.
3. The Scottish Government have identified Peterhead and Fraserburgh as regeneration priorities.
Peterhead and Fraserburgh are recognised as Regeneration Priority Areas, and the Aberdeen to Peterhead transport corridor is recognised as a Strategic Growth Area. Railways act as a catalyst for regeneration, as was seen in Borders. [https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/16416219.borders-railway-breathing-new-life-local-economies/]

4. Settlements further away outperformed settlements closer on the comparable Borders Railway.
The Borders Railway data taught us that settlements closer to the city perform worse than settlements further away, the Buchan line has most of its population towards the far end of the railway, maximising this effect. This fact worked against the case for a line to Ellon at the time of the Ellon Rail Study, but would benefit the case to Peterhead. Both the Borders and Buchan railways are 30 miles long and have similar populations along their length. Many of the challenges faced during the construction of the Borders Railway do not exist in Buchan. For example, for the line to cross the Edinburgh Bypass a temporary dual carriageway had to be constructed at significant cost so work could be done on the existing road to allow the new railway to pass underneath. Compare that with the Buchan railway where the AWPR and A947 crossings are already large enough for electrified double track, due in part to lobbying by CNER members. No further dual carriageway crossings are required.
5. HMP Grampian in Peterhead is the worst connected prison in Scotland by Public transport.
Regular visits from family and friends have positive benefits for prisoner's quality of life, it has been shown that keeping in touch with the outside world aids in rehabilitation and reduces the rate of reoffending. All prisons in Scotland have nearby railway stations except for HMP Grampian in Peterhead. The bus service to Peterhead is unreliable and has significant time built into the schedule to account for the variability of the traffic on the route to Aberdeen. Linking Peterhead to the railway network will improve access directly by allowing connections from long haul trains, but will also improve the reliability of the bus journeys by reducing traffic on the A90 and surrounding roads.
6. Significant freight opportunities exist north of Ellon.
150,000 Tonnes of fish pass through Peterhead port every year, the port is the largest fish market in Europe. This freight is all long haul and perfectly suited to rail. Large, regular shipments travel across the country to London, and across the channel to France. Significant tonnages are also landed at Fraserburgh.
ASCO, located on the south breakwater in Peterhead handles 910,000 tonnes of freight supporting the Oil industry. Even with the coming decline in the industry as we transition to renewable energy, this site will continue to support the industry through decommissioning, and can transition itself to support the future renewables industry. Not all of this freight will be suited to rail, but even a small percentage of this total would result in significant tonnages being hauled by rail.
The Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage project has recently been approved at St Fergus. CO2 will be shipped to St Fergus by ship via Peterhead port, and road. This will add to the challenges created by HGV traffic on our roads, as identified in 2016:
“For the Oil & Gas Supply and Subsea industries, where vessels only have limited time at berth in the harbours, ‘slack’ must be built into freight movements, leading to inefficiencies and higher costs. For the Fishing industry, where stock can depreciate in value quickly, the movement of product is particularly time critical with road delays impacting heavily on businesses in this highly competitive market.” [Fraserburgh & Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study, Peter Brett, SIAS, 2016]
Interest has been shown in the potential to move this CO2 by rail, freeing up the roads and decarbonising the transport element of this project. Further, there are plans to produce both hydrogen and SAF at the site in the future, which could also be carried by rail.
Finally, Gray and Adams manufacture over £150m of refrigerated HGV trailers annually in Fraserburgh. This company transports prefabricated parts such as axle assemblies and suspension kits from as far away as Leicester. The bulky nature of this freight makes rail haulage a good candidate.
Ultimately, failing to provide freight facilities north of Ellon will allow the challenges caused by HGV traffic to continue. Fraserburgh Harbour is investing heavily in diversification, and freight tonnages are expected to rise. Peterhead and Fraserburgh are also the closest ports in the UK mainland to all Norwegian ports and the Danish straits. Rail connections to these ports will allow import and export trade across the North Sea with the shortest possible over-water journey. Our proposals in Peterhead allow for direct loading and unloading between vessels and freight trains on the railway. In 2016, the following was identified in regards to these ports:
“There is a clear economic rationale underpinning the need for transport improvement in the study area with analysis highlighting the dominance of the primary industries in the area. These industries are relatively transport intensive, with a heavy reliance on the movement of goods, Peterhead Port and Fraserburgh Harbour are key attractors and generators of freight.” [Fraserburgh & Peterhead to Aberdeen Strategic Transport Study, Peter Brett, SIAS, 2016]
“Sufficient provision of Rail Freight terminals is critical to achieving a significant shift of Freight from Road to Rail. This will improve competition in Scotland’s Supply Chain, and help support the transition to a Net-Zero economy.” [Transport Scotland, Strategic Transport Projects Review 2, 2022]