WHATEVER the outcome of the current battle to prevent the immediate
withdrawal of the sleeper service to Fort William, if the future of the
West Highland railway line itself is to be secured it must be properly
marketed and promoted now to attract users, particularly tourists.
It offers one of the greatest railway journeys in the world and
provides a magnificent opportunity for visitors to Scotland to see some
of the splendour of the West Highlands.
Regrettably, neither ScotRail nor the tourist boards seem prepared to
promote it in the way it deserves, and since its centenary last year the
situation appears to have markedly deteriorated.
In recent years ScotRail has produced an attractive guide and
timetable for the line with a colour picture on the front. The new
timetable for this summer is of the standard ScotRail format; gone are
the colour illustrations and even the name ''West Highland'' on the
front cover.
Not only is the size of the guide reduced, but so is the number of
services with the withdrawal of the Explorer trains. The availability of
reasonably priced, flexible West Highland Rover tickets (which ScotRail
confirms are still available) does not even get a mention.
The tourist boards appear to give virtually no publicity to this line
despite its potential for boosting Scotland's tourist industry. A
strategic plan has recently been produced for Scottish tourism, but the
attention given to transport, and to railways in particular, is pitiful.
In the draft for this plan, circulated as a consultative document in
July 1994, worries were expressed about the future of the railway
network but it was stated: ''The Government, however, has given a
commitment that its plans for railway restructuring will have no adverse
impact of the railway network.''
This statement was dropped from the final version of the plan. An
inquiry to the Scottish Tourist Board as to why it had been omitted
produced a response from the director of planning and development which
stated: ''I am very intrigued at the difference you point out . . . Many
drafting changes were made in the evolution of the final version and I
cannot now remember how the final version of the section on transport
emerged. Certainly I cannot remember any major policy changes being
discussed . . . ''
Instead of defending and promoting railway lines such as the West
Highland and holding the Government to whatever commitment it gave, is
the tourist board colluding with ScotRail in allowing such rail services
to wither away?
Chris and John Harvey,
Tarbet House,
Tarbet,
by Arrochar.
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