A day trip to Inverness by train reinforced for Agenda the urgency of the on-train wifi upgrade that Scotrail’s new franchise holders Abellio revealed last month. Not that we understimate the challenge. With the possible exception of Alpine countries, there can’t be many other European nations that have so many natural impediments to supplying fast-moving tubes of steel with reliable connections, and the Dutch company - unused to such challenges on their home turf for obvious reasons - sound committed to sorting it out. Currently only 46% of Scotrail trains have any wifi at all, and what there is can not be taken for granted when the train passes through open country, mountains or cuttings. As revealed in the Herald last month, Abellio is currently in the process of selecting technology partners, with a view to “request for proposal” process, selecting a partner equipment manufacturer, a process due to complete “in the next few weeks”. Meanwhile the new Hitachi trains that will be moving out in the next couple of years come pre-installed with wifi, so relief and increased productivity may be at hand if these are used on the longer inter-city routes to the north.
Audit Scotland are looking into the actions of SNP would-be candidate Jennifer Dempsie lobbying on behalf T in the Park, but Agenda consulted a planning expert, given that Scotland’s planning process is a universe where natural justice and common sense do not necessarily apply. Has this highly profitable commercial operation attempted to short-circuit this process? We asked our (politically uninterested) expert. Not really. “She’s just doing her job as a lobbyist” was his worldly-wise view. Whether that means we should approve of such lobbying is another question.
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