OVER 90% OF PEOPLE WILL USE THE AIRDRIE-BATHGATE RAIL LINK
Tuesday March 25, 2008
Over 90% of people will use the Airdrie – Bathgate Rail Link; this is just one of the findings from surveys carried out by Network Rail between November 2007 and February 2008.
Visitors to the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link website, as well as those who attended their local community forum, were asked a number of questions about the project and how well it is communicated.
Throughout the development of the £300 million project, Network Rail has engaged with local communities to ensure people learn about the rail link and have the opportunity to put questions to the project team. It is also the way the team gains valuable feedback from people living along the line.
Of the people who attended the November community forums*, 91% of said they would use the rail link:
 79% for leisure purposes
 44% for visiting friends and family
 21% to travel to work or education
Of the 88 online respondents:
 92% thought that it will give more options to travel
 64% agreed that the rail link will be environmentally friendly
 53% said it would be easier to access work or education
 53% believe it will enable them to visit friends and family
Ben Hall, Head of Communications in Scotland for Network Rail said: “More than 150 people, from both the heart of the community and from wider stakeholder groups, completed the surveys – a very worthwhile way of sharing their views.
“Of course we are delighted that many people rated our community forums and newsletters as ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ (44%), but we are keen to continually improve the way we communicate and the information we have gathered from these surveys will help us to do that.”
The Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link project is funded by Transport Scotland and will be open to the public in December 2010.
To see the full survey results report, please click here.
*From a sample of 75