It has emerged a preferred option for Perth Station has now been reached and would involve a “radical reconfiguration”.
At a committee meeting councillors were told there had been “significant progress” over the last couple of months.
Plans for a brand new bus and railway interchange have been much vaunted for years with £50 million of Tay Cities Deal funding allocated to improve both Perth stations which sit diagonally opposite one another on Leonard Street.
While towns and cities the length and breadth of the country have seen their bus and train stations upgraded in recent years, Perth’s city centre bus and railway stations have remained largely unchanged. But all that looks set to finally change.
‘Significant progress in the last couple of months’
A report put before Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) environmental, infrastructure and economic development committee said: “It should be noted that Network Rail is planning to redevelop Perth Railway Station with an emerging station masterplan, potentially integrating the railway station with the neighbouring bus station.”
Conservative councillor Angus Forbes asked for an update on progress with the station masterplan saying he was unaware of there being much in his time as a councillor.
The Carse of Gowrie councillor said: “I’ve been here for almost six years and it seems we’ve been talking about that for all of those six years. I just wondered if there had any progress on that.”
PKC’s head of planning and development David Littlejohn – who sits on the project board for Perth Station – revealed there had been “significant progress in the last couple of months”.
He explained: “A number of options have been considered by the project board and Network Rail, Transport Scotland, Scotrail, Historic Environment Scotland, a range of other stakeholders.
“We’ve now reached a preferred option for the station. That preferred option will shortly be consulted on.
“It’s essentially a radical reconfiguration of the station – both to address the requirements of electrification and hybrid trains travelling north but also to reduce the footprint in the sense of reducing the amount of steps people have to take to access the various platforms.
“I think it’s positive news but I can’t say too much more until that public consultation is launched in the next few weeks by Network Rail and Transport Scotland.”
Cllr Forbes said: “That really is good news. I’m delighted to hear that.”
Councillor to do ‘all I can to push forward on it’
Mr Littlejohn told councillors it was a 20-year investment programme.
He added: “Following the consultation and agreement that this is the option that is being progressed, a business case needs to be made to Transport Scotland to fund it.
“So the intent is clear now, the direction of travel – subject to consultation – will be much clearer.
“I think the full cost of implementing this is a matter for government to consider but some of it has to happen in the shorter term, not least the physical structures at Perth Station need significant investment or radical change.
“I think some elements of the programme will happen much more quickly within the next three years and I think other elements of it are pushed down into 10, 15, 20 years.”
Depute Provost Andrew Parrott – who is an SNP elected member for Perth City Centre – said he was “very keen” on the project and assured the committee: “I will be doing all I can to push forward on it.”
Conversation