Ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections in Scotland, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is lobbying for more investment in roads but a shift towards the rail network.
The FTA has published its manifesto and key actions include what the association describes as improving the ‘key transport infrastructure’, notably the Forth Road Crossing.
The FTA also wants more development on road-trade routes including the M8/M80/M74, the A9, A96 and the A1 to English border and the A82.
However, conversely, the organization also wants to shift investment of away from road to the East Coast Main Line Scottish Central belt gauge.
FTA Head of Policy for Scotland Chris MacRae said: “Scottish society relies on logistics – 425,000 tonnes of goods have to be moved by lorry every day in Scotland – to keep the shelves in our shops stocked, the restaurants full of food and medicines in our hospitals.
“And as this is just lorries, even more is needed each day by van, rail, sea and air. Logistics is vitally important to everything a future Scottish Government might want to achieve.”
The FTA also wants to work with road users including freight operators to continue to cut fatal and serious accidents on the roads.
“By working with the logistics industry, the next Scottish Government can continue to reduce accidents, improveresilience, reduce emissions and help the Scottish economy grow while keeping the cost of living down,” added Mr McRae. Read FTA’s Manifesto for Scotland here.
