Project would revolutionise Scottish transport
A £25bn scheme to make Edinburgh Airport the centre of a new road, rail and air hub in Scotland has been proposed.
The project, put forward by think tank Reform Scotland, says the hub should be called Grand Central.
It would include high speed rail links from the airport to all major Scottish cities with journey times to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Sterling cut by 20 minutes.
Those to Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness would also be "radically reduced."
The new hub would also be coupled to "major road improvement to Scotland's trunk road system."
The report, Power to Connect, said the upgrades would give Scotland "one of the best transport networks in the world at a cost roughly equivalent to staging two London Olympics.
Ben Thomson, chair of Reform Scotland, said: "What we are proposing is an integrated transport system for the next generation.
‘Of course the costs are high and look particularly daunting at this point in the economic cycle.
"However, the overall plan can be broken down into separate projects with the creation of the high speed link between the hub, Edinburgh and Glasgow being only some £3bn.
"By the time we start construction, the economy should hopefully be more buoyant, so now is a good time to be looking at such a plan."
He added: "A proper long term integrated transport strategy is vital if Scotland's economy is going to compete with the best in the world.
"At present, transport strategy is about prioritising a series of local projects, the result of which will give Scotland a disjointed system in future."
www.reformscotland.com