Highland Explorer Class 153 Train

Transport Connectivity

We call on the next Scottish Government to:

- Speed up the timetable for full dualling of the A9 from Inverness to Perth and fully commit the required funding for full dualling within the first year of the next parliament.
- Within the first year of the next parliament publish a timetable for completion of the full dualling of the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen that includes its commencement by 2029 and its completion by 2040 at the latest and commits the required funding.
- Publish a timetable for investment in the train line between Inverness and Glasgow and Edinburgh to achieve a sub-3-hour journey time, an increased journey frequency, and better work facilities on every train – tables, Wi-Fi and power sockets.
- Invest in local transport within the Highland area so that employees can move easily – whether that’s by bus, rail or road.

What is the issue that needs to be solved?

Business needs connectivity. The road journey from Inverness to Edinburgh and Glasgow takes longer than it should and the journey time is unreliable, so businesses build in extra non-productive time for each journey. The road has an unacceptably high number of accidents which concerns business leaders who want to look after their staff. These issues are improved greatly by full dualling of the road.

The A96 is single carriageway for almost the entire journey from Inverness to Aberdeen. An expected journey time of over 2 hours 30 minutes for 100 miles between two of Scotland’s major cities is not acceptable and neither is the amount of heavy traffic passing through town centres along the route. As the Central Highlands plays an increasing part in the energy transition much of its supply chain will be in Aberdeen so the volume and scale of traffic on this road is set to increase over the next decade. We need to start dualling the road now.

The trains to the central belt are not fast enough or frequent enough and our businesses are tired of seeing improvements to the already good Edinburgh to Glasgow train service and the national investment in Edinburgh trams, when our equivalent services are worse than they were 30 years ago.

How do we know this is an issue?

In 2016 The Scottish Government’s agency Transport Scotland published a business case that proved the economic benefits of a fully dualled A9 from Inverness to Perth.

The Scottish Government already favours a fully dualled A96.

Inverness to Edinburgh train – 156 miles in 200 minutes is almost double the time per mile of an Edinburgh to London train.

Business View:

In our 2025 survey 93% of all businesses viewed accelerating the timetable for dualling the A9 as very or somewhat important with a figure of 91% for the A96.

65% of businesses found current rail services to be poor or fair.

But business concerns about transport go way beyond the economic impact.

As I get older, and the gulf increases in age between myself and younger members of the team, I find myself increasingly worrying for their wellbeing while driving on the A9
Highland small business owner

What happens if the Scottish Government does not address the issue?

Highland based businesses will not reach their full economic potential because of lost travel time and some inward investment (particularly for energy businesses) will be lost because of the uncertainty of getting staff and materials to the area.

Our Manifesto Priorities

Click each box to read more:

Skills & Workforce

Unlock workforce growth and address skills shortages to support the estimated 15,000 additional jobs required across the Central Highlands.

Housing & Planning

Increase housing supply and reform planning to support population growth and economic expansion.