 The final item of business today is members' business debate on motion number 1567, in the name of Christine Grahame, and the motion is adopt a station. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I ask those who wish to speak in the debate to press the request-to-speak buttons now, please. I call on Christine Grahame to open the debate around seven minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. First of all, I thank all members who have signed the motion, allowing me to have this debate and those who are saying to take part. You may be aware that, after nearly 50 years, the border railway travelling through my constituency reopened last year, incidentally on my birthday, 9 September, as the minister knows, and what a present having been cut down by the Beaching Acts in 1969. Indeed, in 1999, when I entered Parliament, I set up the cross-party group for the Borders railway, and then sat in the Public Petitions Committee, where, with its 17,000 signatures from borders in Midlothian, it began the track building to reinstate the line. Indeed, another part of history in 2000, the Scottish Parliament voted unanimously to do so. I am now somewhat maternal and protective and possessive of that line, and I travel on it regularly to my office in Gallifields. I never ever take it for granted, though I noticed that young people who travel on it do, and why not? Even the lambs, which used to run from the passing train a generation on, simply keep munching the grass, unperturbed. Building the line meant that the surrounding embankments were at first harsh and devoid of vegetation. The stations, too, were pristine and modern, but lacking in character. That has all changed over the year, and it is thanks to the individuals and communities who have adopted their local station. Before the line reopened, I never heard of the adopt a station programme under the auspices of ScotRail—and, by the way, this is good press for ScotRail, much in need of it—under the programme, you are given guidance and a small amount of funding to make your station attractive, like a well-tended front garden to your community. There are modest rewards to those who keep the station in this way, such as two annual tickets on any ScotRail journey, but I know that is not why people take it on. No, it is an old-fashioned sense of pride in your community, and this is a line that was rebuilt because communities fought for it. I want to thank, as I have before, Gillian Rankin and Kerry Leigh Godfrey of Newton Grage Mining Museum, Anne Maire and Brian Patterson at Gore Bridge, Jack Mackenzie at Stow of Make Stow Beautiful, Judith Clegghorn of the Community Council and Ronnie Murray of Galla in Bloom at Galla Fields, Sylvia Grundy, Alan Thompson and Malcolm Lewing of Melrose Rotary for all their efforts in my constituency. I would also like to thank Elaine Henderson and Beth Thomson of S Valley Rotary and Albert Jester and Jim Orr of Dalkeith Rotary for S Bank. I know that Colin Beattie wanted to be in this debate and was unable to do this today due to a prior constituency commitment. I am a bit of a planter of policewomen. As I journey down from Parliament to Galla, I always have a shifty at the planters to see how they are getting on. In the summer, I watched as they blossomed and now that the geraniums and summer bedding are passing, I see them being refilled with autumn flowers. I know too because I keep up with these things that beneath those, the bulbs are ready for spring. It makes such a difference to regular commuters and tourists alike and speaks volumes for the communities that they serve. I know that some stations even have a plaque telling travellers who to thank for the displays and following this debate, I am going to ensure that every station on the line has one. Perhaps that is something that ScotRail can help with. I wonder if the member has any libraries in any of her stations because one of mine in Shetleston has a library run by the staff and that can also be attractive to commuters. Christine Grahame, you should know that you wait to be called. I know that there are vacant buildings and there are plans to make them into cafeterias and also the history for the station. I am now in mind that we can use them as libraries. Do I get my time back? Anyway, I want to thank ScotRail for getting a bit of a kicking for helping communities with her adopt programme and, in particular, Linda Leigh Paquilpatrick and John Yellowlees. Although I know that Keep Scotland Beautiful runs with ScotRail an award scheme, I am having my own wee competition, along with my colleague Colin Beattie, with his part of the line for the best Christmas display. It will, of course, be a prize towards more plants. I will end with a quote from Phil Verster to the adoptist station folk of the Borders Railway when they were all here recently. We are delighted at the range and variety of floral displays that are already helping to give the station's individual characters. Gala Shields, with external sponsors that are secured by Youth Clecorn, received red, white and blue roses and flowers in time for the Queen's 90th birthday. Stow is a riot of brilliant begonias, while Gorebridge has a fine collection of planters and ffence-mounted baskets. The Mining Museum has assembled a team to enhance the displays at Newton Grange, and we have three rotary clubs showing service to the community by the adoption of Tweedbank, Sbank and Shoffair stations. Taken together with new Craig Holland Brunstone, which had already been lovingly adopted by another rotary and a couple who live nearby. What we have is a journey where the charm of the passing countryside is enhanced by the welcoming smile that greets the traveller at every stop along the way. Close quotes. Who thought Phil Verster could speak so eloquently about stations? Yes, ScotRail has a lot to thank the adoptist station folk for, and how appropriate a railway line, which started life as a people's petition to this Parliament in 1999 should again have its stations floral displays in the hands of the people. It is their stations, it is their railway, and by gum it has been a great success. I now go to the open speeches. Around four minutes please, Alexander Burnett, to be followed by Stuart McMillan. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would also like to thank Christine Graham for bringing this debate to the chamber and highlighting the importance of promoting examples of commercial and community collaboration. I am also very glad to declare that I have a registered interest in the first-ever company to participate in the adoptist station scheme back in 2008. I was travelling north by sleeper and reading the in-house magazine saw an article looking for sponsors of the scheme. I followed this up and shortly afterwards D-side timber frame, based in Stonehaven, made Stonehaven station the first station to be adopted by a commercial company. We installed brightly-coloured planters, tubs and fence boxes on the platform, which were planted and are now maintained through funding the Stonehaven horizon team. They, under the leadership of Alan Kendrath, horizoned an enormous amount of work during the summer months, watering and tending to the plants, and during the winter planting bulbs for the spring. The excellent work of volunteers at horizon started in 2004 to foster civic pride in the town, and they do everything from pricking up litter to working with the Stonehaven town partnership and Aberdeenshire Council. They have even managed to create their own adopt a street campaign in which residents take on responsibility for looking after their own road or immediate area, a campaign that has seen much success. Their more recent plans include planting 60 rowan trees in the area, and I wish them all the very best with this endeavour. Now, without the hard work of these volunteers, schemes like this would simply not be possible, and it is to them that we owe the greatest thanks. I have been told that plantations have made a great impact and the floral colours are creating a real welcome for all visitors and those just passing through on the train in Stonehaven. The scheme has enabled us as a company to build better relations, not just with ScotRail, but with a wider community. As local community companies invest in local infrastructure, they have a vested interest in making our communities better, and it is a social solidarity that we can all be proud of. It is a great opportunity for local organisations to put something back into the community, an idea that would find a home in our former Prime Minister's big society, a sentence that I am sure the SNP benches will have no problem in endorsing. It is great to see ScotRail developing their concept of community partnership too, and they are now actively encouraging communities to use the stations as anything from meeting rooms, shops, artwork displays and, as we have just heard, libraries. Whether it be litter picking, planting or artwork, it is important that we all participate in the communities that we live in. As the former Prime Minister once said, there is one word at the heart of all this, and that is responsibility. I call on Stuart McMillan to be followed by Neil Bibby. Thank you very much. At the outset, I congratulate Christine Grahame for securing the member's debate, and I am delighted that the adoptive station scheme is thriving in Ms Grahame's constituency. I also want to refer members to my register of interests, which will become apparent shortly. Adoptive station provides the opportunity for local community groups to become involved with their local station, and the station adoption brings significant benefits both to local communities and to the rail industry. Communities get a much-improved gateway to their town or village, often with enhanced facilities, and the station becomes a part of that community, something in which local people can take pride in again. Railway companies have seen a rise in the use of stations, a reduction in vandalism and, in many cases, externally funded improvements. Station adoption is a way of transforming stations, bringing them into the heart of the community once again, and also encouraging greater use of environmentally friendly public transport. More and more community groups and individuals have adopted the local station. It is all about local pride and seeing the station as an important part of that community. I would like to touch on two great works of two groups in my constituency. First of all, it is the Greenock and District model railway club and its adoption of the Fort Matilda station and the Friends of Weems Bay station, and its work in that particular station. The Fort Matilda station is situated on the edge of the west end of Greenock just before Gwyrwch. In September 2010, it was taken over by the Greenock and District model railway club, which obtained necessary approvals and funding from the railway heritage trust and the station's community regeneration fund for conservation work and improvements to make the building into a clubhouse. The club has done a tremendous job in turning what really was a shell of a building back into something that is now once again an asset to the community. The tie-in between the model railway club and the national railway is obvious, but the station is also now a community hub. Other organisations also use that facility. Last weekend, the club held an annual 2D exhibition in the Lyle Kirk in Greenock, and, once again, it appears to have been a huge success. The second example is that of the Friends of Weems Bay station. The Friends of Weems Bay station formed in 2009 at part of Scotdale's adopt the station campaign. The 300 strong Friends group are a group of local people who are increasingly concerned about the neglected state of the station and anxious to ensure its continued survival. Their initial aim was to be concerned with the restoring of the furrow displays from which the station had become famous. Later, they were given the use of empty accommodation, which they have restored and now takes the form of a second-hand bookshop and exhibition area, as a means of raising funds and also making contact with local people and travelling public, whose appreciation for the efforts is very much welcome. I have seen the bookshop from its first iteration to its present state and certainly what an excellent job has been done. As a result of its efforts, the Friends of Weems Bay station won the best station adoption group award at the annual commuter rail awards in 2009, and the Friends group is now planning ways to transform the remaining empty rooms around the station, with visions of recreating a mini shopping mall in the space. That follows on from a £6 million upgrade to the pier, which was completed in March this year and also a £4 million renovation by a network rail of the station. I know from visiting the station on a number of occasions and also meeting with the Friends that they have taken a huge amount of pride in renovating the station and also creating a pleasant environment for commuters and tourists. The thanks to groups like the Friends of Weems Bay railway station and also the Weems Bay railway station can once again hold pride of place in the landscape they remember Clyde, but also thanks to the Friends of the modern railway club for what they have done at Fort Matilda. The adoptive station scheme is an excellent initiative, and whether it is in the borders or whether it is in Greenock and Inverclyde, it helps to bring life back to stations and also helps to turn them back into commuter facilities once again. Well done, everyone involved. Neil Bibby, to be followed by Stewart Stevenson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I join members in congratulating Christine Grahame for bringing forward this debate. There has rightly been a great deal of focus on trains and the need to improve punctuality and reliability in recent weeks, and I am sure that the Connectivity Committee will have a number of questions on those issues for the Transport Minister tomorrow. However, today is a welcome opportunity to highlight some of the positive work that is being done in communities to support our local train stations, because our stations and how they look are important. They are often the first thing that people see when they arrive in a town and they give visitors a first impression of a community. As has been said, ScotRail has 354 stations across Scotland and 214 of which are on staff, so the work that volunteers do is essential to so many stations. The adopted station programme has seen volunteers in community organisations play a leading role in projects to improve stations that simply would not have happened without them. As members have already highlighted, the programme has gone from strength to strength since it was launched back in 2005, the fact that more than 260 ScotRail stations across the country and now part of the programme is testament to how keen communities are to engage with their local train stations. We should of course congratulate the individuals and groups who have participated and who continue to participate in the adopt station programme. We have heard a number of examples of the programme's success across Scotland, and I join Christine Grahame and Payne Tribute to communities in the borders on their work to improve the appearance of their local stations. I also want to highlight some successful examples of the programme on my own. In the West Scotland region, as Stuart McMillan said, there are a number of positive examples in Inverclyde. The Inverclyde Association for Mental Health has been described to me as a star turn among station gardeners. It is an independent charity that provides a network of support and opportunities to people with mental health issues to enable them to maximise their potential within the community. In 1993, Inverclyde Association for Mental Health established a social enterprise, providing training, voluntary and work-related opportunities in landscaping, ground maintenance and horticulture to people who have experienced mental health issues. Inwork Limited became involved in the adopt station programme back in 2010, and it now looks after four of the space and impressive 22 separate stations. Those include Greenlake Central, Port Glasgow, Gwrwch, Paisley, Gilmour Street and Clydebank. Alan Maliska, in Work Limited, said that our trainees value the programme greatly and get the great job satisfaction from growing the plants, from seeds improving their knowledge and skillset. Trainees enjoy looking at the final product and taking pride in the compliments that they have received from members of the public showing appreciation for brightening up platform areas, so the value of the project to both passengers and the volunteers themselves is clear. As Stuart McMillan also said, the Friends of Weems Bay station group, formed in 2005 by local people, has also been an excellent example of local groups taking an interest in their stations. As Stuart McMillan also said, they were recognised as Britain's best station adopter back in 2010 in recognition of the work with the empty accommodation at the station, which they used to create a bookshop and gallery. I know that their work has been recognised previously in this Parliament, and there may even be one or two members in the chamber who remember signing a motion congratulating them on their success. There are many other examples, and unfortunately there is not time this evening to list them all. Presiding Officer, it is clear that there has been some excellent work done through the Adopt a Station programme. I hope that stations and communities will continue to benefit from this particular programme for years to come. Stuart Stevenson, followed by Rachael Hamilton. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I thank Christine Grahame for the opportunity to discuss one of my favourite topics, which is railway. I was a former transport minister. I am president of the Scottish Association for Public Transport, an organisation founded because of the closure of the border rail, and I am honorary vice president of the rail future UK. The only thing that I lack in my railway credentials is any railway in my constituency, but I note that my ScotRail salt-r-card, which I have here, does not expire until 2031, so there is still time to remedy that if I may gently nudge the minister and the matter of railways into my constituency at some future date, in the currency of my card, if I may. I, like others, join in congratulating many volunteers and to ScotRail for opening their stations to such a programme. Their efforts jointly and the Adopt a Station programme enhance our railways, cheer up the travellers and create a talking point as we stand on platforms. The border railway that I travelled on the first Sunday after it opened, I think, all the way down to Tweedbank, and I had a delightful lunch there and came back. I have not yet got off at any of the other stations, and I am sure, as Christine has told us, that the stations are improving and being enhanced. It is a spectacular railway line, the longest new piece of railway line in over a century. It uses levels, as is almost invariably the case with any new openings, substantially ahead of what the model said. When the model says that taking a line from Dice up to Ellen might not be that great, we should remember that the model has been lined to us pretty regularly on a whole series of things. We have now had a million people in the borders that we could do something similar in the North-East. Of course, the economic benefits are very substantial, and, interestingly, the end-to-end journeys appear to be a much bigger proportion of what is being used for them was anticipated. It is interesting to hear Christine talk about the need to get a plaque in every station, become transport minister and it becomes easy. I have got plaques on the west platform at Queen Street. I am going to check after the recent refurbishment that is still there—Lordanskirk, Elgin, Markinsch, Allawa—but I cannot quite be certain at Bathgate. However, stations are a place of happy memories for me. The porter at Cooper railway station where I lived was Stanislaw Skroddskie, who had been a captain in the Polish cavalry and stayed after the war in Cooper. His great skill was that he had a welding kit and, given the rather imperfect old cars that I and my friends had, we used to rely on him and we went to the station to get that done. My earliest railways journey, I remember, was from Benderloch to Obann when I was taken to hospital because I got sunstroke in 1956. It was a very warm year and railways were very important in my life. They were also very important in the matter of climate change. In 2015, 72 per cent of our transport emissions were from road transport, while 1.3 per cent of transport emissions were from rail. Rural communities in particular, such as are supported by the Borders rail, have a particular value that they get from railways, because they are further away from places that they wish to travel to, and the railways dramatically opens up their areas. I am sure that there is much more potential yet to be opened up from the Borders railway. Let me just conclude by saying that there are not just libraries, and there are other libraries. One or two of the stops on the line down to Kaila Fcholacharsh, many of the stops are request stops, have little libraries. One of them has a games room, where, in the period between trains—there are not a lot of them if you miss one—you are going to be there for several hours. You can play dice, you can play poker, you can do many different things in the games room of some of the little stations. Stations are loved throughout Scotland. I love the Borders rail, but I will love a railway line back into Bucking even more. The last of the open speeches is Rachel Hamilton. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I think that Stuart Stevenson is the first person in Scotland to actually get some stroke. Initiatives such as adopt a station highlight the value that communities place on local train services. It exhibits the feeling amongst us that trains play an important part of our community and promote a feeling of pride within us. I have lived and worked in the Borders for many years and was delighted as everyone here in the chamber to see the reintroduction of the Borders railway. Fifty years since Beeching's report on British railways, which led to hundreds of stations and 650 miles of railway line being closed in Scotland, the closure left the Scottish Borders as the only region in Britain without a train service. The Scottish Borders has been reawakened by the reopening of the Waverly line. Public and private sector employees are able to recruit and attract job posts that would otherwise be unfulfilled. Opportunities for school leavers have broadened and the border attractions have seen an upturn, namely Abbotsford, who have seen an increased visitor numbers of 12 per cent. Deputy Presiding Officer, I remember the day that it was reopened with fondness. Although the weather a little damp, it was not enough to dampen the spirits and deter the Queen from cutting the ribbon. Indeed, the Queen coming to the Borders to reopen the station shows the importance, value and significance we all place on the Borders railway. Of course, we must thank everyone involved in seeing the reintroduction of the railway. The effort involved was incredible, and for the first time since 1969, 30 miles of extra track were renewed and refreshed at a cost of £294 million. I would say that every penny of the Scottish Borders railway is worth it. It has been, for most part, a success. I want visitors to experience the same delightful journey through the Borders as I do. The train follows the winding gallow water past the imposing St Mary of Weedale Cork in Stow, where my parents-in-law were married, and the patchwork fields following the seasonal farming calendar and the pretty stations along the line. Celebrating its first birthday, along with Christine Graham's birthday, ScotRail were delighted to announce the new railways 21,000 train services have carried one million passengers exceeding all expectations. However, the Borders railway has seen some difficulties and performance has been a problem. There have been reassurances from ScotRail that the service will be improved and I welcome that commitment. We all want to see a reliable Borders railway departing and arriving on time. We want to see it to be the best that it can. I hope that the issues that passengers have encountered will become a thing of the past. During this motion— Christine Graham. Will the member agree with me that, in recent months, my experience on my inbox is that, in fact, there has been an improvement in the reliability of the service? It was a bit bumpy at the beginning, but it is not now. I agree with Christine Graham that the figures that I am talking about are between 1 January and the end of August. I hope that we can make improvements continuing on. During this motion, please allow me to jump on the success of the Borders railway to make her plea with our transport minister to reintroduce East Linton and Reston stations, which have huge public support. Those two stations will provide a valuable commuter link, ease overcrowding and, more importantly, bring people to the south of Scotland. Scottish Borders Council and East Lothian Council are committed to the reintroduction of these stations, and the Scottish Government has agreed to meet 50 per cent of the project. However, due to the size of the investment, we need to find further funding. In conclusion, it is great that schools, local businesses, charities, clubs and individuals work together to help to make commuters and visitor journeys a welcoming experience. I thank Christine Graham for bringing the motion to the chamber. I congratulate everyone who is involved in the voluntary work. I now call on Hamza Yousaf to close the debate. I am grateful to Christine Graham for bringing this motion to the chamber. The opportunity to acknowledge the success of the reopening of Borders railway, not to take away from some of the performance issues that Richard Hamilton spoke about just a second ago. Overall, I think that those involved in Borders railway, those who use the railway, would say that it has been a great success. A story of regeneration, a story of passion from those who are committed to fighting that campaign over the years and a real belief in the success of our railways across the country. I thank all those who have been involved in the campaign and, of course, opened and reopened on Christine Graham's birthday. I do not understand how she has been campaigning for five decades for the Borders railway to be reopened when she is only 29, of course. Nonetheless, I think that she would be the first to say that it is really credit to the grassroots campaigners in her constituency who, I think, have over the years been told that this would never happen and that it must have been an incredible moment last year when it did. Will the minister take an intervention? Of course. I certainly would not wish to take the credit. I mean, it was just lucky that we had the Parliament here to give them that voice, as it were, but certainly it was campaign for Borders rail and the 17,000 people who signed that petition who really set it on its tracks. I continue to have that engagement with the campaign for the Borders railway as they continue to suggest improvements. In terms of the Borders railway, of course, we know that it was open to the public. I am pleased to say, on time and on budget, by Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and the First Minister last year. As Stuart Stevenson said, the longest new domestic railway to be constructed in Britain for 100 years. I suspect to go back to Stuart Stevenson's point. It does have a plaque, probably, with Her Majesty's name on it. I do not have any plaques, as he seems to have collected numerous. To be honest, I am pleased that, if I do not have a picture on a dartboard somewhere in somebody's office or station, we will see how that progresses over the years. The line has been transformational. As we said, it opened up communities as new places to live, but attract businesses, as Rachael Hamilton said, as well to learn to play and to grow. Direct transport links are absolutely key to growing Scotland's tourism industry and border railways, playing its part in transforming the tourism economy, supporting growth in the Scottish Borders and, of course, Midlothian and, indeed, Edinburgh. I think that the effects of that go even wider than that. I would like, as the motion does, to also congratulate communities in Gorebridge, Newton-Grain, Stow, Gallashields, Tweedbank, Sbank and Shoffair, who, through their efforts, demonstrated a genuine pride in their new station by keeping them looking beautiful for both locals and visitors alike. Christine Grahame took a note of the quote that she used. That old-fashioned sense of community is what she said. I think that that is very much in display by those volunteers. I met some of the volunteers as they came through for lunch a couple of weeks ago. Not all of an age group that you might have assumed—not to be too unkind—would take part in the people of all age groups showing a real interest in volunteering for making sure that those stations remain beautiful, not just those who are retired, but people who may well have work to do, but see that it is vital to attracting people to their communities. I think that that is very welcome. I suggest that you tread carefully, because people who retire also have work to do. I might not have got into that, but I suspect that I better backpedal quickly. However, it is indeed a point that is well made. In terms of railway stations, they have a long tradition of having gardens created by station staff to greet the passing traveller. It is good to see that being kept alive by the work of the volunteers in the borders, but some of the examples that have been mentioned, particularly by Stuart McMillan and I, in his constituency, show that this is a scheme that is working right across Scotland. In terms of ScotRail, the franchise that people know operates over 2,270 train services each day, delivering more passenger journeys than ever per year. It is the single biggest contract that is let by Scottish ministers, worth over a total value of £7 billion over 10 years. I think that almost every member who has touched on performance is not at the level that I would like to see it at. As Neil Bibby suggests, I suspect that I will be receiving some questions about that tomorrow, but that is not to say that everything is bad in our railways at all. In fact, this community programme, the adopt the station scheme community social initiatives that have been taken forward by ScotRail show that there is a lot of good work happening across the country. Stations are among the first things that people see when they arrive in a town and often can help to shape their first impressions of the town, of the village, of the city that they are just about to arrive into. Any improvements that can be made should be welcomed. More than 70 per cent of ScotRail stations have been adopted across the country, with volunteers doing gardening, utilising surplus accommodation for purposes, ranging from art studios, herish centres to, as Stuart Stevenson said, games rooms and club rooms. Over 110 stations in Scotland also benefit from floral displays maintained by volunteers. In terms of helping to support the Government's initiatives, it goes much beyond just the aesthetic and the cosmetic planning officer. It also helps the Government to achieve some of its wider society, to help to achieve tackling inequalities, for example, in health. You will be aware that the Association of Community Rail Partnership was mentioned. The body for almost 50 community rail partnerships is representing over 80 community rail lines across the UK. I was delighted with the recent ACORP community rail awards in September. The NHS Lanarkshire occupational therapy and mental health team were awarded their first place in the outstanding teamwork category. The staff and volunteers worked in partnership with the NHS Lanarkshire mental health and forensic occupational therapy staff and clients through the adoptive station project. On two dates, five stations in Lanarkshire have been adopted by the NHS in the CCI partnership, Hamilton West, Sunnyside, Wishaw, Whiffet and Cotebridge Central. We have volunteers involved in planting, maintenance, drawing plans, woodwork, craft activities and, again, helping to address mental health issues. There is a health benefit as well as, as I said, the cosmetic and the aesthetic to that. I just want to congratulate, in conclusion, again Christine Grahame, but perhaps more importantly, she won't mind me saying, congratulate the volunteers who have helped to make the adoptive station project and scheme such a great success in the Borders, but also across Scotland. This meeting is now closed.