 The next item of business today is a member's business debate on motion 1, 1, 5, 5, 0, in the name of Jim Hulme, on one step closer to trains at Reston than East Llington. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put and I will be grateful for those members who wish to speak. I could press a request to speak buttons now. I will call on Jim Hulme to open the debate to seven minutes, please, Mr Hulme. I thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am delighted to be hosting this afternoon's y cyfríc yn amlwgaeth i'r rfyrdaneth mawr yn ddaf yn y gyfosiblau cyfrifesu eThanks to Destin adventures i niedegol i cheesecake i Destin and East Linton. The campaign to get rail services to Robertson in East Linton has, over the years, quite rightly received wide-spread support from residents and community councils. It's attracted cross-party support from MSPs also, and it has been supported across boundaries by East L Boh ridei clubs, Scottish bsi boarders councils. More recently, Scottish Borders Council increased its financial commitment to the project to £1.28 million. Such is the social and economic case for the reinstatement of rail services at Reston. Deputy Presiding Officer, the tenacity of the rail action group east of Scotland members, or RAGES as we all know them, is immense and is without any shadow of a doubt that their sheer hard work, determination and savvy campaigning has kept this issue in the spotlight across changing Holyrood and council administrations since they were set up back in 1999. The RAGES chairman, Tom Thorburn, vice chairman Barry Forrest, secretary Russell Darling and all the committee members have campaigned tirelessly to keep rail services on the agenda. That hard work is paying off. The RAGES team are an exemplar of community campaigning and I am pleased to say that we are in the presence of this campaigning tour to force with some of the RAGES team here in the public gallery today. I hope that this debate lives up to their expectations and I am sure that my MSP colleagues will, of course, join me in welcoming them to the Scottish Parliament. To achieve rail services for communities across coastal Berwickshire and rural East Lothian is historic and I welcomed the news from Keith Brown in his previous post as transport minister that a two-hourly service in the ScotRail franchise has been agreed with trains at Reston and East Linton from December 2016. I hope that the new minister, of course, will be in a position to echo that commitment and I look forward to hearing from him on that. I am pleased that good progress is being made on the joint bid to the Scottish stations fund by Scottish Borders Council, East Lothian Council and Cestrans. Again, I welcomed Keith Brown's earlier positive comments on that bid and I, of course, again hope that the new minister will also look favourably on that submission. In time, it will be important to see an affordable pricing structure for passengers with a timetable that works for commuters and tourists alike. More immediately, a firm timetable and deadline for construction works is an imperative. Again, I look forward to hearing from the minister on that. Of course, I welcome the minister to his new position. I hinted at the length of time that the campaign has been running. In 2002, Tom Thorburn of Rages and Todd Tedd Clement of the Reston and Ock and Crow Community Council took a petition to the Scottish Parliament to reinstate services at Reston and East Linton. I have since been pleased to fully support Rages in their work to get rail services at Reston and East Linton. Certainly, it is clear from feasibility studies that there will be significant socioeconomic benefits. On the other side of the border, work is under way on the Waverly rail link, which will also benefit not just the borders but Midlothian and Edinburgh. As work began recently on laying track, Alex Salmond himself set out his vision of one million passengers using this service annually. The two projects are, of course, very different, but this sentiment does underline the promise of what benefit rail services bring to our communities, both in terms of inward investment and the tourist economy. This, in turn, reflects our wish for what we want to see happen at Reston and East Linton. Personally, I would like to see the Waverly line, of course, extended into Hoik and beyond to join up with Carlisle. I could see no reason why the Scottish Government should not commit to at least a feasibility study in light of the former First Minister's ambitious vision, but that discussion is, of course, for another day. Today is about Reston and East Linton. Deputy Presiding Officer, our rural and coastal areas can often be left behind when it comes to investment. Our coastal towns and villages, traditionally reliant on fishing, have in recent years had to diversify in a changing economy. I am pleased to say that there is still a busy working port, servicing fishing and commercial fleets. Over the years, an increase in tourism activities is bringing visitors into the town and the wider Berwickshire county, with fantastic attractions along the coastline. St Abbs and Codingham, just to name a couple. It is easy to argue the need for trains to rest in the East Linton. Such a move will make the area more attractive to young people and new business. Population alone justifies a real service, and it will help people out of cars and perhaps even help Scotland made its climate change targets also. Reston could serve a population of roughly 10,000 in the eastern part of the borders, and East Linton will be a welcome addition when we know that East Lothian's population is projected to see the biggest increase across Scotland at 33 per cent by 2035. Deputy Presiding Officer, it is not an overestimation to say that today's debate marks a seminal moment for rail travel in south Scotland. As work continues to pace on the Waverly line, in the east we are now tantalisingly within touching distance of train services at Reston and East Linton. I pay tribute again to Rage's members for leading on this important local issue. They are an impressive machine who have been behind this campaign, who year after year have kept up the momentum, and I am sure MSPs from across the chamber will agree with me that it is they who deserve the credit for bringing rail services back to Reston and East Linton. I thank Jim Hume for bringing this debate forward this afternoon. The campaign for additional services in East Lothian borders has been on-going for a while since the first East Lothian rail study in 1999. I also would like to pay credit to the rail action group East Scotland for its role in the campaign. Rage's was formally established at an inaugural meeting in Dunbar on 13 January 1999 and has been campaigning for the reopening of East Linton and Reston stations since then. In 2008, a steering group was established under the auspices of East Lothian Council, bringing together MSPs and councillors from all parties to take forward and co-ordinate those desirable plans. Seth Strand has also been instrumental in moving this project forward. I believe that the cross-party approach has proven to be very successful in getting us to the stage of where we are today. I know that Jim Hume agrees with that. The announcement by Keith Brown last week that the new train stations for East Linton and Reston were a step closer was very welcome. Services written into the next franchise include the two-hourly service between Edinburgh and Berwick with timing for stops at these stations as part of the planned timetable. We will see trains running through both stations, we hope, as soon as December 2016. That, as I say, is a huge step forward towards the realisation of those services and shows a real commitment from the Government. That provides a real investment. New stations elsewhere have been a driver for economic regeneration, bringing jobs investment and social opportunities for communities. The Scottish stations investment fund was launched in April 2012 to provide the £30 million fund to support new railway stations and existing station refurbishments in Scotland. That fund is now awaiting further details from the South East Scotland regional transport partnership and East Lothian Scottish Borders Council for the funding application, which will bring those new stations to reality. Investment in the stations will certainly encourage alternatives to private car use, contributing to the Government's ambitious targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases. As I said, evidence from recent rail openings in Scotland suggests that passenger use often far exceeds the forecasts. One of the recent openings was the line from Edinburgh to Bathgate, which, in 1986, was forecast to carry over a quarter of a million passengers per annum, but by 1989 usage had already exceeded one million per annum. The area has a high proportion, Berwickshire area has a high proportion of residents working in typically lower-paid sectors. In areas such as Amarth, we have deprived settlements in the Scottish Borders, according to the Scottish indices of multiple deprivation. Amarth has also been separately identified as being among the most vulnerable of rural communities in Scotland. In opening up, a residence station will provide new employment opportunities to residents in Berwickshire and subsequent economic benefits. Strong support from local businesses for the introduction of the new rail service in stations. That adds to the very strong support that is provided by local stakeholders, community councils and, of course, elected representatives. I want to close with a quote from the chairman, Tom Thorburn, following last week's announcement. He said, "...this is terrific news for our area and will be of huge benefit, huge benefit to a whole range of people and businesses, namely those wishing to access jobs in Edinburgh. Students being able to commute for their tertiary education at QMU, Edinburgh, et cetera, and the ability to take in the theatre and sporting fixtures and tourist access to our areas from other parts of the country." Let's make sure that those benefits are fully realised. Deputy Presiding Officer, let me begin by adding my congratulations to Jim Hume for obtaining today's debate. Jim and I have worked together on this campaign over the years. I would say, though, it's not the best day for me for him to have got this debate and with your forbearance, I will apologise to colleagues and the minister in particular that I do have to leave a little early for a Smith-related engagement, so I apologise for that. However, I did very much want to take part in this debate because this is an important campaign in East Lothian, and I know in the Borders too. The inclusion of a proper local service between Edinburgh and Berwick, stopping at new or restored stations at Reston in East Linton, is a victory for common sense and a victory for persistence. It is a victory for common sense because, in my constituency, I have one community, Dunbar, which has a work-in railway station, but has no proper local service, and my constituents in Dunbar depend for train services on the east coast main line, which sometimes stops at Dunbar and sometimes doesn't stop at Dunbar depending on the timetable. It is a ridiculous position, but even more ridiculous has been the situation of constituents living in East Linton, where the station was closed many years ago and for whom they daily see trains run through their community, but none of them stop at all and they have no opportunity of using those services. It is simple common sense that these two communities, and this is true of Reston as well, should have a proper local rail service. It is a victory for persistence too, particularly the persistence of the local rail campaign, which Mr Hume paid tribute to as did Mr Brody, the local campaign rages. Mr Hume listed some of the stalwarts of rages. These are some of the politest and most courteous people that one could ever do business with, but their action on them is not rages for no reason. For years, they have raged against the argument that said that it was not possible to reinstate services to those communities. They have raged against arguments that said that there were not enough train movements to let it happen, and they have raged against arguments that significantly underestimated the potential passenger numbers on those services, and they have won every one of those arguments. Persistence too, on the part of East Lothian Council, along with Scottish Borders Council, who in the past have provided the resources, for example, for the original stag assessment, and have now, as others have said, committed significant resources to reopening the stations. Persistence too, on the part of local politicians such as Councillor Norman Hampshire in Dunbar. I am also happy to acknowledge the role played in this by the minister's predecessor, Keith Brown, who did respond very positively to the representations made to him and deserves credit for the inclusion of those services in the franchise. This has been a gradual victory. Some ScotRail services have been provided to Dunbar. We have now the prospect of a two-hourly service. We still have two stations to build to make it happen. My message to the new minister is this. Rages will stay on the case, make no mistake, and they will not rest nor will we until this victory is finally complete and literally on track. I thank Jim Hume for bringing this matter for discussion before Parliament today. The issue of opening railway stations is something that will be increasingly on our agenda over the years, because the case can be made so effectively with each one that opens. I also have to take the opportunity to apologise for being a last-minute substitute in this debate since local member John Lamont has been called away on a constituency matter. As a consequence, he was extremely keen that I take the opportunity to express his support for the reopening of the stations at Reston and East Linton and his continued support as we move forward to achieve the objective once and for all. The fact is that evidence has been mounting for many, many years that a little investment can go a very long way when it comes to improving our rail services. Czech Brody has spoken about the Airdrie Bathgate line, but I have a local experience in the north-east that underlines the success of this kind of action even more so. That was the opening of the Lawrence Kirk station, which is also placed right on the east coast main line some 30 miles south of Aberdeen. The case for that station to be reopened was one that was made consistently over a period of time. Although we thought that the case had been successfully made, no action was taken by Government in the early part of the last decade. However, one of the first actions of the SNP Government when it came to power in 2007, and the Minister of the Day, Alex Neil, took the opportunity to take that project forward and was proud to come along and participate in the opening of the station when it eventually happened. The business case for that station opening had been made, but Lawrence Kirk rewrote the books when it comes to business case. The number of passengers has vastly exceeded that that was originally expected. Lawrence Kirk is now experiencing all the consequent problems of having better transport links, given that there are now huge applications to build additional houses in the area and people want to live there because there is a station and there is a direct rail service to Aberdeen for those who want to work there and to Edinburgh and Glasgow and the central belt for those who want to move south. The fact is that if we provide services, people will use them. The evidence is there all around Scotland and the decision to go ahead with the reopening of these two stations will, I believe, provide more of the essential information that is required to justify many more business cases across Scotland. As the minister takes that forward, let him be well warned that success breeds success and he is going to have to budget for a few more like these. From the outset, I would like to welcome Derek Mackay to his new position, new ministerial role and just to say that I am missing you already from local government. To thank Jim Hume MSP for recognising in this motion a great example of the Scottish Government doing its job. The motion before us today recognises a simple matter where the Scottish Government has worked to directly benefit the people of the eastern borderlands. The creation of a by-early service from Berwick upon Tweed to Edinburgh is an amazing way of directly helping Scottish people, as we have seen or have been sent to this Parliament to do so, sometimes we wonder. By opening the service, a whole host of benefits are created for the eastern borderlands and the commuters who live there. Because of the service, it is realistic for people living in towns near the stations to come into Edinburgh for work and bring the money back into their own communities where it was previously difficult to do so. In addition, the increased traffic makes the areas around the station centres of the region for the businesses to open and people to live in. Particularly for the areas around East Linton and Reston, which have had train stations sitting idly for nearly 50 years, the reactivated rail stations will bring in money and commerce where it has been missing. All of that spells out economic prosperity for the borderlands and the Scottish people who live there. This opportunity for benefit was clearly not missed by the local activists who advocated for this action by the Scottish Government and succeeded. I am not quite sure if the name did have something to do with that. I am sure that I would be afraid of it as well, Rages. Especially when times are still hard for many families, actions such as those that put money directly into the projects that benefit people are what we need to see more of. It should come as no surprise to the chamber that the motion brought forward by Jim Hume has been able to receive cross-party support. Although the various parties of the Parliament do not always agree—if anybody was an earlier would testify to that—when it comes to measures such as promoting prosperity and commerce in Scotland, we are able to get together and do amazing things. I sincerely hope that this spirit of co-operation continues to exist in the Parliament so that we may work as a group to benefit our constituents and towards a stronger, more prosperous Scotland. In conclusion, I would like to thank Jim Hume again for bringing that motion before us, not only because of the support of the work that the Scottish Government has done in opening up the railway stations for the benefit of the community, but also because that motion exemplifies the type of cross-party work that we could do and what we should do in this Parliament. I now invite Derek Mackay to respond to the debate. I thank the members for their very warm and generous welcome to my new post of transport and the islands. I appreciate the keen interest shown by a number of parties in the chamber to this particular issue. Some of the contributions I could have more readily and easily understood than others in terms of the geography that is represented. I also added to the fact that I am obviously intimidated by my ministerial colleague sitting to my left, who has also got a keen interest in this issue, as well as the other members who have certainly taken forward this very important local cause. In that tone, I congratulate Jim Hume on securing the debate. It is an important issue to the communities in East Lothian and the Scottish Borders. The Scottish Government's record in opening new stations as broadcast and explained by Alex Johnstone shows just how important it is to the Government. A record stands for itself. Since 2007, six new stations have been built and nine more are due to be opened as part of the Borders Rail project. We are committed to supporting major projects and improvements to infrastructure and services across the network to contribute to sustainable economic growth. That is reflected in an ambitious £5 billion package of funding and investment until 2019. We are delivering the Borders railway, the longest new domestic railway to be constructed in Britain for over 100 years on time and within budget. Next year, as we all know, we will have two new exciting rail franchises in operation. Those franchises build on the feedback from passengers to the rail 2014 consultation and the results of the national rail passenger surveys. Those points to the need for an efficient, reliable and value-for-money service for Scotland's passengers. As such, with secure contracts, which reflect a desire that the franchise should put the passenger first, contribute to the overall economy and build on the successes of the current franchise, the successful Borders proposal satisfies those requirements and more. The underlying Government's commitment to providing enhanced rail services across Scotland will see the introduction of trains more suited to the demands of intercity travel with faster journey times, improved facilities, gallicatering and more comfort for passengers on services. We will deliver value for money, offering passengers a £5 advance fare between any two cities together with other proposals such as the club 50 and reduced travel for jobseekers and the newly employed. That is in addition to the commitment by Scottish ministers to restrict fare increases, which will further improve the appeal of rail and encourage modal shift. The Borders will also benefit from being part of the great scenic railways of Scotland. That will market Scotland scenery, its heritage and its tourist attractions to a wider audience, and there will be special steam services to promote local attractions and grow tourism. I hope that community rail groups, local businesses and the wider rail industry engage with Ibello ScotRail to maximise the opportunities arising from those initiatives. Mr Brown, my predecessor, was delighted to have secured services in the new ScotRail franchise, which will accommodate stops at Reston and East Linton. That is scheduled to be a two-hourly service between Edinburgh and Berwick, and I am sure that we can all agree that it is a major step forward in bringing those stations back to life. We have been open and responsive to the representations of East Lothian Council, the Scottish Borders Council, Sestrands and Rages, and appreciate the work that they have completed today. East Lothian has a growing population, and a new rail service will help to deliver sustainable economic growth and reduce the impact on the road network. In Berwickshire, the key issues are accessibility and social exclusion. Crucially, the proposed new services and new stations will provide improved access to work and education opportunities and will be a driver for economic regeneration. The benefits that those services will bring are evident to all. The final element still to be put in place is the capital funding for the stations. We of course recognise the importance of infrastructure to sustaining our economy, providing access to opportunities and bringing our communities closer together. Our investments, those that we have delivered, those that we are in the midst of constructing and those for which we have detailed plans, confirm our commitment to improving Scotland's infrastructure. That commitment is backed by our £30 million Scottish Stations Fund, which was announced in June 2012 as part of Scottish Minister's high-level output specification. That fund is designed to leave our third-party funding to provide new and improved stations and gives East Lothian and the Scottish Borders Councils the opportunity to achieve additional funding for the stations, just as it was designed to do. The bid is currently under consideration and a decision will be made once Network Rail has completed the scope and design work for each of those stations. I look forward to seeing that progress as soon as possible. In conclusion, I am proud of our—of course. Gemheam. For intervening when he was just about to finish his speech there, but would the minister be able to give us—I can't get away from the puns there—a timetable on such a decision? I am happy to write to the member with the detail on how we will consider that and then return with a target date. I want to be transparent about the options that are open to us and to make sure that locals are informed of likely progress. However, I appreciate my first week in the job that there will be much to be considered, including waiting for the information from Network Rail to properly consider it, cost it and ensure that what we do is credible and beyond any challenge. In conclusion, I am proud of the impressive record of continued investment in transport and improving accessibility to the rail network across Scotland. The investment continues to create employment, stimulate growth and create conditions of advantage and opportunity for Scottish communities. I encourage all those working towards the opening of rest in East Linton stations to maintain that momentum and impetus with those new services, because they will provide great support in realising the goal and bringing the new stations to fruition and the benefit of public transport for all. That concludes Gemheam's debate one step closer to trains at rest in East Linton, and I now suspend this meeting until 2pm.