saving the planet

[bagpuss]

Okay- so the price of fuel has gone up again. So given how much petrol/diesel we waste on commuting between Wick and Thurso , why not establish a rail link with trains running on the hour and half hour?

People who won't take buses because it's beneath their dignity might be prepared to commute to work on a train where they can grab a coffee and get half an hour's work/social chat done.

That way we'd be on a par with the southerners who've inflicted £1 a litre prices on us.

Improving rail links south too is absoltuely essential- otherwise all those lorries making deliveries to the new suprmarkets are going to add to the carbon emissions. The best option is to use rail freight.

[highlander]

Totally agree with u, it would also be a fun day out for the kids on the train.

[dozerboy]

I agree, as long as the trains were well laden with people, otherwise that is still making pollution for nothing. With all the new shops etc, the freight on the A9 must be worse now, causing a lot more pollution. There should be a rail link into Dounreay also, that would take a lot of cars off the road.

[unicorn]

If passenger buses here were like they are abroad I would use then no problem. I took a 2 1/2 hour journey in Turkey for £4 and on the bus they had tv you got coffee, cakes and snacks for free and the buses were beautiful and these were not buses for the tourists these were buses for the locals. They also stopped for a smoking break half way through. well it was actually a comfort stop but I used it for smoking

[bagpuss]

The rail link is already here between Wick and Thurso. There is old rolling stock e.g the Sprinter service trains around and it would create a few jobs on the railroad. Kids would enjoy it- I agree- and if the fares were kept at the £1 each way level that was introduced between Dingwall and Inverness, quite a lot of peo[ple might be happy bunnies

[crayola]

The planet won't be saved in Caithness. China is building old-fashioned coal-fired power stations at the rate of one 1,000MW power station every week. Look here and feel powerless.