Transport links between Scotland and the rest of the UK

Rail

In general, the provision and regulation of railway services is a reserved matter except for those that both begin and end in Scotland, which are devolved.

Existing services

The primary existing rail services between Scotland and England operate via the West and East Coast Main Lines. Intercity services are operated by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, LNER and TransPennine Express who have contracts with the Department for Transport. Following the passage of the UK Government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, these operators will be brought into the public sector.

Other services between Scotland and England are also operated by Caledonian Sleeper and ScotRail, both arm’s length bodies of the Scottish Government, and open-access operator Lumo.

HS2

Under the original plans for HS2, HS2 services would have run to Scotland, although they would have used existing tracks for some of the journey. High- Following the cancellation of Phases 2a and 2b in October 2023, it is unclear if HS2 services will operate between London and Scotland. If they do, capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line are likely to still be an issue.

Borders Railway extension

The Borders Railway, linking Edinburgh with Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders, opened on 9 September 2015. In March 2021, the UK and Scottish Governments agreed to jointly invest up to £10 million in a study looking at the feasibility of extending the railway to Hawick, Newcastleton and Carlisle. However, the UK Government has postponed its contribution while it undertakes a review of the cost of capital investment projects. According to the Scottish First Minister, a decision on this funding may not be made until the spending review in spring 2025.

Road

Transport Scotland, the national transport agency for Scotland, has a directorate dedicated to managing Scotland’s trunk road network. In Scotland, local authorities are designated as Road Authorities, according to the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, giving them responsibilities to maintain local roads, and powers to alter or improve them.

A75

Scottish Ministers are responsible for the A75 Gretna – Dumfries – Stranraer, a strategic connection between England and the port at Cairnryan, from where ferries connect to Larne in Northern Ireland. Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 includes a recommendation to improve junctions, enhance overtaking opportunities at appropriate locations and widening or realigning carriageways.

 A1

In October 2023 the Conservative government said it would widen the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham in Northumberland using money saved by cancelling HS2 beyond Birmingham. However, in the October 2024 budget, the Labour government cancelled this project, stating that the scheme was identified as having poor value for money and limited economic benefits for the region.

Aviation

As set out in the Scotland Act 1988, civil aviation is a reserved matter. All UK airports and airlines are regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

There are a range of flight routes operating between Scottish airports and the rest of the UK, with the most popular routes operating between London and Edinburgh and Glasgow. The vast majority of flight routes are determined by airlines on a commercial basis, with the exception of one route between Dundee and Heathrow airport, which is subsidised by the Scottish and UK governments.

In 2024, one of the major domestic airlines serving Scotland, Loganair, cancelled its routes from Glasgow to Southampton, Aberdeen to Teesside and Aberdeen to Newcastle, as well as reducing service frequency on some other routes between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

2021 Union Connectivity Review

In response to the independent Union Connectivity Review, the previous UK government revised its Public Service Obligation (PSO) policy to allow PSO flights to operate to and from different regions of the UK, rather than just to and from London, and reduced Air Passenger Duty payable on domestic UK flights. It also consulted on a range of reforms to the way that airport ‘slots’ are allocated to airlines, including proposals to ring-fence some slots for domestic flights.