New four and five coach trains from Aberdeen to Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Now that is a step in the right direction by ScotRail. The current three coaches just don’t have enough capacity. But much more needs to be done to improve our local rail network. Crossrail with its network of re-opened and local stations would ease the burden on our overstretched roads. But that hit the buffers in 2007.

Nonetheless passenger numbers have been increasing steadily in the North East, far more quickly than in the rest of the country. Laurencekirk has been an outstanding success. Even Portlethen sees more and more passengers, which is surprising given how few trains stop there.