The Tòiseach, and SNP candidate for Highland, Grampian, and Fife, speaks at an event organised by the Scottish Transport Studies Group in Kirkcaldy, Fife, to talk about the SNP plan for transport

"Evening, all.

One of my personal favourite subject areas to debate and legislate on is transport, railways in particular.

And, ever since events in 2014, we have seen radical transport policy introduced. From numerous new High Speed Rail lines, to the resurrection of a nationalised railway industry.

In my own governments budget, we funded multiple new items relating to transport. A four year decarbonisation fund, to start, worth a combined total of £120 million. We must electrify our railways — and we must do so as fast as possible. This extra injection of funding will get Scotland's railway closer to Net Zero — and with transport making up nearly a quarter of the UK's emissions, it's an important step to take. Secondly, we invested the better part of £400 million over four years to upgrade capacity of rail lines across the entirety of Scotland. An amount of money that will, hopefully, speed things up a good amount. Thirdly, we spent a further £300 million per year on phasing out diesel buses. Why? Another push towards Net Zero for our transport industry. Electric buses are so much better for the environment, that we believe it was the right move to phase diesel buses out. Lastly, we funded a Glasgow Airport Rail Link. The Rail Link is a bit like a Scottish, Northern Irish Bill of Rights. Promised for so many years, but not delivered upon. This government has decided to change that, and invest more into getting people to and from the airport. Whilst some will oppose this on legitimate environmentalist grounds, I support it because it is, to me, better to get people out of the car and into a train.

But, as every politician likes to say, there is always more we can do.

Even though transport isn't fully devolved to Scotland, we must do what we can with the powers we have to build new projects and upgrade current infrastructure.

One of the SNP's main proposals this time around is the Forth Rail Tunnel. While we have a rail bridge between North and South Queensferries, the communities slightly further to the east do not. Firstly, we would build a station in Leith. Leith is a bustling community, but transport there could be much better. Then, we tunnel under the Firth of Forth, reappearing in Fife, and then in Kirkcaldy. This line would provide a vital link between communities on both sides of the Firth. It would make commuting in, by sustainable rail, a viable option. Why would anyone drive if the train is so much faster?

Not only would this tunnelled rail line link Fife and Edinburgh, it will also have a vital role in the wider rail network. For one, it will make transport times between Edinburgh and places like Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness a lot faster — by about 25 minutes. Secondly, it will massively increase capacity on the existing network. We can use this extra capacity on, say, freight. Freight rail is, yet again, how we will get transport to Net Zero.

That right there is a comprehensive plan for transport here in Fife.

Thank you all for having me!"