I look forward to working with you and with the committee, as we have done in the past. I am delighted to be here with Derek Mackay, our new Minister for Transport and Islands, and to provide a general update on transport matters. I hpe that I will not forget to answer the question that you asked.
As members will know, our spending plans are focused on sustaining the economic recovery through investment. We intend to deliver more than £8 billion of investment over 2014-15 and 2015-16. That investment will support around 40,000 full-time equivalent jobs across Scotland, despite cuts of 26 per cent in real terms to our capital budgets between 2010-11 and 2015-16.
Continuing investment in transport connects regions and people to economic opportunity and, in so doing, contributes to national social cohesion and helps to reduce the disparity between the regions of Scotland. Our investment in Scotland’s transport infrastructure through projects such as the Queensferry crossing and the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness plays a key role in creating the best possible conditions for business success.
We continue to make excellent progress in delivering our infrastructure investment plan. The Queensferry crossing is currently more than 50 per cent complete and about 80 per cent of the contractor’s procurement has been completed. It is on schedule to be delivered in 2016. We have secured a further £50 million in savings, which means that the 5-mile stretch of dual carriageway between Kincraig and Dalraddy on the A9 will be the first of the 12 dualling schemes to be brought forward. It is due to be completed in 2017, six months earlier than anticipated.
Construction is also under way to deliver significant improvements to the M8, M73 and M74. When the full programme is complete, road users can look forward to more than 80 miles of new road surface, which is the equivalent of around 200 football fields—for those who count the road surface in that way.
Other major transport projects are advancing as planned. Track laying has commenced on the Borders railway and is on target for completion by the end of 2014, and service commencement is on schedule for September 2015. On 5 November 2014, Network Rail announced the award of the £250 million Edinburgh to Glasgow improvement programme alliance contracts, which will deliver the Edinburgh to Glasgow electrification by December 2016. Contractors are on site and the first physical works—piling—are already under way.
On 28 October 2014, speed limits for HGVs on the A9 were increased from 40mph to 50mph on single-carriageway sections between Perth and Inverness. We are also making more improvements to the safety of the route—average speed cameras have been installed and are now operational between Dunblane and Inverness. We are keen to address issues on the northern section of the A9 as well. As part of the necessary statutory process for the Berriedale braes scheme, local people and road users were invited to a public exhibition in Berriedale on Wednesday 26 November following Transport Scotland’s publication of the draft road orders to address the hairpin bend and steep hill.
Preparatory work on the Aberdeen bypass is nearing completion and full construction is due to start shortly. In early November, I announced the advertisement of £70 million-worth of subcontracts for the Aberdeen western peripheral route and the Balmedie to Tipperty section, which is now part of that project. That package totals around £221 million. Last week, I was delighted to announce that we have been able to bring the completion date forward to winter 2017. That is unprecedented. Since overcoming all the legal challenges back in October 2012, we have done all that we can to accelerate the procurement and construction of the AWPR and Balmedie to Tipperty project.
Hard on the heels of that comes news that preparatory work for the Haudagain scheme is now under way. That will ensure that that improvement scheme is ready to go as soon as the AWPR is finished. The site work for the scheme is expected to be completed by the end of the year and draft road orders are expected next summer. In addition, construction work to remove a notorious bottleneck on the A96 at the Inveramsay bridge will start before the end of the year. All that forms an impressive package of transport infrastructure improvements that we are delivering for the north-east.
Alongside the transport infrastructure projects that I have mentioned, we are successfully taking forward many transport initiatives. The Scottish Government is committed to public transport and to our ambitious climate change target of reducing carbon emissions by 42 per cent by 2020. We have made further progress in those areas, for example through round 5 of the Scottish green bus fund, which saw the Scottish Government allocating £3.7 million towards the cost of purchasing another 83 low-carbon-emission buses.
I should also mention that there was news this week that Alexander Dennis in Falkirk has attracted a new contract worth about £300 million to build buses in Canada. I like to think that we have played a part in that through some of the contracts that Alexander Dennis has won in relation to the green bus fund.
The new allocation will bring the total number of low-carbon vehicles in Scotland’s eco-friendly bus fleet to 209. The Scottish Government is committed to improving bus services in Scotland, which is why we will provide more than £3 million-worth of funding over the next two years under the second round of Transport Scotland’s bus investment fund. Thirteen projects, including interchange hubs and community transport, will receive grants, which will help to improve the standard of bus services and increase patronage, thereby achieving greater modal shift.
The two rail franchises have now been awarded. The existing Caledonian sleeper service will be transformed—new rolling stock will be operational by 2018 and there will be locally sourced catering. The new ScotRail franchise will provide at least 80 new trains and 23 per cent more carriages across the network. New electric trains will be delivered for services between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and smart ticketing will be rolled out over the network. A dedicated mobilisation team in Transport Scotland has been put in place to ensure a smooth handover from First ScotRail to Abellio and Serco.
The Scottish Government also aims to get more people making active travel choices to improve their health and to benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gases and pollutants. During this year and next, we will increase our expenditure on cycling and walking infrastructure by a further £27 million to deliver projects that promote active travel for everyday journeys. I recently unveiled the Scottish Government’s long-term vision for active travel, which aims to encourage more people to walk and cycle for everyday shorter journeys. It focuses on areas such as infrastructure, transport integration, cultural and behaviour change, community ownership and planning. The vision was a collaborative effort between me and the active travel stakeholders.
That is a brief overview, convener. I hope that it is helpful to the committee.
You asked about our view of the UK Government’s decision to reprivatise the east coast main line. That raised many eyebrows, because it was a successful service—I was going to say “franchise”, but it was directly operated—that returned substantial amounts of money to the Treasury and was well regarded by its users. However, despite the fact that the line comes into Scotland, that was a decision for the UK Government. We made sure that we were consulted, and we promoted the interests of people in Scotland who use those services.