Relief from Aberdeen to Inverness

Nairn - Aberdeen & Inverness trains crossing - picture by agcthoms

Mike Rumbles, SLD, opened the debate in the Scottish Parliament on 7 October, regarding Kintore Station and Aberdeen Crossrail.

There are just 11 journeys from Aberdeen to Inverness Monday-Saturday, and only five on Sundays. If a passenger misses his train, there is good chance that he will have to wait two hours for the next one.

In 2003, a decision was made to reduce the more than two hour route between Aberdeen and Inverness to just 50 minutes, and also to open new stations to help improvement.

The reopening of Laurencekirk Station in May this year was a success and a grasp of hope for people in the Highlands, the politician said.

He also stated that the lack of interest in this case is disappointing and that Stewart Stevenson transport minister’s acknowledgement about the importance of the subject would be “a real step-forward.”

Rumbles said that the transport minister has held no discussion on the matter so far, and not even attended significant debates about the issue.

“I do feel that the people  in the North-East deserve a straight answer from our transport minister and I hope we will be able to hear it,” said Rumbles. He would also welcome funding for the project.

The Aberdeen-Inverness railway line is approximately 173km- long (107m) and is a corridor of great strategic importance within the Strategic Transport Projects Review, as it connects Aberdeen and Inverness airports as well as the port of Aberdeen with other cities on the route.

It also supports the continued economic growth of the two cities and links rural communities with industrial cities.

Alison McInnes, SLD, drew attention to the issue of largely growing traffic in the area.

Between 2002 and 2005 the rise in traffic in the region reached 4.5% per annum.

A study, taken in 2005, on behalf of the Scottish Executive, considered possible changes in the railway system between the two cities. The most important points of the survey were improving journey times and introducing an hourly service from one of the cities to the other.

SNP’s Maureen Watt welcomed Rumbles’ standpoint and called for “progress and activity,’”that is, more frequent trains and scheduling changes, after stating that it was sad that under two former transport ministers, the problem could not have been solved.

Stevenson, minister for transport, infrastructure and climate change, agreed that the current model has to be changed.

A German Love Story

Telling a professor that his colleagues are not good teachers at all does not necessarily improve your grades. Not to mention they will certainly not fall in love with you… or will they?

High School Hallway - picture by Dean Terry

I met Ulrike and Hartmut Fuchs in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, while they were sitting on a bench, looking at the astonishing scenery and recalling the events that changed their life.

Surviving World War II, Ulrike Fuchs, 66, and husband, Dr Hartmut Fuchs, 70, both lived among very poor circumstances. Once on a train, Ulrike (21 at the time) started to chat with her classmates about their teachers.

They expressed their feelings about them and their teaching methods (which of course they did not like too much), but what they did not notice was that a junior professor was also listening to the conversation.

After a while he joined in as he knew all the mentioned teachers very well. The young girls were embarrassed and Ulrike, to ease the situation, offered the Latin and History Professor a piece of chocolate. It seemed to be working as the professor stayed to chat with the girls about everyday things like student life and accommodation. Apparently, this was the key point of the conversation as this way he could find out where Ulrike lived.

That night, she received a phone call in the student house where she was staying. It was Dr Fuchs! He asked her out for a coffee and their long-lasting relationship began. They were both poor so they did not go out a lot and even if they did, they would sit in parks or take a walk nearby.

They got engaged after three months and two years later they were married. They have been married for 43 years now, which they are proud of and yes, they are still in love with each other. They were blessed with two daughters and two grandchildren whom they often look after in their house in Munich.