The First Minister has outlined what he called the 'three r's' of Scottish Government support at the opening today of Stena Line's new Loch Ryan ferry terminal.

Alex Salmond told guests from Scotland and Northern Ireland that supporting local roads, railways and regeneration is a key priority for central government, as he spoke at the £80 million facility's opening ceremony in Cairnryan.

In addition to highlighting improvements to road and rail service, the First Minister also announced the creation of a Scottish Government Taskforce - led by Infrastructure and Capital Investment Secretary Alex Neil - to support ambitious plans to transform the Stranraer waterfront.

The First Minister said: "This new Loch Ryan port is hugely impressive and an important new gateway to Scotland. It safeguards hundreds of jobs at the terminal and ensures the future of this historic ferry link for generations to come.

"As well as being the first of the projects from our Second National Planning Framework to be completed, this represents a major investment by Stena Line and is a tangible demonstration of their commitment to Scotland.


"I am absolutely determined that the Scottish Government will play our part in supporting what is a major investment in the south-west of Scotland. To that end, we will be focusing on three key areas to help make the most of this fantastic new port.

"Firstly, the roads that bring thousands of travellers to and from the port. We have already invested significantly in local improvements like the stretch of dual carriageway from Cairntop to Barlae and the A77 between Parkend to Bennane, but there is more to come.

"Much preparatory work has already been completed on the A75 Dunragit bypass and we will now move to the next phase of land purchase and preparation of contracts in readiness for procurement and construction. It is the Government's intention to proceed with this vital link as soon as capital funds become available. For the Maybole bypass, we now will start work on obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and draft orders.

"Secondly, the rail network that is such a critical part of the local transport infrastructure. I understand, given its facilities and size, Ayr has been chosen by ScotRail as the main interchange point for bus services to connect these ferries with the train. However, that does not mean the line south of Ayr will be neglected. On the contrary, from next month the number of direct trains from Ayr to Girvan will increase by 25 per cent, from 12 to 15 every day.

"Also from next month, three direct services between Glasgow and Stranraer will now run via Kilwinning rather than Kilmarnock - cutting journey times by around half an hour.

"These improvements are good news in and of themselves but what is perhaps even more important is that they signal a clear commitment from ScotRail to the future of local rail services."

(GK)