A £250,000 grant to develop a rail facility to improve freight handling between Rannoch and Irvine will remove 180,000 lorry miles per year from Scotland's roads.

The Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) jointly awarded to UPM Tilhill and CSP Forestry will allow for the movement of 120,000 tonnes of timber by rail from Rannoch to Irvine over the next eight years, delivering real benefits for Scotland's environment.

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said: "I am delighted that UPM Tilhill and CSP Forestry are using Government funding to work together and switch so much heavy freight from road to rail.

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"As a Government we are committed to getting more freight off Scotland's roads and onto rail and water. By taking more lorries off our roads this funding will help ease congestion and reduce damage to the environment. It will also benefit local tourism by removing timber lorries from the narrow scenic roads around Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel."

This contribution will go towards the governments target of reducing Scottish emissions by 80% by 2050. This target is twice as ambitious as the UK target and signals Scotland's serious intent to lead the global effort to combat climate change.

Peter Whitfield, Timber Operations Director, UPM Tilhill, said: "UPM Tilhill is pleased to have been awarded this grant. Enabling the transport of harvested timber by rail reduces the impact on local communities, and makes good use of the existing infrastructure.

"The Freight Facilities Grant enables both UPM Tilhill and our partners to carry out harvesting operations in a timely and sensitive way. The timber will be delivered to Scotland's newest CHP (combined heat and power) Plant at Caledonian Paper."

(GK/JM)