Trains loaded with whisky and newly-distilled spirit are to rumble through Tayside as part of a trial designed to cut the impact of road traffic in the industry.
Producers including Diageo, Chivas Brothers and Whyte & Mackay are taking part in the pilot, which will see whisky transported from distilleries in Speyside to bottling halls in central Scotland using the rails for the first time in decades.
The ‘Lifting the Spirit’ scheme will see trains run between Elgin and Grangemouth twice a week, via Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and Stirling.
The area covered by the initiative is home to 77 distilleries, which produce 85% of Scotland’s malt whisky output although only nine sites will take part in the trial.
It is expected that the results will be analysed by academics as part of an investigation of long-term feasibility once the pilot, which runs until mid-November, has been completed.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise senior development manager for transport Tony Jarvis said the project, which will see the produce travel 200 miles on special services, had significant potential.
“Any increase in whisky production requires a proportional increase in the transport required, with additional pressure on roads and carbon emissions,” he said.
“The project partners and the whisky industry are keen to find ways to offset or reduce these impacts, and rail provides a potentially viable option for longer distance movements, such as from Moray to the Central Belt.”
Currently all bulk Scotch whisky and spirit is moved by road.
The pilot scheme which is supported by transport partnership Hitrans, Highland and Islands Enterprise, Moray Council and the EU is expected to cut HGV movements on the busy A9 north of Perth and benefit the environment.
It is the first time any substantial volume of goods, including Scotch whisky, has been transported by train from Elgin since the mid-1980s, and has been made possible following investment in rail facilities by Network Rail with support from the Scottish Government.
There is also potential for empty casks, malt and barley to be carried north on return journeys.
“I’m delighted to have secured funding to trial a mode shift to rail of this valuable commodity,” said Hitrans chairman and Argyle and Bute councillor John Semple.
“We hope to demonstrate the capability of the rail network, a reduction in carbon emissions and the value of working collaboratively.”
Julie Hesketh-Laird, director of operational and technical affairs at the Scotch Whisky Association, said the “innovative and collaborative” trial would help assess the scale of potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead welcomed the project, saying that the Scottish Government was “keen” to see more goods moved by rail or water where commercially viable.
The scheme will run with support from rail freight operating group DB Schenker Rail and logistics firm JG Russell.
Whisky and spirit will be moved in ISO tanks. It is the first time freight containers of this size have used the route, due to improvements made to the transport infrastructure.