Wendy Alexander outlined her transport plan

Detailed plans for rail links to Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports are to be produced by the autumn, and could be up and running by 2008.

Croy station in central Scotland is to get a new �5m car park, and a private bill is to be tabled in the Scottish Parliament seeking permission for the rebuilding of a Borders rail link.

She also highlighted the intention to redevelop Waverley Station in Edinburgh to boost capacity on the rail network and a drive to created a modern public transport system for Edinburgh "worthy of a capital city".

Congestion will also be tackled in Aberdeen, while free off-peak bus travel for the elderly and disabled will be introduced from October.

The only roads project contained within the 10 top priorities is the decision to spend �20m on a new junction on the A80 at Auchenkilns, along with junction improvements on the A8 at Shawhead.

In Scotland today tackling urban congestion is our overriding challenge

Wendy Alexander Transport Minister

Ms Alexander said there would also be an urgent examination of how the "missing links" in the A8 and A80 road systems might be completed.

"This vision does not purport to be the answer to all of Scotland's transport problems," she told the Scottish Parliament.

But she said: "It does articulate clearly what the executive is striving to achieve and provides a vision for transport following more than two decades of under-investment and the backlog of desirable projects that this has created.

"By establishing a clear executive-led vision around tackling congestion, I believe it will be easier to work in partnership with others to deliver the transport system Scotland deserves."

Ms Alexander said the strategic route map unveiled on Thursday was as far-reaching as that laid out in the 1960s.

Urban congestion

She said the aim was to stabilise the amount of traffic on Scotland's roads at last year's levels in less than 20 years.

"Eighty per cent of the predicted growth in road traffic in Scotland will be concentrated in and around our four major cities, so in Scotland today tackling urban congestion is our overriding challenge," said Ms Alexander.

However, Scottish National Party transport spokesman Kenny MacAskill claimed the Scottish Executive was "long on rhetoric and short on detail".

A 15-year rail franchise is planned

"By my calculations, of the 10 matters referred to by the minister, more than half of them depend on the outcome of studies, or indeed the action or interaction of other partners, from whom we have heard nothing nor had a guarantee that they will deliver what the minister wants," he said.

But Ms Alexander replied: "Until you specify the 10 projects that we are trying to complete it is not possible to put together all the various funding packages that are necessary."

Tory transport spokesman David Mundell accused the executive of having no concrete plans.

"How can we have any confidence in the minister's ability to deliver anything, when her term as minister has been characterised by transport chaos?" he asked.

Pay dispute

"And rather than producing more and more glossy leaflets, isn't it about time to get into the real world - where people judge delivery of public services on their personal experience, which is strikes, congestion on the roads, potholes and unreliable transport."

The announcement came on the day that talks were set to resume between ScotRail and unions over a pay dispute which has already led to four one-day strikes in Scotland.

Meanwhile, figures were released on Thursday which suggested that more journeys in Scotland are being made by bus.

According to the Bus and Coach Statistics 2000-01 survey, journeys rose by 0.5% to 436m - the fourth yearly increase since records began in 1975.