First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday that Highlanders should not have to choose between good rail links and better roads.

She was in Inverness to relaunch the rebranded Caledonian Sleeper service, which links the north with London, and will be taken over by Serco at the end of the month.

The incoming operator unveiled the new look of the service in Inverness, where the new franchise will be based.

Ms Sturgeon also helped open the new guest service centre on Union Street opposite the railway station.

Ms Sturgeon, who was visiting Inverness as part of a cabinet visit, said: “We have a duty to make sure that Inverness and the Highlands are well connected to the rest of Scotland, just as we need to make sure that Scotland is well connected to the rest of the UK.

She added: “We want to see people travelling by train and by public transport as much as possible but that’s not a substitute for things like dualling the A9 and we have plans in place to do that.

“These things shouldn’t be either-or. If you live in the Central Belt you don’t expect to choose between good roads and good train services, and if you live in the Highlands you shouldn’t have to choose either.”

Ms Sturgeon officially revealed the name of one the services new locomotives “Cairn Gorm” – and then was presented with a diecast model of the train from Serco chief executive Rupert Soames.

He said: “Today marks a new start for the sleeper service, which we believe has huge potential. As a regular user of the service, I know that for business and pleasure it is both an efficient and an enjoyable way of travelling between London and Scotland, allowing you to have whole day’s extra work or play on each return visit.”

“Serco is well on the way to transforming the sleeper into a superb service using our expertise of delivering high quality transport services around the world.”

The train runs from various locations in Scotland to London twice a day – and the new look service has been dubbed a “hotel on wheels” but the new operators.

Serco have also committed to introducing a £150million fleet of new trains to the service by 2015.