Published: Wednesday, 21st May, 2008 12:00
Calls to extend railway to Fife
By Jamie MacDonald & Nicola Findlay
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Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson reopened the Alloa to Stirling railway line.
THE Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway is only days old – but calls are already growing to extend the line for passengers eastwards towards Dunfermline.
At the moment the last stop for passengers using the line is at Alloa.
However, there are existing tracks which run through Kincardine on to Longannet.
The steam train that opened the line on Thursday reached Alloa by running along the existing tracks from Dunfermline.
The matter was raised by Ochil MSP Keith Brown during a members’ debate in the Scottish Parliament on the same day that the line opened.
Mr Brown said, “I hope that, in the longer term, the passenger service that now runs from Stirling to Alloa will go right the way through Kincardine and on to Rosyth and Dunfermline. If we can create an integrated transport system that takes people and goods from west to east and vice versa right across the north side of the Forth, it will have a huge impact on Kincardine and the West Fife villages.”
Mr Brown has formally lodged a parliamentary question asking the Transport Minister what steps are being taken towards rail transportation in West Fife, adding that the potential benefits of opening the line would be huge.
He went on, “There would be even more alternatives to car journeys in the area and it might even make a direct service from Alloa to Edinburgh possible.
“A Rosyth service would allow connections by sea with Europe. Best of all, most of the track is already in place.”
Provost Derek Stewart told the Advertiser that extending the line towards Dunfermline and linking it to Rosyth is something which Clackmannanshire Council has been looking at for some time.
He said, “Continuing the line on to Dunfermline then up to Edinburgh and opening up the Longannet line through to Rosyth is something that has been on our agenda.
“However, it is down to the Scottish Government to take this forward and check the feasibility. I know it isn’t one of their priorities but it may be possible in years to come.
“It would mean there could be a direct train to Edinburgh linking with the Hovercraft over the Forth and the East Coast rail line all the way up to St Andrews.”
Dr Richard Simpson, Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, has also given his backing to the plans.
He said, “We must consider that in the context of the overall situation of the new Forth Crossing, the lower Forth crossing’s problems and possible closure, and the impending closure of the old Kincardine Bridge.
“With a link to Dunfermline, we could get freight traffic off the road relatively quickly because the lines already exist.”
At the opening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway, former train driver Bill Burt, of Alloa, distributed to local councillors copies of a map that he has designed which illustrated a circular route passing through Clackmannan and connecting with the main network at Dunfermline, before heading over the Forth towards Linlithgow.
Bill told the Advertiser, “I spoke to Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson at the line reopening and he said he was aware of the plan but there is a little bit of difficulty linking the track at Dunfermline.”
John Cameron, who drove his steam train The Great Marquess along the new line on the maiden journey from Alloa to Stirling, also believes that extending the line is possible, although he believed it would very much depend on the demand for passenger services through to Dunfermline.
Mr Cameron, a former chairman of Scotrail, told the Advertiser, “The line is already there to extend the route, although its not up to the required standard for passenger services, apart from charter trains for special events such as the reopening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line.
“Although the network through to Dunfermline is there, I think the big demand at the moment is from Alloa to Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“However, at some time in the future it may be appropriate for passenger services to carry on through to Dunfermline and into Fife.
“The line is all there, it is just a case of whether it is viable or not and whether there is a need to extend it.”
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