Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser | News | Proposals to extend railway gather steam

Thursday, 4th December, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 3rd September, 2008 12:30

Proposals to extend railway gather steam

By Kevin McRoberts

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People in Clackmannanshire have made great use of the train services operating from the new Alloa Station.

Pic by: Jan van der Merwe

PROPOSALS to extend the new Alloa rail link to Edinburgh are gathering steam.

The South of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) is expected to carry out a feasilibity study into an Alloa-Edinburgh rail link via Dunfermline either towards the end of this year or early 2009.

And local SNP MSP Keith Brown is set to secure a full parliamentary debate on the expansion of passenger train services from Alloa after his motion in the Scottish Parliament gained cross-party support.

Mr Brown said, “This is early days, but SEStran are now clearly behind the project. A feasibility study is a first concrete step towards delivering another railway link. In time we could see a direct route to Edinburgh, with potential for stations at Clackmannan and the West Fife villages.

“I’m glad of the response and I hope the people of Clackmannanshire will get behind this with the same energy as we backed the historic return of the railway which finally became a reality earlier this year.”

Labour councillor, Eddie Carrick, a member of the SEStran board for Clackmannanshire Council, said he welcomed the prospect of extending the passenger line from Kincardine to Dunfermline and on to Edinburgh.

“This is something I have been in favour of, and I would like to see a rail link through to the port at Rosyth, with the opprotunity to remove freight from the road network, helping reduce our carbon footprint,” he said.

“I’m sure the people of Clackmannanshire would welcome the prospect of trains running from Alloa not only to Glasgow as at present, but to Edinburgh too.”

Fife Council would likely have a lead role to play in the extension of passenger train services as all the upgrading of the line would take place in that area.

And there appeared to be growing support in Fife, where the prospect of direct trains services from Dunfermline to Glasgow would be welcomed.

SNP councillor, Ian Chisholm, a Fife Council member of the SEStran board, said, “The time is ripe for the line to be extended into Dunfermline. The link to Alloa has been much more popular than the experts predicted. I have been talking for some time to SEStran officials of the need for a stage one appraisal and I am glad to see the idea now being progressed.

“I understand that we might not have funding this year but I will be pushing for an allocation next year at the earliest.”

Since Alloa’s new station was opened in May this year, people in the Wee County have really taken to using the trains. The popularity of the service has surpassed expectations, attracting 35,000 passengers per week.

A spokesman for operators First Scotrail told the Advertiser, “We are delighted with the community support for the new line.

“It has exceeded expectations and it is really good news that so many people are using the services and supporting rail travel.

“It is also good news for the environment as trains are less carbon intensive than cars.”

hazelkaye

Sep 9 08 11:14

Our Ref: 881

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Despite the cost and time over-runs, the success of this re-opening to ALLOA is beyond doubt AND IT SHOULD HAVE OPENED THROUGHOUT TO DUNFERMLINE from the start!

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Observer

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Sep 24 08 23:57

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Re: Rail services from Alloa

I no longer live in the area but have been interested to follow the re-opening of the Alloa railway. (I travelled to Tillicoultry and Dollar in steam days!)

Regarding recent comment on the extension of services (e.g. to Dunfermline, at least) I would observe the following.

The restored SAK line includes parts of two distinct former routes. The section from Stirling to Alloa is part of the former double-track main line from Stirling to Dunfermline and Fife. This line closed to passengers in 1968. The section from Alloa to Kincardine is part of the Alloa-Kincardine-Dunfermline branch line, which closed to passengers very much earlier, in 1930. On the main line, the journey time from Stirling to Dunfermline was about 30 minutes. If the main line existed today, a limited stop Dunfermline-Glasgow journey of just under an hour might be possible.

The main Stirling-Dunfermline line was not apparently on the original ‘Beeching’ closure list. (Nor, incidentally, was the direct main line from Edinburgh to Perth via Dunfermline and Kinross.) Although the eastern end of the Stirling-Dunfermline line, which passed through the former Dunfermline Upper station, did not completely close until as recently as 1993, the track-bed has subsequently (and, it would appear short-sightedly) been built over and destroyed within Dunfermline.

Today, short of restoring the main line and providing a completely new east-south link near Dunfermline, rail services east of Alloa would have to use the curvaceous, single-track coastal freight route through Kincardine, which would be unlikely to support a frequent or fast service to Dunfermline. Also, for Edinburgh, a new east-south curve would be required at Charleston since the remaining Kincardine line joins the line from the Forth Bridge at a north-facing junction.

In short, it appears that major investment (perhaps similar to that for an upper Forth road crossing) would be required properly to restore main line passenger rail services east of Alloa.

But could the recently reconstructed Alloa line support increased services? It is noticeable that, although the Stirling-Alloa section has been built as mostly single track on a former double-track alignment, some of the new drainage and signalling works appear to encroach on the former track-bed, which (without major rework) would appear to limit the potential for any future re-doubling to accommodate additional or more frequent services.

A revived Stirling-Dollar service might be a more logical extension of the present single-line, hourly Alloa service.

In this regard, it is perhaps also unfortunate that the new Alloa station has been built just east of the former junction with the Devon Valley line. The new Alloa station is thus in the wrong place for any future restoration of services to the Hillfoots, Tillicoultry and Dollar, which would require it to be moved back to its original location.

But then, addressing all the above would have involved rather more forward planning!

Yours, etc.,

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