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Longannet plant axe could be green light for trains

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Passengers may soon be able to travel on the Forth-side line for the first time in 85 years. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

A new ^Forth Circle^ rail loop could be created if the threatened 40-year-old Longannet power station was to shut, campaigners have proposed.

The end of coal trains to the Fife plant would free up tracks so passengers could travel on the Forth-side line between Alloa and Dunfermline for the first time for 85 years.

The scheme could include re-opening a station at the historic village of Culross to improve access for tourists.

Trains supplying Longannet used the route until the ^85 million Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line re-opened in 2008.

Passenger trains run on the new line only as far east as Alloa, but when coal trains cease, there is the potential for Scot^Rail services to continue via Kincardine to Dun^fer^mline and over the Forth Bridge to Edinburgh. This could build on the success of the Stirling-Alloa section, which has carried three times as many passengers as expected.

The Kincardine-Dunfermline line closed to passengers in 1930 but is used by occasional steam charter trains.

Longannet operator ScottishPower told MSPs last week the station could close within a year unless it wins a short-term contract. However, the plant faces other threats to its survival, such as high transmission charges, and may have a limited future burning coal.

Public transport lobby group Transform Scotland said the chance to reinvigorate the rail line should be seized.

Paul Tetlaw, its rail campaigner, said: ^It would be the perfect opportunity to build on the huge investment of constructing the route through Alloa to Kincardine, by creating a passenger service. It would open up the north bank of the Forth to all sorts of new travel possibilities, such as to the delightful village of Culross, and also provide acc^ess to both Glasgow and Edinburgh for work and leisure.^

Dunfermline Labour MSP Cara Hilton said improved transport would be key following any closure of Longannet, which she is fighting to save. She said: ^It will be absolutely vital for Fife Council and the Scottish Government to do all they can to build up the resilience of the area. Much better transport links, in the form of a reopening of the Kincardine train line, would boost long-term regeneration, opening up significant employment opp^or^tunities.^

A Network Rail spokesman said: ^The Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line was constructed principally to carry freight and there are currently no plans for the extension of passenger services. If freight use on the line were to change in the near fut^ure, we could review how the line is used. Any proposals to extend passenger services would need to meet a clear need and be supported a business case and funding package.^

SNP pledges study into re-opening Alloa-Dunfermline rail line

Re-opening the railway line between Alloa and Dunfermline to passengers will be considered by an incoming SNP government, the party announced today.

The move, revealed in the SNP^s Holyrood election manifesto, comes a month after the last coal trains used the line to Longannet Power Station near Kincardine before the plant^s closure.

It will be welcomed by campaigners calling for the freight route to be used to provide direct trains between Dunfermline and Glasgow.

The SNP manifesto stated: "We will examine the case for an extension of the Stirling-Alloa rail line to Dunfermline by upgrading the existing Longannet freight line.^

The Scotsman understands that although the single-track route is still in place, improvements would be required for it to take regular passenger trains for the first time in 86 years. These include to the ride quality, which is lower for freight trains.

The Dunfermline-Longannet section was used by coal trains to supply the power station from the east until the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line was re-laid in 2008, which provided access from the west.

ScotRail trains use the line only as far as Alloa.

Re-opening the rest of the route to Dunfermline could now create a ^Forth Circle^ like the Fife Circle line between Inverkeithing, Lochgelly and Kirkcaldy.

A station could be re-opened at the historic village of Culross to improve access for tourists.

The Kincardine-Dunfermline line closed to passengers in 1930 but is used by occasional steam charter trains.

Paul Tetlaw, a rail campaigner for public transport lobby group Transform Scotland, has said: ^It would be the perfect opportunity to build on the huge investment of constructing the route through Alloa to Kincardine, by creating a passenger service. It would open up the north bank of the Forth to all sorts of new travel possibilities, such as to the delightful village of Culross, and also provide acc^ess to both Glasgow and Edinburgh for work and leisure.^

A spokesman for the ScotRail Alliance, which includes track owner Network Rail, said: ^We are always open to discussing proposals to enhance the railway if they have a viable business case and meet a clear need.^