Another Scottish line to be reopened

[masontaylor]

Any Borders Railway extension will have to wait, since a green light has been given to the reopening of the Levenmouth line (as yours truly predicted here some years back).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-49279810

This will reconnect the largest urban area in Scotland without a direct rail link to the network, helping revive a very depressed area which has been out on a limb for decades, as well as providing a freight link to its last major industrial site - the grain distillery at Cameron Bridge (the largest in Europe). It should additionally improve access to the picturesque fishing villages further round the coast, as the plans suggest an integrated transport system.

The trackbed is still intact, and there are even some sections of track remaining, notably at the Leven end, where the Fife Heritage Railway has its premises on some of the old railway land. This may be the only fly in the ointment, since there have been dreams of their running the whole line as a heritage railway, which would appear to be somewhat scuppered by this announcement.

 

[borderreiver]

I have watched this wending its way through the process in the railway press and it is good news for Leven given, at one point, the accusation that the Scottish government was "done" wilth rail re-openings. Might be something in that as I believe they weren't all that thrilled at being proven wrong by a considerable margin on the traffic achieved on the Borders re-opening to Tweedmouth. Those assumptions of course drove the de-specifying of the line to have less double track and less crossing places than originally designed. Those cutbacks are now the ones throttling further Borders line growth. Here's hoping Leven does not suffer the same tight-fistedness. The naysayers were proven wrong at the traffic levels for the Alloa re-opening and again the Borders line re-opening. Still waiting for that signature re-opening down in England.......... Wasn't money no problem for a solution to re-opening the former southern to Plymouth? Still no news four and a half years on there. East-West link between Oxford and Cambridge? Well the western end is still meant to go ahead between Oxford and Bedford (though possibly not in Control Period 6 to 2024) but the central section from Bedford to "point X" on the ECML remains uncertain and there is not even a consultation out for a proposal for a route east of the ECML to Cambridge.

 

[blueodessey]

Evening Folks,

So glad to hear a new line has repened.........That's great news for the community,

And meanwhile over here in California we can't seem to get on Track in a variety of ways.

https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-newsom-bullet-analysis-20190212-story.html

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politic...re-Here-s-how-high-speed-project-13621347.php


Having lived in California as Native, over 60 some years, it is quite easy to see, we have 3 large Cities, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and of course our Capital of "Sacramento" now with those Densities in mind, where would one think they ought to setup high speed Trains?

Now please read the links and decide for yourself......Then riddle me this, why in the Heavens name can we not get a High Speed Rail Service Built in the as they say, the Richest Nation on the earth, with, wait for it, a Huge Homeless problem, probably the worst in the Nation!

Keep your Irish Lines on the Rebound there..........I think we are suffering from a Royal Tattooing over here, trying to keep it clean language........For the younger ones here.........:wave:

 

[pfx]

The downside to this news is of course that even more Fifers will be able to infiltrate areas outwith The Kingdom...

 

[rjhowie]

Hi masontaylor, I was just about to intimate that plan to re-open that Fife line, haha!

Anyway that is another great achievement as we have had Larkhall line, Maryhill branch, Alloa (now electric) and of course the Borders as far as just beyond Galashiels. Must say in passing that I remember walking the Borders route before brought back but that was way years ago. Galasheils was a lovely station and although had been dead for years all the signs and parts of the station were there until late 70's. What is there now is a simple Halt style and I am sure in the initial plans for the re-opening a cafe had been mentioned for Galashiels? Melrose station was also there too then and had been used by a small business. There have been places raising issues about former lines including Peterhead and Fraserburgh routes, St. Andrew's and just a pity the Borders one stops where it does but it is the longest brought back at beyond 30 miles.