A direct rail link between Edinburgh and Perth could cut journey times by 35 minutes, according to campaigners.
Transform Scotland has renewed calls for the restoration of the line, which was shut in 1970s to allow work to be carried out on the M90.
Trains have taken a less direct route through Fife ever since, but the restored route proposed by the group would go straight to Perth through Kinross.
Transform Scotland submitted a paper to the Scottish Parliament ahead of a debate entitled Transforming Scotland’s Railways. The document claims the journey from Edinburgh to Perth is slower now than it was in 1913.
It states: “While there has been some progress in improving Scotland’s railways, to truly transform Scotland’s railways will require the Scottish Government to review its current plans for upgrades to rail routes north of the central belt in order that railways between Scotland’s cities can at least compete with the roads.”
Paul Tetlaw, of Transform Scotland, said restoring the direct rail link between Edinburgh and Perth would cost a third of the current £3bn scheme to dual the A9.
“It would create substantial savings on journey times, and the opportunity to transfer more people to rail,” he said.
“None of the current schemes go far enough.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said the proposal was rejected during the Strategic Transport Projects Review.