Levenmouth rail campaigners have expressed delight and relief as the route is fenced off ahead of the tracks going down.
The long-awaited £70 million project will see 5.5 miles of track reinstated between Thornton and Leven.
If all goes to plan, the first trains will arrive at Leven’s new station in December next year.
Network Rail is putting fencing up along the route.
And nightly deliveries of ballast are arriving at Thornton three times a week.
For Allen Armstrong, who chairs the Levenmouth Rail Campaign, it can only be good news.
“We’re relieved and delighted.
“It’s a fait accompli that the tracks are going on the ground. There’s no going back.
“We’re hoping to get on the train in December 2023, and that nothing can delay that.”
Bawbee Bridge project is ‘fly in the ointment’
He described structural issues at the Bawbee Bridge, which passes over the route at Leven, as a “fly in the ointment”.
Fife Council had budgeted for replacing the bridge deck at a cost of £2.4 million.
But the 75-year-old structure needs more work than previously anticipated.
The cost of strengthening works has now reached £8.15m.
This is partly down to the fact the track will be electrified, resulting in the need for higher parapets.
Fife Council’s Labour co-leader David Ross gave an assurance that the bridge works would not hold up the wider Levenmouth rail project.
The bridge carries traffic over the track near what will soon be the new Leven station platform.
Leven’s railway station will be located next to the town’s leisure centre.
Passengers will also be able to board trains at Cameron Bridge for the first time in more than five decades.
Allen says: “The latest fly in the ointment is the assessment of costs on the Bawbee Bridge between Methil and Leven.
“That’s a huge funding challenge.
“It’s a race against time. The Bawbee Bridge repair project is scheduled to last 47 weeks, so they’ll have to get started soon.
“We’re feeling a little nervous about this, but we think there’s no going back.
“Hopefully there will be no hiccups.
“There shouldn’t be, because it is reopening an old track. There shouldn’t be any skeletons in the cupboard that prevent it.”
New Levenmouth rail link is for the ‘greater good’
Allen says some residents might have to adjust to the new link being in place.
“People who are used to walking around, crossing it, there are concerns that this privilege will be withdrawn.
“So we hope that they can adjust to what is a greater good for the local community.”
Network Rail sent letters out to residents to inform them about the start of works.
Senior communications manager Owen Campbell gave an assurance that paths and crossing points would remain open during the early phases of the work.
Rail project follows three decades of campaigning
Opened in 1854, the old Thornton to Leven line linked up with the Edinburgh to Aberdeen main line.
But it carried its last freight in 1966, and passengers in 1969.
There have been campaigns to reopen the line for the past three decades.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “We’re preparing the line for the works ahead.
“Main construction on the railway will begin soon as we work hard to reconnect these communities to our network.”
