CrossCountry trains will once again stop at Fife stations from May.
The rail operator, which runs services between Aberdeen and Penzance, pulled its Fife stops when demand plummeted during the pandemic.
It now plans to reinstate stops at Leuchars, Cupar, Ladybank, Markich, Kirkcaldy and Inverkeithing.
However CrossCountry has indicated there will only be one northbound and one southbound train serving these stations, and only on certain days.
Fife Lib Dem councillor and local rail campaigner Jane Ann Liston gave the move a cautious welcome.
“While it is good that CrossCountry trains will no longer whizz through Leuchars, Cupar and Ladybank without stopping, the proposed service is only around half what it was at the beginning of 2020.”
‘No lack of demand’
From May, a Monday to Friday CrossCountry service departing from Aberdeen at 8.20am will leave Leuchars at 9.46am.
After calling at Cupar, Ladybank, Markinch and Kirkcaldy, it will leave Inverkeithing at 10.33am.
A CrossCountry spokesperson indicated there would also be an evening service calling at Fife stations on Fridays and Saturdays, leaving Edinburgh at 6.13pm.
Jane Ann expressed disappointment that the CrossCountry did not restore Fife services closer to pre-pandemic levels.
“While it is good that CrossCountry services are apparently being restored to Fife, the reduction from the pre-covid timetable means that the direct cross-border services to the Midlands and West Country will be less than in the days of British Rail.
“There is no lack of demand for travel from north east Fife to these destinations, particularly from Leuchars, due to the University of St Andrews.”
Ben Simkin is regional director for the North East and Scotland at CrossCountry.
He confirmed the return of CrossCountry trains to Fife.
“These services were removed during Covid to reflect the change in passenger demand.
“From May 2023, there will be one southbound morning service and one northbound evening service. These complement services being provided by ScotRail.”
Meanwhile North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain described it as a “welcome development”.
“I’m glad that the company have finally reversed pandemic-era cuts after restoring stops north of Dundee last year.”
She added: “The rail industry faced many challenges during the pandemic and patterns of travel are still different to what they were before.”
Conversation