Something positive could come out of Longannet Power Station’s impending closure through the creation of a new ‘Forth Circle’ rail loop, it has been argued.
Scotland’s last coal-fired power station is due to close on March 31 and campaigners believe Longannet’s demise should now remove any barriers to reopening the old Kincardine to Dunfermline line.
The link closed to passengers in 1930, and Scottish Power would not allow usage of the railway in more recent years because it was being used for coal transport.
But with that hurdle set to be removed in little over six months’ time, hundreds of people have now signed a new petition calling on the Scottish Government to free up funds for passenger platforms serving villages in west Fife.
Martin Keatings, who lives in nearby Cairneyhill and has launched the online petition, believes the plan will open up several opportunities, including a direct link between the Fife Circle and the Alloa to Stirling lines.
“Infrastructure is the lifeblood of any community,” he told The Courier.
“Being from Hawick in the Borders I know the benefit of a rail network and the disaster of it being taken away.
“The railway being removed from Hawick as a result of the Beeching cuts was responsible for the death of many a Borders town.
“Scotland needs to get serious if it wants to get green and be able to sustain its transport infrastructure in the coming decades and that starts with reversing the damage caused by the Beeching cuts.
“This is a project that not only the people of the west Fife villages can get behind, but also the people of Fife and Clackmannan.”
Mr Keatings reckons the likes of Crossford, Cairneyhill, Torryburn, Valleyfield, Culross and Kincardine could all benefit from new rail halts, and that could relieve commuter congestion on the roads and elsewhere on the rail network.
Network Rail has said there are “no plans for the extension of passenger services”, but acknowledged that the change of freight use could spark a review of how the line is used.
The prospect could well feature in next year’s Scottish Parliament election campaign, although Mr Keatings hopes his petition will build a cross-party consensus on the issue.
“Transport infrastructure is used in many cases for political capital,” he admitted.
“But it should be about more than that and about providing a beneficial and sustainable service to the public.”