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Wednesday, 7th January, 2009

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Hopes grow for direct Dunfermline to Glasgow rail service

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"Re: Rail services from Alloa I no longer live in the area but have been interested to follow the re-opening of the Alloa railway. (I travelled to Tillicoultry and Dollar in steam days!) Regarding recent comment on the extension of services (e.g. to Dunfermline, at least) I would observe the following. The restored SAK line includes parts of two distinct former routes. The section from Stirling to Alloa is part of the former double-track main line from Stirling to Dunfermline and Fife. This line closed to passengers in 1968. The section from Alloa to Kincardine is part of the Alloa-Kincardine-Dunfermline branch line, which closed to passengers very much earlier, in 1930. On the main line, the journey time from Stirling to Dunfermline was about 30 minutes. If the main line existed today, a limited stop Dunfermline-Glasgow journey of just under an hour might be possible. The main Stirling-Dunfermline line was not apparently on the original ‘Beeching’ closure list. (Nor, incidentally, was the direct main line from Edinburgh to Perth via Dunfermline and Kinross.) Although the eastern end of the Stirling-Dunfermline line, which passed through the former Dunfermline Upper station, did not completely close until as recently as 1993, the track-bed has subsequently (and, it would appear short-sightedly) been built over and destroyed within Dunfermline. Today, short of restoring the main line and providing a completely new east-south link near Dunfermline, rail services east of Alloa would have to use the curvaceous, single-track coastal freight route through Kincardine, which would be unlikely to support a frequent or fast service to Dunfermline. Also, for Edinburgh, a new east-south curve would be required at Charleston since the remaining Kincardine line joins the line from the Forth Bridge at a north-facing junction. In short, it appears that major investment (perhaps similar to that for an upper Forth road crossing) would be required properly to restore main line passenger rail services east of Alloa. But could the recently reconstructed Alloa line support increased services? It is noticeable that, although the Stirling-Alloa section has been built as mostly single track on a former double-track alignment, some of the new drainage and signalling works appear to encroach on the former track-bed, which (without major rework) would appear to limit the potential for any future re-doubling to accommodate additional or more frequent services. A revived Stirling-Dollar service might be a more logical extension of the present single-line, hourly Alloa service. In this regard, it is perhaps also unfortunate that the new Alloa station has been built just east of the former junction with the Devon Valley line. The new Alloa station is thus in the wrong place for any future restoration of services to the Hillfoots, Tillicoultry and Dollar, which would require it to be moved back to its original location. But then, addressing all the above would have involved rather more forward planning! Yours, etc., "

Posted by Observer, on 9/13/2008 00:04.

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