THE possibility of adding a rail station at the Halbeath park and ride site has been debated in the Scottish Parliament.

The members’ debate was secured by MSP Alex Rowley urging the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and Fife Council to work together in making Halbeath one of Scotland’s key multimodal transport interchanges.

Both Mr Rowley and Dunfermline MSP Cara Hilton strongly urged tranpsort minister Keith Brown to recognise the potential the Halbeath facility has for expansion and to ask him for a funding commitment. Mr Rowley said in the debate, “In speaking to the motion tonight, I am asking that the Scottish Government make further funding available to create a rail halt at the Halbeath park and choose.

“A rail halt at Halbeath would take some of the pressure off the rail halt and car parks at Inverkeithing station and it would greatly improve the choice at Halbeath.

“Halbeath is strategically located, close to the M90, A90 and A92. It sits alongside the Fife Circle railway and is well positioned to become one of Scotland’s key multimodal transport interchanges.

“The strategic transport projects review of 2009 identified both a park-and-ride bus site and a park-and-ride rail halt, with rail improvements between Inverkeithing and Halbeath.

"The first step towards achieving that objective would be to put the rail halt in. It could be linked to the Fife Circle route, thereby giving people access to the railway as currently operated.

“Adding a rail halt and providing a visible and accessible park-and-choose facility would increase people’s choice and would achieve the aim of making public transport more competitive with the car.” Mr Brown said, “To those who wish to have a station at Halbeath, I suggest – as we suggest in any such situation throughout the country – that, as a first step, they discuss the proposal with the regional transport partnership, which in this case is SEStran.

“In turn, SEStran can assess the proposal in line with its local and regional transport priorities.

“If SEStran wishes to progress the proposal, it will undertake a STAG appraisal.

"That work will first identify whether there is a need for improved transport connectivity in the area and, if there is, consider all potential transport options objectively, and not just rail.

"That is not to say that it would not be rail but it has to be clear that rail is the best investment.” Ms Hilton said, “Halbeath is rapidly growing and changing. Hundreds of new houses are being built right next to Halbeath village and many more are in the pipeline for the nearby Shepherd Offshore site and the wider Duloch area.

“While that is good news for my constituency, the current infrastructure, including schools and transport links, has struggled to keep pace with the change.” She went on, “One of the biggest issues that constituents are raising with me is difficulty in parking at train stations.

“Most car parks in the area are full by eight o’clock in the morning, making it difficult for people to access train services into Edinburgh and beyond.

“Many commuters from across Fife and Perthshire park at Inverkeithing train station, which is struggling to cope with the demand. For many of my constituents, there is no option but to face the traffic and drive across the Forth bridge.

“At Halbeath park and ride, there are 1000 car-parking spaces. It is already a popular transport hub that caters for those who want to park and ride and for those who want to car-share. It could be much more.” Ms Hilton will now be contacting Fife Council’s head of transport to ask that progress be made in addressing infrastructure near Halbeath.

She added, “I hope that the minister will confirm that the funding and timescales for such a vital and strategically important project will be put in place, because it will make a huge difference, not just to the Fife economy and to Fife commuters, but to Scotland.” Would you like to see a rail halt at the park and ride in Halbeath? Join the debate now and vote in our online poll.