Three new rail links mooted
Stations plan explored
Perth and Kinross could be in line for three new train stations.
The PA understands the prospect of a train station on the western edge of the Carse, Bridge of Earn and the creation of one between Perth and Dunkeld are three possibilities being considered.
The business cases for a station in Bridge of Earn and in the western Carse are currently being explored.
Tactran, Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership, recently received funding from Transport Scotland to do a study on the Perth to Montrose rail network, and the case for a station on the western edge of the Carse is one option being explored. Plans for a station north of Perth to serve the likes of Bertha Park and Stanley are further down the line.
A spokesperson for Tactran said: “The study will focus on whether park and choose sites along the PerthMontrose rail corridor, maximising the opportunities presented by ScotRail’s Revolution in Rail timetable changes, can address the transport issues of: reducing and managing peak time trips in and through Dundee and Perth; contribute to improving air quality in Perth and Dundee City centres and complement Dundee’s low emission zone proposals; increasing connectivity options for communities outside the two cities, especially the Angus communities, for local and strategic trips.”
The spokesperson told us the money has been provided through Transport Scotland’s Local Rail Development Fund.
The terms of the fund stipulate Tactran has to make a “case for change” - identifying there is a problem that needs to be addressed. The case study then requires an “initial appraisal” exploring all the options to address these problems before finally giving a “detailed appraisal” of which options are “most likely to best achieve objectives.”
The Bridge of Earn study is further in the future, with Tactran currently at the “case for change” stage.
However, Tactran tell us no work has commenced on the TayCities Park and Choose study which would look at the prospect of creating a train station in the Stanley/Bertha Park area with the creation of a further park and ride facility for Perth.
Four councils - Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Stirling - are involved in Tactran.
Perth and Kinross councillor Andrew Parrott, who sits on the Tactran board, is very excited at the prospect of opening up the rail network around Perth to give more travelling choice to the people of Perth and Kinross.
Perth City Centre’s Cllr Parrott, a keen rail historian, said the move could undo some of the damage done in the 1960s when many small railway stations were closed, as well as helping the environment.
He said: “The climate change agenda was unheard of. It’s well to the fore now and different 60 years later.
“We are drowning under the use of the car.”
He added that with population growth, creating these new train stations “makes sense” but there was “a long way to go” before his hopes of creating three new train stations can become a reality.