Bid to reopen rail link between Perth and Edinburgh.

A motion will call for officials to write to Holyrood asking for a review

Transport chiefs are facing fresh calls to spend hundreds of millions of pounds reopening a direct rail link between Perth and Edinburgh.

Councillors will be asked next week to push for a resurrection of the old service, which was closed in 1970 to make way for the M90 motorway.

A new link, which could cut journey times by about 35 minutes, would involve building a new station and park and ride service in Kinross.

A survey from 2009 estimated the line would cost between £500 million and £1 billion.

A motion will be raised by councillors Calum Purves and Mike Barnacle on Wednesday, calling for officials to write to the Scottish Government asking for a review.

Mr Purves said: “There has always been a great deal of support for this in the Kinross-shire area.

“There are a lot of people living here who commute between Perth and Edinburgh, so it would certainly get used. And it would build on Perth’s position as an inter-city transport hub, as well as creating real economic benefits for the area.”

The motion calls for “serious consideration” to be given to upgrading rail infrastructure, compared to improvements to the local road network.

Mr Barnacle added: “To me, this is a no brainer. If you can do this in the borders, then they can do it here.

“While I fully support the concept, we would have to be very careful when planning out a route. There has been a lot of development at the old line since it was closed down.”

A recent council policy protects old rail lines in case they are ever revived.

MSP Liz Smith, who has campaigned for a Perth-Edinburgh link, added: “There is clear public support for this, and I hope that councillors from other parties can join with us in pressuring the Scottish Government to have a serious look at reopening the link.”

A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: “Our High Level Output Specification is absolutely clear about the importance of improved journey times and we expect Network Rail to work closely with ScotRail to maximise appropriate opportunities for faster journeys across the network.”

A Network Rail spokesman added: “We’re always open to discussing proposals to expand Scotland’s rail network where they meet a clear need and are supported by a clear business case. We currently have no plans for reopening this line.”

It would build on Perth’s position as an inter-city transport hub, as well as creating real economic benefits for the area. COUNCILLOR CALUM PURVES

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Councillor Calum Purves at a former railway bridge in Mawcarse where the train line used to run through, and he hopes to reinstate it.