Rail campaign on right lines

Sir, – Joe Gilmour asks some fair questions about the proposed reinstatement of the Levenmouth rail link which I am happy to answer. It is, of course, not in the Levenmouth Rail Campaign’s power to make the detailed decisions around his queries but we do have our own ideas about how it will work.

Our hope is that the new Leven station will be situated behind the swimming pool at the Bawbee Bri, giving us a close-to-integrated transport hub with the nearby bus station. We have highlighted the need to reserve adequate parking to Fife Council in its future plans for the surrounding area. We also hope to have e-bikes available and facilities to encourage the use of active travel, especially by connecting to the National Cycle Paths.

By “direct” services to Edinburgh we mean you will be able to get on a train at Leven and get off at Edinburgh without having to change, with an anticipated journey time of 55 minutes. This may well involve integration with the Fife Circle route but that is a matter for the rail authorities and Abellio to judge.

The need for the line to reopen is based on the very poor quality of existing public transport connections from Levenmouth to west Fife and Edinburgh. There is ample evidence that this acts as a deterrent to accessing jobs and college places outwith the area. Employment, education and tourism opportunities provided by reinstating the rail link will be much more easily available both to our local people and to visitors, helping to return prosperity to an area that has been battered for 50 years by economic and social turbulence.

Mr Gilmour – like everyone else – is welcome to come along to our monthly public meetings which are held on the last Tuesday of each month (not July or December) from 6.30pm -8pm. We meet in the Fife College building beside Levenmouth Academy in Methilhaven Road, Methil. We’ll be happy to discuss any other questions he or others may have.