Great North of Scotland revival campaign gathers momentum

A CAMPAIGN to bring more rail services back to the northeastern corner of Scotland is gathering pace, despite a recent report suggesting that schemes offer poor value for money.

The Campaign for North East Rail has launched a petition as part of its campaign to address the region’s poor rail connections.

A recent study by NESTRANS concluded that the reopening of the Buchan line offers poor value for money, and does not recommend reopening any lines in Aberdeenshire before 2040.

CNER argues that these conclusions are based on studies undertaken in 2017 and points to the success of the reopened Borders Railway in outperforming predictions on passenger demand.

CNER is campaigning to secure a feasibility study into rail proposals linking Peterhead and Fraserburgh with the existing Aberdeen-Inverness line, including realigning the trackbed north of Ellon to reduce journey times and reopening the former Aberdeen-Ballater line as far as Banchory.

These would be integrated with existing ScotRail, LNER and Caledonian Sleeper services, and an enhanced regional bus network.

Over the last two years Network Rail Scotland has spent about £100 million upgrading the Aberdeen-Inverness line, including redoubling the Aberdeen-Inverurie section to create capacity for more frequent services.

FERNDALE MEDIA Pressure is growing for the reinstatement of train services to Peterhead and Fraserburgh in northeast Scotland. On August 31, 1964, a Cravens DMU stands under the roof at Fraserburgh with a train for St Combs. Services ceased the following year.