15/05/2008 03:25:00
After a break of 40 years, direct rail services between Stirling, Alloa and Kincardine are back on track.
Passenger services will be available from Monday 19 May.
According to the BBC, around 300 invited guests are anticipated to witness Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson officially open the track at Alloa's new station today.
The Alloa to Stirling maiden trip is expected to be made by a steam train hauled by the Great Marquess. It cost more than £85 million to upgrade the 13-mile stretch of track, which has lain idle since 1968, despite an original budget of £37 million.
A direct service between Alloa, Stirling and Glasgow will be provided by the new, line while commuters travelling to Edinburgh will be able to do so via connecting services at Stirling station. The track will end at Longannet power station, near Kincardine in Fife.
The track will also support freight services and a spokesman for Transport Scotland told the BBC that the new freight service would provide an alternative route for coal from the west of Scotland to Longannet Power Station and thereby reduce rail congestion on the Forth Bridge. As a result, services from Edinburgh to both Aberdeen and Perth (which cross the Forth Bridge) are expected to double in frequency from December.
The Scotsman reported that, Scott Prentice, the senior project manager for Transport Scotland, said:
"The business case for the line was a more efficient route for coal trains, but the absolute beauty of the project is that it provides passenger trains to Alloa at marginal extra cost."