Fife received a major public transport boost this summer with the restoration of rail services on the branch line to Leven. Originally closed to passengers in 1969, the five and a half mile link to the seaside town carried coal traffic until the mothballing of Methil Power Station in 2001. Although the railway never officially ceased to be operational, the tracks were no longer maintained and quietly rusted away, becoming a popular place for local dog walkers and urban explorers. A reopening campaign was launched in 2008 and the Scottish Government gave the go-ahead 11 years later, with a price tag of £70 million put on the the project. Although the route already existed, new track and signalling was required.
After a Covid-enforced delay, work began in March 2022 and the costs for the double-track railway had now risen to £116 million. Some of the increase was due to the installation of piles along the entire length for possible future electrification. The scope of the development had also widened to include integration with active travel plans. In just over two years, the line was ready and First Minister John Swinney performed the official opening ceremony. Hourly trains connect Leven to Edinburgh (via Kirkcaldy) and there are plans to double the frequency by running services around the other side of the Fife Circle through Dunfermline. I decided to make my maiden trip on the line during the first week of my summer holidays. I drove to Kirkcaldy and bought a return ticket at the platform machine. The cost was £4.90 which my sister Linda informed me is cheaper than the bus. Quicker too, with the train journey being just 20 minutes each way. This tariff is available all day as the Scottish Government has suspended peak-time fares in an effort to encourage more people to use the rail network. Around a dozen people boarded the train and it was easy to find a window seat. After four and a half miles on the East Coast Main Line, we reached the triangular junction for the Fife Circle. In reality, this system is a frying pan shape with the handle extending across the River Forth to Edinburgh. Trains do not run continuously around Fife and I'm led to believe they no longer set out from the capital city and complete the return loop. Services have reverted to using one side of the "circle" only, which means a journey from Dunfermline to Kirkcaldy now requires an awkward dog-leg change at Inverkeithing. In any case, my train branched off the main line on the opposite side, slightly further along. A one-mile section of the Leven branch was reopened in 2012 for open-cast coal movements. This arrangement lasted three years and required a track upgrade, which made it easier to commence work on the full restoration as the relevant machinery could be easily brought into position. Around ten years ago, I walked the decaying railway from Leven town centre up to the refurbished freight spur. I'm glad I did that before the site became strictly off-limits, although I heard a soft approach was taken to interlopers during the early reconstruction phase. Technically a person on the old trackbed was trespassing but the public had adopted the route as an unofficial walkway over the years. Now of course everything is fenced off to the max and here I was, bowling along a passenger line that was back in business after more than half a century. It had originally opened in 1854 and was extended all the way around the Fife coast to St Andrews, re-joining the trunk corridor at Leuchars. The seaboard section - which would surely be an attractive proposition today - was closed in 1965, leaving stubs in place to serve Leven and St Andrews, both of which bit the dust four years later. A parallel campaign to restore the St Andrews link is ongoing but there is no realistic prospect of trains ever running around the East Neuk again. Large chunks of trackbed have been lost to housebuilding and agriculture. But it's a huge step forward to have one piece of the jigsaw glued back into place.
The St Andrews business case is based upon tourism, golf, university access and the alleviation of congestion. Property prices are so high that many people who work in the town cannot afford to live there. Leven is a different kettle of fish entirely. Methil Docks at one time exported vast quantities of coal and other goods across the world and the entire Levenmouth area was dominated by mining and heavy industry. These days are gone and the contiguous coastal towns of Leven, Methil and Buckhaven have been an unemployment blackspot since the 1980s. Some shipping activity remains (pulp and timber), while green jobs have been created at the off-shore wind farm. It's a long way short of the halcyon days and the return of the railway is aimed primarily at economic regeneration. The conurbation has suffered from poor (and slow) bus connections over the decades and the capital city can now be reached in little more than an hour, with services available from dawn to dusk. The return fare is £11.90 - around the same price as a day ticket for Stagecoach buses in the east of Scotland. Throw in the speedy service to Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth residents now have far better access to work and educational opportunities. Declining economic circumstances often blunt civic engagement and the successful rail campaign has been a fantastic achievement by the local community. The train picked up speed and I passed by a field containing three black Highland cows. The line basically follows the River Ore, crossing it once before the the watercourse joins the River Leven (which flows out of the loch of the same name) just before the Cameron Bridge distillery complex and adjacent bio-energy plant. Owned by global drinks giant Diageo, the distillery produces base spirit for famous alcohol brands such as Smirnoff, Gordon's Gin, Johnny Walker and Bells. A single-grain whisky was marketed under the name Cameron Brig but has now been discontinued. The energy plant uses waste products to generate 80% of the distillery's electricity needs. The railway passes directly alongside these operations and the original Cameron Bridge Station was situated here. The island platform remained in situ after the withdrawal of passenger services and could readily be explored until demolition during the reopening works. The new station was built on the other side of the A915 and is the only intermediate stop on the line. The facility has 125 car-parking spaces with passive provision for more than double this total. Only a small number of vehicles were present today and a solitary passenger disembarked, with nobody waiting. The station has been designed as a park-and-ride scheme for surrounding communities and will take a while to become established. It also offers access to Cameron Hospital, which specialises in stroke rehabilitation and addiction services.
A great opportunity was missed to convey freight to and from Diageo, who also run a huge bottling plant just along the road from the distillery. Carbon dioxide tanks were delivered by rail until the mid-90s but the company declined to take advantage of the new transport link on their doorstep. A pity, as the the only alternative is to send lorries along the A915 which is already creaking at the seams. Approaching Leven, we passed the Fife Heritage Railway which operates within an old shunting yard. Formerly known as the unwieldy Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society (KFRPS), the volunteer group acquired Kirkland Yard in 2001, just as the goods service to Methil Power Station ceased (it was finally pulled down in 2011). The site was opened to the public in 2008 and rides are available along half a mile of track. Events are staged on the last Sunday of the month during the warmer periods of the year. Unfortunately no provision was made for a junction with the new main line, despite trains passing almost within touching distance of the heritage rolling stock behind a security fence. One benefit the group received was an upgraded car-park, as payment for Network Rail using the heritage compound to stable equipment. Finally we coasted into the terminus and the island platform is over 200 metres in length, meaning it can accommodate far more coaches than the three-car unit I travelled in today. I wandered along to the far end and snapped a photo of the tracks running alongside the river (second picture in post). The station has step-free access to the small car-park and a walkway connects to the promenade. There is no dedicated ticket office but machines are located under the covered entrance. Beyond the buffers you can still see the bridge (pictured above) that formerly carried the tracks over the river mouth towards the power station. A whole network of tracks once existed at Methil Docks and freight trains ran right down to the shore until the 1980s.
The current station site occupies a different location to the original, as the Fife coastal line ran to the north of the town centre. Much of this formation in Leven has been obliterated over the years. Today's terminus sits on the dock branch that came off the old route. It's actually far more convenient as the High Street and bus station are a mere stone's throw away. The leisure centre and swimming pool are adjacent to the platforms and Bayview Stadium - home of East Fife FC - is nearby. The railway tale ends here but the people of Levenmouth (population around 35,000) are back on the national network.
I walked around the town centre, checking out my sister's new optician premises which are almost ready to start trading. There's no getting away from the fact that the High Street has seen better days but it's an issue affecting many towns across the country. I picked up lunch from the bakers and patronised the fruit shop. Always nice to give local vendors some support. Leven was once a seaside resort and visitors flocked from as far afield as Glasgow. People do still come from outside the local area as the 117-mile Fife Coastal Path runs right along the shoreline. Needless to say, I have completed the entire trek. Nicole and I often come down to walk along the wide beach and observe the birdlife. There will always be armchair naysayers and even locals who insist that nobody will ever want to visit their patch (nothing here, apparently) but Leven has a lot to offer and makes a nice wee day trip on the train. What are you waiting for?
Comments