This article by Anita Diouri appeared in the Dundee Courier on 26 November 2020

Kinross rail link 'could cut journey times from Perth to Edinburgh by 35 minutes'

Calls have been renewed for to reinstate the Kinross rail link, amid claims it would cut journey times from Perth to Edinburgh by up to 35 minutes.

The direct rail route from Edinburgh to Perth, via Dunfermline, Kinross and Glenfarg was closed in 1970 to make way for the M90 motorway. As well as cutting journey times, it would create a transport hub in Kinross, serving the growing town and its residents working in the east coast region.

Conservative councillor Callum Purves of the Kinross-Shire ward said: "Reinstating the rail link to Kinross is a project that has strong support in the local community. "As Kinross-shire continues to grow as a result of large-scale developments and with many local residents commuting outwith the area to get to work, the case for a new train station is stronger now than ever."

SNP MSP Roseanna Cunningham of Perthshire South and Kinross-shire echoed the call but said: "As far as I am aware, the biggest problem facing any campaign to restore a rail service for Kinross is that the original line serving the town, which ran between Perth and Edinburgh, has been almost entirely built over, in particular by the M90."^**

Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross said: "Kinross has a good case for a new train station."

^**In fact, according to the InterCity Express project, "Much of the proposed route alignment is still in existence. Some development has inevitably taken place at a number of locations, and a four-mile tunnelled section would be required to avoid the M90 and Glenfarg village."

It is thought likely that the total cost of this project would be around half the cost of dualling either the A9, or the A96. Journeys from the FNL to Edinburgh and beyond would benefit enormously.