Scotland’s transport minister said reopening Peterhead and Fraserburgh rail links would be a “great idea” while on a visit to the north-east yesterday.
Jenny Gilruth was invited by the Campaign for North East Rail (CNER) group to Dyce in Aberdeen to hear all about their ambitions for reopening railways in the region.
The minister joined the campaigners and local MSPs for a stroll along a section of the Formartine and Buchan Way, a pedestrian and cycle route which was formerly used by trains to travel to communities north of Aberdeen before the infamous Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
Our thanks to Transport Minister @JennyGilruth for taking the time to visit us in Dyce to discuss our proposals and the Transport problems faced in the North East. A positive and constructive discussion with cross-party MSP representation too. #ConnectOurCoast pic.twitter.com/4VjVoOwr9A
— Campaign for North East Rail (@CNERail) June 24, 2022
Jordan Jack, one of the founders of CNER, said they now have a “quite clear route forward after speaking with the minister”, but said the group needs “the whole north-east to stand up together and say we want this rail link”.
‘There’s a real strong feeling across the party political divide’
Ms Gilruth also met with Green, Conservative and SNP politicians who have been in discussions with the CNER members about their dream of north-east communities who have long been cut-off from the railway network getting back on track once more.
She said: “It was a really positive meeting today, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to come along and meet the campaign group, and elected members too.
“There’s a real strong feeling across the party political divide, which is always heartening to see as a minister.
“There is a case to be made up here.
“And of course, it’s not for me as a minister to make that case, it’s for the campaign group, but it was a great opportunity nonetheless to see for myself where the line might run and where it ran historically.”
Minister’s lessons from Levenmouth for north-east campaign
Before she was appointed transport minister, Ms Gilruth campaigned hard to reopen five key miles of railway line in Fife, to reconnect the town of Leven and other communities in the Levenmouth area to the rail network.
As MSP for Fife and Glenrothes, she helped to secure £70 million towards that £116m project, which is now underway.
The CNER had previously highlighted similarities between the arguments for reopening railways in Levenmouth and once more bringing back train journeys to Peterhead and the Broch.
Ms Gilruth noted their comparison, and said the CNER should take inspiration from those behind the successful project in her constituency.
“In Levenmouth, we did a lot of work with local communities,” said the minister.
“We had petitions, we had regular meetings with elected members, and opportunities for elected members to raise the campaign in the chamber.
“Potentially the CNER may be able to learn some lessons from the Levenmouth campaign group.
“I think they’re really positive, they really sell the case for reopening the line.
“They’re obviously passionate about their belief that it must be prioritised, so I admire the work that’s been undertaken here.”
Questions over funding
When asked directly if the CNER is a good idea, Ms Gilruth replied “Yeah, I think it’s a great idea”.
She continued: “I think we should be looking at lots of different railways and how we can reopen them.
“The question for government of course, is how do you fund that?
“We’re living in really challenging times at the moment, and I’m not going to shy away from that.
“But I do think if you look at what Beeching did to Scotland there’s a case there around connectivity and how we can better serve communities like those in the north-east, who were ultimately cut off as a result of those cuts.”
CNER say they know the route forward to get north-east back on track
CNER founding member Jordan Jack said his organisation’s next goal is to push for an official feasibility study to be carried out that follows the government’s official Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (or STAG).
Mr Jack said: “I think we’ve got quite a clear route forward after speaking with the minister and discussing the case.
“For us as a campaign, we know the direction we need to head in, and the next steps we need to take.
“We need to get the evidence together, and we need it in a STAG format, which is Transport Scotland’s format for assessing projects like this.
“But, we also need the whole north-east to stand up together and say we want this rail link
“We need communities to stand up, we need businesses to stand up, and we need councils to stand up too.”
Fellow CNER founder Craig Leuchars, who also met with the transport minister yesterday, said: “I think she was quite enthused to hear about the campaign, it brought it home for her I think to see things on the ground and see the infrastructure that currently exists.
“She obviously with her own experience of the Levenmouth campaign was able to give us some advice on how that campaign was progressed all the way through to what is now the construction phase.”
Out and about with @JennyGilruth & @CNERail today: talking about the regeneration opportunities that connecting the North East coast by rail could bring. Peterhead & Fraserburgh would benefit enormously!#ConnectOurCoast pic.twitter.com/8BHnGv8vCq
— Maggie Chapman MSP (@MaggieChapman) June 24, 2022
Wyndham Williams, also a CNER founder, added: “We’re really grateful for the minister for coming up, we appreciate the time as government time is a scarce resource, so it was great to have her come up and have a look around.”
Tory MSP also backs Campaign for North East Rail
North-east regional MSP Liam Kerr invited Ms Gilruth to visit the north-east and meet with local MSPS and the CNER back in February, and said he appreciated her visit yesterday.
Mr Kerr said: “CNER have put the work in and stacked up a compelling case for moving this forward.
“And it is clear from the cross-party attendance that there is a significant public and political interest.
“I’ll continue to press Ms Gilruth on this at Holyrood, and work with the CNER on the next steps for the campaign.”
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