Murdo has asked the SNP Government to facilitate a meeting between Transport Scotland and the Newburgh Train Station Group after telling Holyrood that “progress has been glacially slow” regarding the proposal to build a rail station there.
He recently asked Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop if this can take place as soon as possible.
Murdo raised the issue following a Portfolio Question on Newburgh Railway Station from Willie Rennie MSP.
Newburgh Rail Station closed in 1955 but in recent years the local community have campaigned to reopen the station to reconnect it to the railway line that runs through the village, as they believe this would put Newburgh firmly back on the map and boost the local economy.
Commenting, Murdo said: “The campaign to have a rail station reopened at Newburgh has a lot of community backing in Newburgh and its catchment area and has attracted cross-party support at the Scottish Parliament. It also has the full backing of Fife Council and has now reached the stage of completing a full STAG (Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance) report, which was submitted to Transport Scotland by the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran).
“During the discussion on the proposal at the Scottish Parliament, the Transport Minister said that Transport Scotland had not taken up the offer to meet SEStran but said they are considering the options put forward by them. However, we heard that the STAG appraisal was submitted in June last year and that it took more than six months for Transport Scotland to respond.
“We know that the project is well supported by the local community. A site has been identified and there are plans to construct a platform at a relatively low cost, but progress has been glacially slow. I therefore asked the Transport Minister if she will facilitate an early meeting between Transport Scotland and the Newburgh Train Station Group so that we can finally see some progress on what would be a very welcome project.”
Murdo continued: “The Newburgh Train Station Group have put a lot of work and effort into this campaign and it must be said that if this proposal went ahead it would result in Newburgh being the rail gateway into Fife as the northerly station in the Kingdom. I have been told that many tourists and international visitors to Newburgh often comment on the lack of a rail station. It would be a massive boost to the area if it did get one.”
