Friday 25 Aug 2023
Closure dates announced for Levenmouth railway crossings
- Region & Route:
- Scotland’s Railway: Scotland
Network Rail is advising communities along the route of the Levenmouth line that crossing points over the railway will close at the end of the month.
The permanent closures, from August 31, include at a number of former paths and any historic public rights which have been legally extinguished and are no longer open to the public.
Crossing point closures include at Waukmill, Doubledykes and Durievale and all will be fenced-off to secure the railway.
It is no longer safe to allow public access as sections of the track are now complete and are part of the operational railway – carrying engineering trains to support the ongoing construction of the line.
There will also be temporary restrictions at Duniface, Methilhill and Mountfleurie during the construction of new bridges over the line at these locations.
Proposals for the new bridges are currently going through planning consent and dates when temporary closures will be in place to enable their construction will be confirmed following that process.
The majority of the crossing point closures will be permanent, but the three new bridges on the route will maintain connections between communities, improve access to the line’s new stations at Leven and Cameron Bridge and play an integral part in the enhanced active travel network in the area.
The bridges will provide safe access over the new £116m Scottish Government-funded railway, which will connect Levenmouth to the rail network for the first time in more than 50 years when it opens in 2024.
When complete, the new line will create a direct link with Edinburgh across 10kms of new track and deliver two new stations for the community.
Joe Mulvenna, Network Rail’s project manager for the Levenmouth Rail Link project, said: “With significant work ongoing across the route to deliver the stations, signalling and bridges limiting access is now unavoidable as securing the railway boundary will protect the safety of the public.
“The most effective way of reducing level crossing risk on the railway is to remove crossings and we do not design them into new railways.
“The development of the rail link and associated active travel enhancements has given us the opportunity to reduce the number of crossings and replace some core paths and well-used walking routes with the new bridges which we are building on behalf of Fife Council.”
Notes to Editors
Crossing points at Balgonie, Doubledykes, Waulkmill, Tullybreck and Durievale will close permanently on August 31.
Crossing points and pathways at Methilhill, Duniface (x2) and Mountfleurie will remain open until planning consents have been received and work to construct new bridges gets underway.
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