Branchline to Dunoon

[adamedwards]

Came across this plan for tunnels under the Clyde to open up the Cowal peninsula for development and avoid landslip prone roads further north. The plans include a railway (!) with stations at Kilcreggan, Strone, Sandbank and Dunoon

https://thelochsidepress.com/2016/0...d-to-quadruple-population-of-cowal-peninsula/
https://thelochsidepress.com/2016/0...d-to-quadruple-population-of-cowal-peninsula/
Anyone for a stopper from Dunoon to Berwick North?

 

[randyrippley]

With any construction possibly threatening ship and submarine access to Coulport and Faslane, I really don't see this as ever happening as long as the Clyde bases are in use. Even a tunnel presents a terrorist risk to passing vessels

 

[oldman]

The Iain Banks novel The crow road has a branch off the West Highland to Gallanach, an imaginary town near Crinan in Mid-Argyll. After stops at Lochgilphead and Lochgair, it 'crossed the narrows [to the Cowal Peninsula] at Minard, and stopped at Garbhallt, Strachur, Lochgoilhead and Portincaple Junction, where it joined the West Highland line'. The crossing of Loch Long would be interesting, given the elevation at Portincaple Junction. He doesn't mention a further branch to Dunoon!

 

[NotATrainspott]

If a fixed link were built, it would be a road tunnel. There's just not enough point building a railway tunnel, since most of the cross-water journeys people would want to make would not be suitable for rail.

Even with a 4x increase in population, Dunoon would still be far too small to justify 8 or 9 figure infrastructure investment. The Queensferry Crossing cost around £1.5bn but it was vital for the whole of Scotland. A similar expense for Dunoon would serve only one hundredth the population at most.

Ferries are (comparatively) cheap. While they won't lead to a step change in possibilities they do not require massively speculative investments. As far as I understand it, weather problems on the crossing could be mitigated by better harbour infrastructure, so it's not like there's nothing that can be done to make the transport links more reliable.