Buchan Sustainable Transport Study - Peterhead and Fraserburgh stations

[och aye]

Some news regarding the Buchan Sustainable Transport Study looking at potential reinstatement of rail links in North East Scotland.

Possible rail connection benefits in Aberdeenshire highlighted

Campaigners believe many Aberdeenshire communities need to be reconnected with train links.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Buchan Sustainable Transport Study, which was commissioned last year, used data analysis and surveys with hundreds of residents.

It was funded through the Scottish government's Just Transition Fund.

The option of a passenger and freight rail line between Aberdeen city centre and Fraserburgh via Peterhead could also stop at Dyce, Newmachar, Ellon, Cruden Bay and St Fergus.

The cost of such a project has still to be fully determined.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I cant see it happening in my lifetime. I think they will spend the money on Central Belt and decarbonizing/electrifying existing assets first.

 

[The Puddock]

I cant see it happening in my lifetime.

For context, how old are you?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

For context, how old are you?

Born in 1957 - so 67 years old

 

[The Puddock]

Probably right enough then.

 

[najaB]

I cant see it happening in my lifetime. I think they will spend the money on Central Belt and decarbonizing/electrifying existing assets first.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the first trains to Peterhead will be EMUs running through from Glasgow/Edinburgh.

 

[Millisle]

Just for the sake of clarity, does this plan envisage notional use of the former alignment to Ellon, the Boddam branch, thence complete new build?

 

[Morayshire]

Possibly... if the image on the website linked to below is correct. This shows the route going to Ellon then heading towards Cruden Bay then north to Peterhead and then onwards to Fraserburgh.

Not been able to find the actual report yet either

Web page with possible route

New rail link would bring huge economic, social, health and safety benefits to Buchan, study finds

A new rail link connecting Aberdeen to Fraserburgh via Peterhead would deliver a north-east economic boom and reduce fatal accidents on one of Scotland’s deadliest roads, a key study has found. The findings come hot on the heels of the opening of the Levenmouth rail link, following a multi-million-pound Scottish Government investment – leaving Peterhead and Fraserburgh as the two largest towns in the UK furthest from the rail network. Commissioned by the Campaign for North East Rail (CNER) and the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), the report also found the link could support the just transition and new jobs.

The Buchan Sustainable Transport Study sets out options for a new rail line which would help address economic inequality in the region’s most deprived communities in Peterhead and Fraserburgh with business leaders backing the proposal to extend the East Coast line to both towns. Through data analysis and surveys with hundreds of residents, the report produced evidence of stifled investment and job opportunities, alongside reduced access to healthcare, due to limited public transport and unreliable commuting times. The link could significantly improve economic fortunes, according to the report, increasing the labour market for the region by 65%.

Similarly, the line would open up a 40% increase in job opportunities elsewhere for residents of Fraserburgh, Peterhead and their surrounds. Currently, commuters to Aberdeen need to use the A90 (N) / A952, statistically one of the deadliest single carriageways in Scotland. The report found that opening the new link could reduce 75% of serious or fatal accidents on the road and support Scottish Government goals to prevent these outright by 2050.

The preferred line would support the region’s wider economic strategy by facilitating opportunities in net zero as well as decarbonising transport in the shift from road to rail. It would include the option for a freight link to St Fergus providing transport to the multi-billion-pound Acorn carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen development at St Fergus, while the wider line could connect workers to renewable energy opportunities centred around ports and harbours across the region. Buchan’s existing long-term industries such as food, drink and tourism would also benefit, with fishing and seafood processing key sectors in Fraserburgh and Peterhead

The preferred option consists of a new passenger and freight rail line created between Aberdeen city centre and Fraserburgh via Peterhead, including a mix of reinstated track and new alignment. It would serve passengers with stops at Dyce, Newmachar, Ellon, Cruden Bay, alongside options for two freight spurs at St Fergus and Peterhead, and potential for new alignment to be created for a stop at Pitmedden

The cost of the project would be determined through a follow-up detailed options appraisal, which campaigners are now calling on government to bring forward. Funded through the Scottish Government Just Transition Fund, the Buchan Sustainable Transport Study was carried out by infrastructure and professional services consultancies AECOM and Stantec for CNER and AGCC

Jordan Jack, general secretary of CNER, said: “This study has shown us that extending the East Coast Line northwards and maintaining the Formartine and Buchan Way as a cycle path is feasible and would be transformative for North-east Scotland.

“Evidence from this report underlines what locals live and experience every day: poor transport links are stifling our potential, damaging access to healthcare, and limiting job opportunities in the region. “As this report attests, Fraserburgh and Peterhead are among the most deprived settlements in Aberdeenshire, and reconnection to the rail network will drastically improve people’s economic fortunes, health outcomes, education and social inclusion.”

Russell Borthwick, chief executive of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, added: “This report shows the scale of what’s possible – and as we’ve seen recently with Levenmouth and right here in the North-east with the AWPR, this vision can become a reality with the political will to make it happen. “This link could reverse economic inequality and deliver a boost to Buchan, turbocharging its net zero, food and drink and tourism offerings. In addition, it could drastically reduce emissions from passenger and freight transport. “I urge all key decisionmakers and political representatives to get behind this vast opportunity for our region.

---

 

[Millisle]

Possibly... if the image on the website linked to below is correct. This shows the route going to Ellon then heading towards Cruden Bay then north to Peterhead and then onwards to Fraserburgh.

Not been able to find the actual report yet either

Web page with possible route

Thanks very much.

 

[najaB]

Not knowing the area at all, does the topology lend itself to serving Pitmedden? It seems like a sizable diversion from a more direct route to Ellon for a village of around 1,000 people.

 

[D6130]

Not knowing the area at all, does the topology lend itself to serving Pitmedden? It seems like a sizable diversion from a more direct route to Ellon for a village of around 1,000 people.

Back in the day. Pitmedden used to have a station on the Great North of Scotland main line to Elgin. There's an AHB level crossing at the site of it.

 

[Railsigns]

Back in the day. Pitmedden used to have a station on the Great North of Scotland main line to Elgin. There's an AHB level crossing at the site of it.

Pitmedden level crossing closed when the line was re-doubled. It was never an AHB, but it had miniature red/green warning lights.

 

[D6130]

Pitmedden level crossing closed when the line was re-doubled. It was never an AHB, but it had miniature red/green warning lights.

Thanks for the correction. When I first travelled over the line in the front of a class 120 DMU in August 1972, it still had manned gates and was protected in both directions by ex-Great North of Scotland Railway lower-quadrant semaphore signals.

 

[Railsigns]

When I first travelled over the line in the front of a class 120 DMU in August 1972, it still had manned gates and was protected in both directions by ex-Great North of Scotland Railway lower-quadrant semaphore signals.

They wouldn't have had long to go; the miniature red/green lights came into use on 11 November 1973. The signal box there was an unusual octagonal shape.

 

[Bald Rick]

I cant see it happening in my lifetime. I think they will spend the money on Central Belt and decarbonizing/electrifying existing assets first.

I can’t see it happening in my grandchildren’s lifetime.…

 

[The Puddock]

Back in the day. Pitmedden used to have a station on the Great North of Scotland main line to Elgin. There's an AHB level crossing at the site of it.

Pitmedden level crossing closed when the line was re-doubled. It was never an AHB, but it had miniature red/green warning lights.

Thanks for the correction. When I first travelled over the line in the front of a class 120 DMU in August 1972, it still had manned gates and was protected in both directions by ex-Great North of Scotland Railway lower-quadrant semaphore signals.

They wouldn't have had long to go; the miniature red/green lights came into use on 11 November 1973. The signal box there was an unusual octagonal shape.

That's a totally different Pitmedden. The village of the same name on the proposed reinstated Buchan line is near Udny Green, about 8 miles northeast (as the crow flies) from the closed level crossing. It never had a station before.

 

[najaB]

Back in the day. Pitmedden used to have a station on the Great North of Scotland main line to Elgin. There's an AHB level crossing at the site of it.

Am I looking at the wrong Pitmedden? Looking at the 1892-1914 OS map over at NLS (link: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.6&lat=57.33742&lon=-2.17941&layers=168&b=1&o=100) it doesn't appear that any railway goes through (or particularly close to) Pitmedden.

That's a totally different Pitmedden. The village of the same name on the proposed reinstated Buchan line is near Udny Green, about 8 miles northeast (as the crow flies) from the closed level crossing. It never had a station before.

Thanks!

 

[D6130]

That's a totally different Pitmedden. The village of the same name on the proposed reinstated Buchan line is near Udny Green, about 8 miles northeast (as the crow flies) from the closed level crossing. It never had a station before.

Thanks! Every day's a school day! Very confusing to have two villages with the same name in such close proximity.

 

[najaB]

So, back to the question above - it seems odd to deviate from the old alignment to serve a village of a thousand, give or take. Are there plans for a big housing development or similar? Looks like the deviation would be be about 8 or 9km.

 

[The Puddock]

Thanks! Every day's a school day! Very confusing to have two villages with the same name in such close proximity.

The Pitmedden between Dyce and Kintore isn't a village, it's named for a farm.