JOHN Swinney has reopened the Leven railway line on Wednesday after it was closed to passengers for more than half a century.
Addressing the crowd before unveiling a commemorative plaque in Levenmouth, where a new station has been built, the First Minister hailed the occasion a “day of unbridled joy” for the local community.
“This is a day of celebration and joy as we resolve a historic wrong,” Swinney (below) said.
He stressed the importance of reconnecting the community with the rail network, adding that it was “a day of new opportunities, a day of delivering for the people of this community.”
Leven, a coastal town in Fife, used to be serviced by a railway station which first opened in 1854. It closed to passengers 55 years ago in 1969 before being closed altogether in the 1990s.
Campaigners from the Levenmouth Rail Campaign have been advocating for the station to reopen since it was closed, and a £75 million plan to reopen the rail link and the station was eventually approved by the Scottish Government in 2019.
The project was completed at a cost of £116 million and involves 19km of new track, the construction of two new stations and 1km of active travel bridges and routes.
Fife Council leader David Ross called the day "truly historic" as he welcomed the First Minister to unveil the commemorative plaque.
Ross also thanked Michael Matheson - who will be the subject of a debate later on Wednesday - who as the then-Transport Secretary played a crucial role in approving plans to reopen the line.
The station will officially open to the public on Sunday and will allow locals to travel directly to Edinburgh, with an estimated journey time of just over one hour.
It forms part of the Fife Circle Line, which links towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh.
VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation, welcomed the opening of the rail line, adding that it will help to boost Scotland's tourism industry.
Caroline Warburton, destination development director at VisitScotland, said the opening of the rail line would help contribute towards their ambition for Scotland "to be a sustainable tourism destination".
She added: "We're excited to see the positive impact it will have on the local communities of Levenmouth and the wider region."
Dr Allen Armstrong, chairman of the Levenmouth Rail Campaign, said: “The opening of the Levenmouth line offers more communities the chance to travel by train and I’m pleased to be able to welcome our new passengers on to the network.
“Levenmouth is back on the map and regeneration prospects aided by other project in the pipeline are brighter now.”
The SNP focused on the scrapping of peak-time rail fares, holding a sign which claimed the policy had saved "an average 34% on return tickets".
