Cameron Bridge railway station explained

Cameron Bridge
Status:Open
Borough:Cameron Bridge, Fife
Country:Scotland
Code:CBX
Coordinates:56.1897°N -3.0469°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Grid Position: (new)
(old - razed)
Platforms:2 (reopened)
Train Operators:ScotRail
Original:Leven Railway
Pregroup:North British Railway
Postgroup:LNER
Events:Opened
Years1:6 October 1969
Events1:Closed to passengers
Events2:Closed completely
Events3:Resited and reopened
Mapframe:no
Years3:2 June 2024
Accessible:yes

Cameron Bridge railway station serves the village of Cameron Bridge, Fife, Scotland. The station is on the Levenmouth rail link branch of the Fife Circle Line. It also serves Windygates and Methil.

The present station was opened on 2 June 2024 as part of the Levenmouth rail link, a £116 million project funded by the Scottish Government.[1] [2] The new station is situated to the east of where the original station stood, on the other side of the main A915 road, and has two platforms.[3]

History

Original station

The station was opened on 10 August 1854 by the Leven Railway. It was situated near Cameronbridge Distillery, for which there were many sidings, and to the east of a level crossing on the road to Kirkcaldy and Cupar. The Muiredge Branch to the south also served a few collieries and Muiredge Goods. The station closed to passengers on 6 October 1969[4] but the distillery sidings operated until the 1990s.[5] The remains of the station were demolished in 2022 as part of works to reopen the line.[6]

New station

In December 2020, the site for the new station was confirmed. It was not possible to site a new station in the same location as the original due to the need to position it a minimum safe distance from Cameronbridge Distillery, under COMAH regulations. Instead, a greenfield site further east was chosen.[7]

Construction started in January 2023[8] and finished in January 2024. Driver training then commenced and in March, it was announced the station was expected to reopen on 2 June. [9]

The station has two 196m-long platforms connected by lifts and a footbridge. Facilities at the station include 16 cycle spaces and a 125 space car park, with space for an extra 300 spaces in future if needed as the station serves as a railhead for the local area. [10]

A 140m footbridge over the River Leven is also to connect the station to Methilhill area of Methil in a separate active travel project.[10] However, this has now been delayed as the contractor for the bridge went into administration in April 2024 and whilst an interim solution is being sought, the bridge is not expected to be open until autumn 2024.[11]

Moffat & Williamson have been awarded the daytime contract by Fife Council to provide the bus link. Stagecoach East Scotland have diverted services to call at the station during the evening and on Sundays

Services

All services at Cameron Bridge are operated by ScotRail. The typical service on all days of the week is one train per hour in each direction between and via .[12]

Notes and References

  1. News: Disused Fife rail line to be reopened . 9 August 2019 . BBC News . 8 August 2019 . 8 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190808221515/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-49279810 . live .
  2. Web site: Levenmouth Rail Link The railway has returned to Levenmouth . 2024-06-23 . ScotRail.
  3. Web site: Levenmouth Reconnected. 2020-12-20. Scotlands Railway. en-GB. 22 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122230831/https://scotlandsrailway.com/projects/levenmouth-reconnected-raillink/location. live.
  4. M E Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology, The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002, p. 105
  5. Web site: Cameron Bridge station and distillery. Geograph. 4 April 2018. 5 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180405025201/http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/947900. live.
  6. Web site: Platform removal clears way for double tracking at Cameron Bridge . 2024-06-12 . Network Rail Media Centre . english.
  7. Web site: DEM . David Shirres BSc CEng MIMechE . 2022-08-22 . Reconnecting Levenmouth . 2024-06-12 . Rail Engineer . en-GB.
  8. News: Construction of new Cameron Bridge Station begins . 23 January 2023 . . 23 January 2023 . 23 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230123125509/https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/construction-of-new-cameron-bridge-station-begins . live .
  9. Web site: Piper . Laura . 27 March 2024 . Trains set to service Fife area for first time in more than five decades . 29 March 2024 . STV News . en-GB.
  10. Web site: Levenmouth Almost Reconnected. David Shirres. Rail Engineer. 19 December 2023. 5 April 2024.
  11. Web site: Leven Rail Link: major delay installing new bridge as contractor goes into administration. Allan Crow. Fife Today. 29 April 2024. 4 May 2024.
  12. Web site: Train Times: Edinburgh to Fife, Perth and Dundee. ScotRail. 5 June 2024.