FREIGHT TRAINS carrying coal for Longannet Power Station in Fife are set to roll along Scotland’s newest piece of railway within a matter of weeks, officials at Transport Scotland have announced.

There had been fears freight operator English, Welsh & Scottish Railway would boycott the Stirling to Kincardine line thanks to a dispute over track charges with the Government agency.

Transport Scotland has still to confirm it will not levy a charge, but both it and EWS broke the news this week that the link would be up and running by mid May.

It will also be the first time passenger trains have run between Stirling and Alloa in Clackmannanshire for 40 years.

The good news was tempered though by confirmation that passenger services using the route will stop at Alloa.

It was deemed too expensive to upgrade the track from Alloa to Kincardine to passenger-grade standard.

Network Rail has also angered residents of Kincardine by confirming it is to bar vehicles from crossing the line at the foot of Station Road.

More than £65 million has been spent on reopening the 13-mile stretch of track.

Freight trains carrying coal from the west will run the length of the line from May 19 once driver training is complete, instead of clogging up the Forth Bridge.

Up to 15 EWS trains bound for Longannet make the crossing each day and Transport Scotland said yesterday the new line would help improve cross-Forth passenger services.

Janet Cadenhead, leader of Clackmannanshire Council, added, “The council has pursued its dream of bringing rail back to the county for two decades and I am delighted that our dream will become a reality within weeks.”

She added, “In recent times Clackmannanshire has seen a tremendous resurgence in economic activity and this major development can only add to our regeneration, connecting people with jobs, education and new opportunities and opening Clackmannanshire up to the world.”

Willie Rennie, MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, said the new line was good news for Clackmannanshire, but said he believed passenger services should be extended to Kincardine.

Willie Ferguson, councillor for West Fife and the Coastal Villages, added, “Hopefully we can extend the passenger services to Fife in future years.

“It’s good news, but some of the shine has been taken off it for folk living in Kincardine, because of the closure of vehicle access to the foreshore.”

“That will deny fishermen access to their boats and the general public will not be able to take their vehicles across the level crossing,” he added.

“We were promised a barrier controlled crossing, but now they have changed their mind.”