THE RAIL line may be brand new, but the route upon which it lies has 250 years of history as a transport hub.

In the 1760s, nearly a century before railways were introduced to the area, the Alloa wagonway was used to transport coal to the Forth for shipping.

It was joined in 1806 by the Sauchie wagonway which ran to Clackmannan. Very little of the Alloa wagonway remains.

In the 1840s the Stirling-Dunfermline Railway Company started work on building a railway line, opening the link between Dunfermline and Alloa on August 28, 1850.

The following June it was extended by links to Alloa harbour and Tillicoultry, and by July 1852 the Alloa to Stirling link of the Stirling-Dunfermline railway opened.

In 1893 the Kincardine line was the last to be built in the area to service both passengers and freight.

Fast forward 70 years to 1968 and the original Alloa and Cambus stations were shut, followed in 1983 by the closure of the Alloa-Kincardine junction, signalling the last train to run on this section of track.

Three years after it closed, however, a Clackmannanshire local plan safeguarded the existing route.

Some 15 years ago, the last train ran on the Stirling-Cambus section, although that section officially remained operational, and 12 years ago the Kincardine-Longannet section of the line was reopened to freight, heralding a new dawn for rail in the area.

Three years ago saw construction work start on the new Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail link.