I must admit, the Scottish railway network is probably the most robust of the nations of the UK. Almost all towns above 10,000 already have train stations and with projects like the Leven link, the Scottish government clearly have it in their mind to complete this. The central belt has a very dense, mostly electric network with most lines having 2 and usually 4 trains per hour. I think that most of these trains should be in their own network, run by the central belt council areas (see my central belt S-train network proposal). As for the remaining services, they are already pretty decent but I do think that it suffers from a similar problem they have around south-east England regarding London, that being too much of a focus on trains reaching Glasgow or Edinburgh and no regional connections.
I would change this in 3 places:
A direct Ardrossan – Irvine – Kilmarnock service
A direct Dumfries – Stranraer line (to allow better connections to the ferry port, also for a sleeper train to connect to an Ireland ferry)
A curve around Glenrothes to allow direct Levenmouth – Perth/Aberdeen services.
Beyond this, I would also introduce more stations and local stopping services along the main lines through the southern uplands. The WCML especially has a lot of passing loops and these could be utilised for local stations. I would also build on the borders railway by connecting it to Carlisle and Berwick. These would double as diversionary routes and preferred freight routes.
In Fife, I would reopen a direct route between Dunfermline and Perth, which would speed up Edinburgh to Perth trips. I would also have 4 trains per hour down the Level link and through the stations serving Glenrothes to reflect the high populations of those towns.
In eastern Scotland, each route would have at least 2 trains per hour:
1 fast and 1 slow train going each of Sterling to Dundee and Inverness to Aberdeen
From Inverness: 1 an hour each to Edinburgh and Glasgow
4 an hour up the coast to Aberdeen. This city has almost 300,000 residents and needs more trains. The station is big enough to handle the increased capacity.
I wouldn’t change much in the highlands. I would have hourly trains to Crianlarich to encourage more day trips by train to the highlands and instead of them splitting, they would alternately head to Oban or Fort William with a cross platform transfer to go on to Mallaig as opposed to the same train reversing.
by slipnslurper
49 comments
Where’s East Kilbride?
Maybe missed it, but a Glasgow airport link would be amazing
Can I just say, the time and effort to draw this up manually, wow. Well done that person.
It’s really super to see this sort of hand drawn map. Thanks for posting op.
There should probably be another line going along the Aberdeenshire coast, serving Ellon (10k), Peterhead (20k), Fraserburgh (12k), Banff/Macduff (8k), Buckie (8k) and perhaps joining at Elgin or Nairn.
That’s a huge amount of people excluded from decent rail travel.
I would do everything you said but double the frequency of trains and add stops for even smaller towns and villages.
Unless resources are limited in which case I’ve got no idea how to prioritise any of this and genuinely feel for those who have to do it – a thankless task.
What did Kirkcudbright do to piss you off?
Think you also want a service that tracks the A82 all the way up to Inverness from Fort William/Spean Bridge.
Stow is already on the tweedbank line. Why have you moved it to your new kelso Berwick line?
Love this by the way.
A St Andrews link to Dundee and Edinburgh would be good
Link Stirling to Dunfermline
Link Stirling to Oban via Callender
The North East is seriously missing some badly needed lines
Ellon, with possibly Peterhead and/or Fraserburgh
Westhill? Though that may be on the rapid transit
Cults, Peterculter Drumoak, Banchory definitely – the old Deeside line
Then of course is the Montrose – Usan single track, which is a major bottle neck especially for freight which has to compete for track space with passenger traffic
I think a feasability study was put in for a station at the Inverness UHI, and it was determined the gradient was too steep, though reopening the stations at Clachnaharry, Bunchrew and Culloden would probably make sense
RIP Greenfaulds and Cumbernauld
What happened to the existing line between Glasgow and Edinburgh that goes through Livingston North, Bathgate, Coatbridge, etc?
Edinburgh to Perth line would be a bit of a waste of time to try to replicate. It’s had the M90 motorway constructed over its route, so if you were thinking of a more direct Perth-Edinburgh line reopening it’d probably be going through different places.
Falkirk Grahamstoun? Has that just been wiped off the map?
This is gorgeous, I would love this mocked up into a poster
Ullapool , linking with the Stornoway Ferry
Need to rebuild the lines to Buckie, especially freight lines to the Harbour.
The Dumfries to Stranraer suggestion should be used to get the majority of HGV’s off the A75.
What about the line that runs through Patna (Doon Valley Railway) that which could be extended as a passenger and historical line from Ayr to Castle Douglas to join the Dumfries to Stranraer line.
Uplawmoor? Uplawmoor is one road with a hotel. Building a train station there is a wild idea.
EK
Is Queen St and Central linked with a new subterranean line? I always think it’s stupid having to walk across the city to connect.
Livingston South is basically Bellsquarry.
>see my central belt S-train network proposal
Can we get a link to this? I can’t find it.
To get a direct service from Kilmarnock to ardrossan you would need to rework the points/single line at brassie junction to have them face Irvine instead of facing Ayr as they do now.
That’s why it’s always Kilmarnock to Ayr or Kilmarnock to Stranraer.
The Ayr to Stranraer line is literally a sixty mile long siding no freight or diversionary route just a limited passenger service. (The ferry companies run buses up the A77 to Ayr )
The Stranraer to Dumfries line would have been a better option than keeping the Ayr line open, but with the Ferries moving up the loch to Cairnryan the Harbour at Stranraer is dead and dilapidated.
If the old military railway was opened up again to cairnryan that would definitely be a plus to get passengers to the ferry terminals.
A link between fort william and inverness is honestly needed.
If you live in the highlands, for a bunch of medical things you need to goto Inverness. My dad with cancer couldn’t drive and had to take busses up and down and it was not very nice for him bless his soul.
I approve of this. By wiping Lanark off the map more trains to Glasgow will stop at Carstairs, which is more convenient for me. I might even be able to go out for dinner and drinks in the city without having to bolt it to Central Station for 7pm to catch the last train.
Reinstate the Dunblane to Crianlarich line , add a line from Tulloch to Newtonmore and get the names of Loch Eil Outward Bound and Locheilside correct.
Did you delete the rest of the Balloch line out of pure hate or did you do another link for that?
Edit: very well hand drawn map otherwise!
Love this, have you sent it to ScotRail, I’m not kidding man they would bloody love this
This is a fantastic, well-thought-out proposal. I especially love the focus on creating those missing regional links, like the Ardrossan to Kilmarnock service, instead of everything just feeding into the central belt. A Glasgow airport link would be the cherry on top for connectivity. And you’re spot on about the Aberdeenshire coast; connecting those sizable towns feels like a massive untapped opportunity.
What!!! No restore of the Buchan lines from Aberdeen to Peterhead via Ellon 🥲
Can’t see any of my stations, in anywhere I’ve ever lived.
Do you hate Glasgow South/EK/Paisley that badly? 🙁
Why don’t trains go from Fife to Glasgow?
Nice map! I won’t be happy til there’s a train to ullapool
Peebles ignored yet again (despite still retaining the Neidpath tunnel and viaduct) and so is Biggar and Moffat. Boo hiss etc.
Me who doesn’t have a station in my town
Forgot the Milngavie line
Thank you very much for putting a station/stopping off point in Mauchline. It’s a decent size and the line goes right past it.
I’d sacrifice a kidney (well, maybe) for a reopening of the Dunfermline to Alloa line to passenger traffic.
The rails are already there.
I doubt we’d see electrification of that single track anytime soon, certainly not in time for Scotrail’s new rolling stock in 2030+, but the route could give a lease of life to the ageing class 170 turbostars currently chugging around the Fife circle.
I think adding a Largs-Wemyss Bay link would be handy, would turn the whole inverclyde/north ayrshire area into one big loop
Detailed!
I’ve been recently travelling by train a lot. It’s incredible how better things can be with a proper rail system.
Bro flattened Fife like a pancake
With this kind of drive why dont you go for office and actually have a hand in this kind of stuff
Why would you want a stop in Dysart on the Fife line?? Just for all these snobs in the new houses on the old opencast? There’s no where for a stop to be built. But there is the old station still in place at Sinclairtown in Kirkcaldy.
I 💯% support you in having a northbound train from Leven though.
It’s a good job you’re not in charge of the money.
What happened to the Neilston line?
Absolute madness not to reinstate the Deeside line.
Love the concept though
I would add a connection between Tain and Dornoch. As it is the train now heads inland from Tain passing through Ardgay, Culrain, Invershinbefore it gets to Lairg at which point it heads back east, stopping at Rogart before getting to Golspie. These five stops add close to an hour on the time it takes to travel this line – not insignificant especially if your final destination is Thurso or Wick. Now, those five stops are mostly request stops and I’m not arguing taking them away, but I am advocating for a train connection between Tain and Dornoch for faster and more efficient service. And also because it’s a bit silly that Dornoch isn’t serviced by a train.
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