Stirling–Alloa–Kincardine rail link

Under Scottish Executive funding and to relieve congestion on the Forth Bridge, the line between Stirling and Alloa has been reopened to passenger traffic.

Work was finished at the end of March 2008 and the line re-opened to the public on 19 May 2008, preceded by a series of pre-opening charters on 15 May 2008.

The line between Alloa and Kincardine has also been rebuilt to allow coal trains from Hunterston Terminal, for example, to Longannet Power Station to avoid using the Forth Bridge.

Everything else was fully refurbished, and the steelwork of most of the bridges is now painted a distinctive maroon colour.The line as built is a single track, with passing loops at Cambus, to the west of Alloa, and Hilton, to the east.

The original loop at Kincardine has been removed and, to obtain a better alignment, the junction for the former power station sidings has been moved to the east, with a new locomotive run-round facility in the yard.

A deviation to the north to avoid the villages of Clackmannan and Kincardine[2] was rejected as it would have cost many times as much as reopening the existing route.

The retention of the coastal route offers the possibility of providing passenger services to Dunfermline via Clackmannan, Kincardine, Culross, Valleyfield and Cairneyhill.

In late April 2008, much of the coal freight heading for Longannet was transferred from the Edinburgh-Glasgow line via the Forth Bridge to the new railway.