You may have read in the newspapers that Dr Nanette Milne OBE MSP, has secured a meeting with Transport Minister, Stuart Stevenson MSP to discuss the possible reopening of Kintore Rail Station.

Dr Milne is inviting interested parties, including all the North East Regional MSPs, from Aberdeenshire to Edinburgh for the meeting and it is proposed that the meeting will take place on Wednesday 22nd April in the Scottish Parliament at 12:30.

Some members of Kintore and District Community Council intend accepting the invitation to attend. The following are but some of the considerations.

• Two sites have been mooted for the Rail Halt; at the north end of Kintore near the Tavelty junction on the A96 (T) road and in the lower Kingsfield Road area. What would the preference be?

• The cost of re-opening the Rail Station is believed to be between £6.5million and £17million, dependant upon the track requirements. What has yet to be made clear is who will pay for this project...the Scottish Government, Private enterprise, Planning Gain money which may have been set aside from the last housing boom in Kintore, or a combination of these or other sources.

• If Planning Gain money has been set aside and is to be used, would it represent Value for Money, or would the Planning Gain money be better used for much needed community facilities, which were not provided to a sufficient degree when the houses were built in Kintore?

• Is the Rail Halt largely intended to reduce congestion at the junctions leading to the A96 (T) Kintore Bypass during commuter times? In this respect, have traffic Destination Surveys been carried out, to ascertain if a significant number of car users travel to the Dyce or Aberdeen City Centre areas and may therefore be encouraged to switch to rail travel, or are their destinations Westhill, Altens, Bridge of Don or other areas which are remote from Rail Halts. If it cannot be demonstrated that there will be significant traffic benefits, should public money be spent in this way?

Tags: rail station