Aberdeen Crossrail

Aberdeen Crossrail is a proposed railway development in Scotland, first proposed within the 2003 Scottish Strategic Rail Study. It is supported by Nestrans, the north-east of Scotland's voluntary regional transport partnership.

Aberdeen Crossrail
Overview
StatusIn service
OwnerNational Rail
LocaleAberdeen
Scotland
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Up arrow Aberdeen–Inverness line
 Inverurie
 Kintore
 Dyce
( to Aberdeen Airport)
 Aberdeen NorthLink Ferries
 Portlethen
 Stonehaven
 Laurencekirk
 Montrose
Down arrow Dundee–Aberdeen line

Crossrail aims to provide a frequent, cross-city rail service between Inverurie, Aberdeen and Stonehaven, coupled with new stations.

It proposed upgrading existing train services from Aberdeen to Inverurie to a regular half-hourly service, adding more services between Aberdeen and Stonehaven, and opening new stations along existing lines in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. It could also bring about the re-opening of lines and stations between Aberdeen and the towns of Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Banchory.

The project is seen as vital in reducing traffic congestion within Aberdeen. Currently, only 12% of north-east residents live within 1 km of a railway station, but if all of the Crossrail proposals were to go ahead, this could rise to 25%. This would aid commuting into the city centre and provide a viable alternative to using the car.[1]

Proposal

The project aimed to have a train between Inverurie, Aberdeen, and Stonehaven every 15 minutes.[2][3] It also included the reopening of stations at Kintore, Altens, and Newtonhill.[4][5]

Feasibility studies

The Scottish Executive began a £400,000 feasibility study into the project in June 2005, the outcome of which was expected to be announced by March 2007.[6] A document published in 2010 reported that the predicted costs would be greater than the additional ticket revenues generated for the Crossrail project, regardless of whether services ran at a 15-minute or a 30-minute frequency.[7]

This feasibility study into the project indicated that Crossrail could best be delivered on an incremental basis. Nestrans' Draft Rail Action Plan 2010-2021 considered how to achieve frequency and service improvements in the short term, leading to the opening of new stations - such as at Kintore - and more significant service enhancements over time.

Network Rail has completed a GRIP2 study to investigate options for Aberdeen - Inverness line improvements, including consideration of a new station at Kintore. The report was published on the Transport Scotland website on 22 March 2011. This confirmed that an hourly service frequency and two hour journey time would be feasible. The Stage 3 study examining the range of options in greater detail is underway and is expected to be completed during 2012.[1]

Implementation

Laurencekirk railway station opened in May 2009.

Transport Scotland announced in March 2016 that the scheme will go ahead as part of a wider timetable recast in 2018.[8] The new service will run between Inverurie and Montrose, serving all existing intermediate stations and one at Kintore from 2019 (now rescheduled to May 2020). The Aberdeen to Inverurie section will then have a 30-minute interval service in operation. Infrastructure enhancements on the Aberdeen to Inverness line (including the redoubling of track from Aberdeen to Inverurie) are also scheduled to be completed by this time, as part of a £170 million route upgrade project.

In 2019, improvements were made to the line between Aberdeen and Inverurie to allow for a higher service frequency. This was completed under the Aberdeen to Inverness Improvement Project.[9][10]

Kintore railway station opened in October 2020.

See also

References
  1. "Crossrail". Transport Partnership for Aberdeen City and Shire. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  2. "The Scottish Region Website Archives - Aberdeen Crossrail by Eric Guthrie, Head of Transportation, Aberdeenshire Council: Meeting of Tuesday 2 December 2003, Aberdeen". www.ciltscotland.com. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. "North-east Crossrail scheme 'doomed' | Railnews | Today's news for Tomorrow's railway". www.railnews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  4. Report, Official (24 January 2014). "Official Report". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  5. "Aberdeen to Inverness Transport Corridor Study STAG Pre-Appraisal Final Report" (PDF). April 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  6. "SSRS Study". Scottish Executive. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2007.
  7. "Rail Action Plan 2010-2021" (PDF). Nestrans. 29 January 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. Transport Scotland (15 March 2016). "'Rail revolution' means 200 more services and 20,000 more seats for Scots passengers" (Press release). Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  9. "Finishing the job – redoubling Aberdeen to Inverurie | Rail Engineer". 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  10. "Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Improvement Project, Scotland". Railway-technology.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
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