Loss of two great supporters of StARLink
28, 09 25 21:09
In recent days the StARLink campaign has lost two of its most eminent supporters, with the deaths of Sir George Reid and Lord Campbell of Pittenweem.
The Rt. Hon.Sir George Reid, former MP and presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament and an alumnus of the University of St Andrews said, in 2015,
‘It would be so pleasant to return again to the old grey town [St Andrews] by train, as I did countless times when I was an undergraduate at the University there.’
The Rt. Hon. Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, better known as Sir Menzies Campbell, former MP and Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, spoke at the first StARLink public meeting back in November 1989. The campaign had only been launched two months earlier, while Ming had been MP for North East Fife just two years. He observed that while St Andrews appeared to cope with everyday traffic quite well, whenever there was a special event in and around the town, such as the Open Championship or R.A.F. Leuchars Air Show, there were problems with traffic. Later, in 2004, Sir Ming said,
'As a recognised tourist attraction the town deserves the best possible transport links, On environmental grounds greater emphasis should be placed on rail travel. A rail ticket marked London to St Andrews would surely tempt many foreign travellers.'
Both these gentlemen recognised early on the difference that restoring St Andrews to the rail network could make. Their vision and wise counsel will be missed.
The Rt. Hon.Sir George Reid, former MP and presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament and an alumnus of the University of St Andrews said, in 2015,
‘It would be so pleasant to return again to the old grey town [St Andrews] by train, as I did countless times when I was an undergraduate at the University there.’
The Rt. Hon. Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, better known as Sir Menzies Campbell, former MP and Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, spoke at the first StARLink public meeting back in November 1989. The campaign had only been launched two months earlier, while Ming had been MP for North East Fife just two years. He observed that while St Andrews appeared to cope with everyday traffic quite well, whenever there was a special event in and around the town, such as the Open Championship or R.A.F. Leuchars Air Show, there were problems with traffic. Later, in 2004, Sir Ming said,
'As a recognised tourist attraction the town deserves the best possible transport links, On environmental grounds greater emphasis should be placed on rail travel. A rail ticket marked London to St Andrews would surely tempt many foreign travellers.'
Both these gentlemen recognised early on the difference that restoring St Andrews to the rail network could make. Their vision and wise counsel will be missed.