Since the last letter, there have been encouraging contacts made with Scotrail, Network Rail, TayPlan, SESTRAN, the Minister for Transport and Fife Council. All are agreed that the next stage is for the proposal to be evaluated according to the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). In addition, the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council and Railfuture Scotland have continued to actively promote the campaign.
However, the pressure has to be kept up, especially upon Transport Scotland, SESTRAN and Fife Council. To that end, as well as our website:, we now have a Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/StARLinkCampaign

where we are garnering ‘likes’ to demonstrate that a new St Andrews Railway enjoys considerable support.

With St Andrews having just endured its quinquennial ‘blessing’ of hosting the Open Championship, the shortcomings of the transport infrastructure have been clear for all to see. But a railway is not just for the Open; the primary reason for reconnecting with the network is to improve the economic connectivity of St Andrews, enabling it to spread prosperity throughout the east of Scotland. As a tourist destination, University town, historical centre and the Home of Golf, the town is a huge magnet for visitors and an employment hub. That is why it is so essential that the railway be built, as an efficient and environmentally-friendly way of enabling people to reach it.
There have also been useful discussions with veterans of the successful campaign for the Stirling-Alloa re-opening, carrying many more passengers than predicted. It should be borne in mind that the proposed St Andrews rail link is not a mere branch line but an important extension of the east coast main line, with the potential to also enable west-east travel from Glasgow via Stirling, Alloa, Dunfermline to St Andrews.
This is an excellent opportunity to build upon the success of the Airdrie-Bathgate and afore-mentioned Stirling-Alloa services, as well as the forthcoming Edinburgh-Tweedbank line, already being promoted by VisitScotland:

http://www.visitscotland.com/blog/scotland/borders-railway/

including the promise of steam trains.
Think what a similar service could mean to such a major destination as St Andrews!
Please show your support by ‘liking’ us on Facebook and subscribing to the campaign.