'Very few' visitors take train to St Andrews

Text of Starlink Press Release:

The Starlink (St Andrews Rail Link) campaign claimed that the recent St Andrews Tourism survey results vindicated its call for a rail connection to the town.

'Is it really surprising that 'very few' visitors to St Andrews cited the train as their main mode of reaching the town when it doesn't have a railway station of its own?

It certainly suggests that renaming the bus service a 'virtual branch line' has fooled nobody. As anyone can see by the line of cars parked all the way along Station Road at Leuchars because the recently-expanded car-park is always full, it is clear that the prospect of having to change from train to bus is simply not attractive enough to tempt drivers from behind the wheel.

A railway to St Andrews has the potential to alleviate, not only the parking problem at Leuchars but also, because a third of the respondents admitted to coming by car, traffic congestion in St Andrews itself. The questionnaire distributed by Starlink at various events within the last eighteen months shows that 72% of visitors who drove the whole way to St Andrews would be willing to use a railway.'

Meanwhile the Tata Steel feasibility study proceeds apace, and it is anticipated that the eagerly-awaited results will be available within the next few weeks.