The restoration of a Fife railway line could boost opportunities in one of Scotland’s most deprived communities.
Leven will be reconnected to the country’s main railway network for the first time in more than half a century by this time next year.
Campaigners say the development will help tackle a sense of “isolation”.
“We’re here in central Scotland, essentially an hour’s drive from Edinburgh for those who have cars,” said Allen Armstrong, from the Levenmouth Rail Campaign.
“And yet there has been a sense of isolation, being cut off from the mainstream. This will turn things around.”
The original line connecting Leven with the main grid in Thornton closed to passengers in 1969.
Now half of the route has been restored, with the other half set to be completed in the coming 12 months.
“By the end of summer this year – August, September time – all of the track will be in position,” said Joe Mulvenna from Network Rail.
“We will then continue to work on the stations, both the one at Leven and Cameron Bridge.”
The campaign was given the greenlight by politicians in the summer of 2019 and is set to cost around £116m.
Parts of the previously mothballed track that don’t meet current regulations have been reused by heritage railway societies in Scotland.
The two stations at Leven and Cameron Bridge will be able to accommodate eight carriage-long trains.
The platform at Leven station will stretch some 290 metres.
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