'The dream has gone - for now' hopes to open railway station in Bonnybridge dashed

Plans to open a railway station in the Falkirk village of Bonnybridge will not be taken forward, to the bitter disappointment of a local councillor.

Baillie Billy Buchanan says he is very upset the plan won’t be taken further “after years of support and pressure”.

Falkirk Council’s director of place services, Malcolm Bennie, confirmed that Transport Scotland was not willing to back the project which has been talked about for more than a decade.

In 2019, it had seemed that the plans were on track as campaigners celebrated the news that Falkirk Council would support plans for a new train station to be looked in a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidelines (STAG) report.

At the time, the campaign group Reinstate Bonnybridge Train Station – whose convener Bryan Deakin went on to become a councillor – said it was “a massive step in the right direction”.

But following the review, the Scottish Government, through Transport Scotland, decided it would not support the business case to reopen the station.

Having asked Mr Bennie for a report that would “update the community”, Baillie Buchanan was dismayed by a reply that made clear it will not be taken forward.

Baillie Buchanan said: “For some time I have been asking for a report on the Bonnybridge railway station proposal a full report to come to council to ensure the whole community knows its not forthcoming.

“The contents of the reply clearly shows this present council has binned the project.

“I am really upset that after years of support and pressure there is no support from the Scottish Government and now this council has finally admitted no more money or officers’ time is to be wasted.

“The dream has gone – for now!”

A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “Falkirk Council undertook a comprehensive review into the potential to re-open a rail station at Bonnybridge.

“Following consultation, Transport Scotland confirmed that there was no compelling business case for this project to go ahead and it would be highly unlikely to gain their support.

“As a result of this, it would be difficult for the council to justify using already limited resources to progress any part of this scheme and we have no plans to bring forward any further reports at this time.”