Campaign launched to re-introduce railway stations in two key areas of Ayrshire

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A fresh campaign is being mounted to re-introduce railway stations to two key areas of Ayrshire.The call comes from South Scotland Conservative List MSP, Sharon Dowey, who claims the Scottish Government should make it one of their top priorities.

Ms Dowey wants to bring back railway stations to Cumnock and Mauchline. With ScotRail coming into public ownership at the start of this month, Ms Dowey has teamed up with local Scottish Conservatives candidates Neill Watts and Alyson Simmons to unveil their campaign.The trio believe new stations would ease road congestion, provide greener alternatives for travel, shorten journey times and bring visitors and investment to the two towns.Both stations closed in 1965.Think tank Railfuture Scotland claimed that if Cumnock were to re-open, 200,000 people would use this service annually- while 120,000 people would use the service at Mauchline every year.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your fingertips 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories while you can customise your page with the sections that matter to you.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now on iOS and Android.Ms Dowey said: “By re-opening these stations, the area would have much stronger public transport links with the rest of Scotland.

With ScotRail now under Scottish Government control, there’s no excuse to leave Cumnock or Mauchline without a train station.“Considering the number of road accidents in East Ayrshire, this new station should also be a priority to encourage commuters to ditch their cars.“We’ve loads of accidents on the A76, some