Transport Minister visits Beattock Station

The campaign to reopen Beattock Station has been boosted by a visit from Transport Minister Keith Brown.

The Minister visited the site on Wednesday 24 September, accompanied by representatives from SWestrans and Transport Scotland, to hear for himself why Beattock Station Action Group believes reopening the station is essential for the local community and the surrounding area.

Group Chairman Martin Brown said: “Moffat and Beattock are the hub of activity for travel, tourism and economic activity in central southern Scotland. The only thing we don’t have is a train that stops.

“Reopening Beattock Station would greatly enhance rural regeneration, tourism, commerce and accessibility to the UK’s rail network.

“We presented our business case to the Minister and outlined what we’ve done so far. He was very keen to hear why this means so much to the community and he was interested in exploring four potential routes, including Liverpool to Glasgow or Liverpool to Edinburgh.”

In response, Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and organisation shown by Beattock Station Action Group.

“The next step is for Dumfries & Galloway Council to carry out a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance report to assess the feasibility of reopening the station.”

In the same week, Beattock Station Action Group also met a senior manager from First Transpennine Express as part of its campaign strategy. It was an extremely positive meeting, resulting in a number of constructive ideas to help the campaign.

Harry Thomson, Head of Integrated Transport and Commissioning at Dumfries & Galloway Council and Lead Officer for the region’s transport partnership, SWestrans, said: “The reopening of Beattock Station remains an aspiration within the Regional Transport Strategy for the county.

“SWestrans and Dumfries & Galloway Council have included Beattock Station as one of the potential projects for bid development for grant funding under the Scottish Stations Fund.”

To see the BBC coverage of Keith Brown’s visit, please click here

ENDS

About Beattock Station Action Group

We believe reopening Beattock Station will bring the following benefits:

• Give the local community better work opportunities by enabling people to commute

• Increase tourism and benefit local businesses by making it easier for people to visit the area

• Enhance people’s quality of life by making it easier for them to travel outside the area for employment, shopping and leisure activities

• Improve the environment by reducing people’s dependence on the car

To find out more about our work and how your donations will help reopen the station, please visit www.beattock.com or www.facebook.com/BeattockStationActionGroup and like our page.