Long journey to bring a railway station to Grangemouth now back on track

Grangemouth Community Council has been requesting Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) into the possibility of creating a passenger railway station in the town for some time and now members have confirmed the appraisal is is now going ahead.

As part of the process a drop-in event organised by design company Stantec will take place in Gragemouth Town Hall between 3pm and 7pm on Tuesday, March 19 to allow residents to hear their experiences of transport issues in the area.

Back in 2020, then local MSP Angus Macdonald welcomed a report from Railfuture Scotland about having a Scottish rail network fit for the 21st century which identifies a new rail station in Grangemouth as a key priority.

Railfuture Scotland’s proposals to expand the rail network in Scotland stated a Grangemouth station would be used by an estimated 360,000 people every year.

At the time Mr MacDonald said: “I welcome these proposals put forward by Railfuture Scotland – proposals which back up the feeling within the local community. Not only would it benefit the industry in the town, providing wider connectivity through Scotland’s rail network to the rest of Scotland, the UK and beyond, but it would ensure local people have better access to Scotland’s rail network.

“Investment to realise a railway station in Grangemouth would increase the prospects of people within our communities and would help to bring people back into the town increasing footfall and the prosperity of our local businesses.

“A railway station, and further investment in the town, is vital to Grangemouth’s future prosperity, and I would encourage further exploration of these proposals, with a view to reinstating Grangemouth’s railway station sooner rather than later.”

The original Grangemouth Railway Station closed in 1968 supposedly due to declining passenger numbers.

At a meeting of the Falkirk Council executive in December 2019, members talked about plans for a railway station in Bonnybridge and Councillor Allan Nimmo enquired what had happened to similar proposals for Grangemouth.

Council leader Cecil Meiklejohn stated the issue was being looked at as part of the Investment Zone – a bid for £238 million of funding from governments in Westminster and Holyrood.