Students launch rail link campaign

‘Students for a St Andrews Rail Link’ is part of STARLink, and was launched with the aim of increasing support for the campaign.

The group was officially launched at the Student Union earlier this week, with attendees shown a presentation about the campaign.

Cameron Wright, who started the student group, said: “It was designed to be the campaign to get students in the know about what’s going on and getting more students involved.

“So few students are aware that this is a real campaign that has traction and has recently had a surge in energy.

“I want to make sure people at the University have heard of the campaign.

“Because if none of the students have heard about it, what reason does the court have to support this?

“We want to show that this is a big deal and that the students care about it.”

Cameron is to present a petition signed by 260 students supporting the campaign to the Students’ Representative Council, urging them to publicly support the campaign to restore the rail link.

The council does not currently have a stance on the rail campaign.

As he hands over the petition, Cameron will have to explain why the campaign needs the council’s support and answer questions from its members. Following a debate, the councillors will then vote to decide if it will back the campaign.

Jane Ann Liston, convenor of STARLink, said it was “very important” that the campaign got the backing of the University of St Andrews.

She added: “They are the main employer in the town, they are responsible for a lot of the traffic in the town. They are a major player. They have a lot of clout. If they said they were fed up being one of the few universities without a rail link, we might get something done about it.”

The next major step for the campaign is the production of a STAG report, a requirement for all transport projects seeking backing from the Scottish Government.

Fife Council has requested a portion of the Tay Cities Deal investment to fund this study.