Leven Rail Link: Plans lodged for station and shared car park in £116m project

A planning application has now been formally lodged to build a new station and car park on land next to Leven Swimming Pool.

The £116m project will have a station behind the leisure centre, plus a Cameron Bridge halt to the east of the A915.

Plans for the change of use of land in the town centre has been lodged by Network Rail.

They come five years after Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Michael Matheson, announced that the reopening of the rail link, the Methil Branch, to Leven from Thornton Junction was to be taken forward to the next stage of development.

The Leven station will share a re-configured car park with the town’s sports centre.

It will include 134 parking spaces,12 Electric Vehicle (EV) bays with charging points and 12 bays with ducting installed for the future EV charging points, plus four motorcycle parking spaces.

The station will include a waiting area, ticket vending machine, staff facilities, and a plant area is proposed to the north of the platform.

Documents lodged with the planning application also give an indication of the estimated numbers who will use the new rail link.

It predicts around 115,000 commuter and business trips per annum, with around 1000 passengers per working day.

Network Rail’s papers suggest 28% of demand will be for commuting and 9% for business travel.

A report stated: “A smaller car park shared with the leisure centre is deemed appropriate to discourage the use of this rail station as a park and ride site.

“The proposed Cameron Bridge Rail Station will accommodate more park and ride users due to its edge of town location, while Leven will accommodate more local users who will travel to the rail station sustainably.”

The planning application comes just one month after Network Rail gave the local community a chance to see the station’s proposed designs for the very first time. Two drop-in events were held near to the proposed station sites.

Councillors will consider the application in due course.