Thornton road closure: call for mass turn out at Network Rail event as anger grows

Network Rail has come under fire for its lack of engagement over plans to shut Main Street in Thornton while the major work is carried out at the Glenrothes with Thornton station as part of the electrification of the Fife line.

The closure will see all vehicles diverted to the A92 for over a year, sparking fears for businesses in the town - and the disruption facing residents.

Politicians have branded the company’s communication as appalling, while Richard Baker MP wants the project delayed until all options are explored.

Network Rail has the first of its two community drop-in sessions on Thursday, April 9 at Thornton Public Hall from 3:30pm to 6:00pm. Thornton Community Council has issued a call to action to locals to turn out in big numbers.

It is backing a “mass drop-in” at 5:00pm on Thursday after a huge turnout at its own meeting on Monday when worried residents and business owners raised their fears over the impact of the closure.

The community council said: “Please come along to Thornton town hall at 5:00pm on Thursday 9th April to support a mass drop-in on the Network Rail information event. They have deliberately kept quiet about their plans, leaving the revelation of them to the last minute to avoid our community. If you don’t want to be cut off from Kirkcaldy for 14-months, be there to show our collective strength of feeling!”

Thornton is the second major closure for work to be done on the electrification project. Bennochy Road in Kirkcaldy, one of the key routes into town, will close for 12 months in May for the bridge to be demolished and rebuilt. The work is required at both to ensure the structures meet the required height clearance for an electrified railway and allow the installation of the new overhead line equipment underneath.

Network Rail has told locals in Thornton that an “all vehicle” diversion will be in place using the A92 as an alternative route.

The initial phase will involve several months of diverting a number of utilities from the existing bridge to safely house them on the temporary services bridge.

In a letter to residents, Network Rail said: “Access to and from the station car park will remain. During the works pedestrians will still be able to access the station and cross where the bridge currently is via a temporary structure. The existing bridge will be demolished during a period of continuous working later in the year. The new bridge will be a pre-cast concrete structure and will be lifted into place in sections by crane.

“While we will carry out as much of the work as possible during the daytime, many of our activities can only take place at night when no trains are running, as this offers the safest environment for our team on site. This means there will be periods of overnight and weekend working. While we will do what we can to minimise this where possible, there will be some disturbance at times. We appreciate this isn’t ideal and thank you for your understanding.”