Councils are looking at former rail links

Clackmannanshire Council has introduced a private bill seeking permission to reopen a link from Stirling to Longannet.

The legislative proposals were lodged in the last week of the final parliamentary session before the May elections.

However, Presiding Officer Sir David Steel said that would not spell the end for the proposals.

"Unlike all other parliamentary bills which have not completed their stages, private bills do not fall," he said.

Seeking authority

"The local authority's bill will therefore be able to carry on where it left off when parliament resumes after the election."

He also confirmed that the bill was the first to make use of the power to legislate on railways which start and finish in Scotland, which came into effect in June last year.

Clackmannanshire Council is seeking statutory authority to construct a railway along the former rail route between Stirling and Kincardine via Alloa.

It also wants to build a link road following the closure of Hilton Road in Alloa.

It is the third private bill to be introduced in the current session of the parliament.

The Waverley route closed in 1969

The reopening of the line was among the key projects identified by the Scottish Parliament's transport and environment committee in a report last year.

In a separate move, the group behind efforts to reopen a railway to the Borders has unveiled a study which suggested the link would generate millions of pounds.

The Waverley Railway Partnership said its research indicated that the rail link would generate a minimum of �4.1m in its first year.

The study also estimated that about 5,000 daily journeys would be made in the first year.

The partnership wants a 56km route running from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank, just south of Galashiels.

The proposed route includes plans for new stations at Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, Gorebridge and Galashiels.

The group predicted the development would lead to �130m of housing investment in the Borders and Midlothian.

It's all a question of political will really and �126m is not a lot when you think about �373m for the tram system in Edinburgh, �500m for the airport link John Scott Scottish Borders Council Leader

And it estimated the total cost of the project as between �125m and �130m, following a detailed technical assessment of the route.

Scottish Borders Council believes it would be the most important economic development opportunity in recent history.

Council leader John Scott said: "It's all a question of political will really and �126m is not a lot when you think about �373m for the tram system in Edinburgh, �500m for the airport link.

"This is actually going to bring economic development to the Borders, it's just what we need and I'm sure the political will will be there to find that cash."

The Scottish Executive said it would examine the business case for the route, but added it was among its top 10 transport priorities.

The partnership confirmed it would submit a draft bill to the parliament and hopes to see passenger journeys running by 2008.