Kirkcaldy and Aberdour
Leven...
27 June 2024
The attractive lowland Loch Leven, by Kinross, feeds the
river Leven, which flows across Fife (mostly) to enter
the Firth of Forth at (oddly enough) Leven. The town’s
original station was on the Fife Coast Railway, which ran
from Thornton Junction to St Andrews, and thence,
completing the loop, to Leuchars Junction.
The line from Leven to St Andrews closed to passengers
in 1965, with freight following soon after. Leven to
Thornton Junction passenger trains ran until 1969, as did
St Andrews to Leuchars. However, freight continued to
Methil power station - and to the large distillery at
Cameron Bridge - until around 25 years ago, and the first
mile or so to Thornton Junction served an opencast coal
site until 2015.
Work began on reconstructing the line a little over four
years ago, with new track (double apart from the very
first stretch from Thornton Junction) being laid
throughout. Brand new stations have been built at
Cameron Bridge (with a substantial car park) and Leven -
the terminus here being on the formerly freight-only line
to the power station. The line to, and site of the original
station have long gone.
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Test trains began running early this year, and on 2 June,
after a formal reopening a few day earlier, the line
opened for normal passenger services - roughly hourly to
and from Waverley throughout the day.
We were staying in Dunbar for a few days, and with
permission granted for an outing (or two...) I decided on
a trip to Leven. An LNER Azuma took me to Kirkcaldy
where, with almost an hour to wait, I enjoyed a brief
exploration. Then onwards to Leven, a pleasant run
beside the winding river Ore, later joined by the Leven
itself. A pleasant aroma wafted through the train at
Cameron Bridge... At Leven, I let the train go without
me, and stretched my legs beside the sea. I joined the
next train, and left it at Aberdour - the very attractive
and floral station would be well worth a few photos.
Before too long I was back on the rails to Waverley,
nicely in time to board a southbound CrossCountry
Voyager - 22 minutes later, I’m back in Dunbar.
