There are exciting times ahead for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, with the arrival of ScotRail’s new 2025 timetable.
As of Sunday, 18 May, service frequency between Leven and Edinburgh has been doubled to two trains per hour in each direction, as the new station is opened up to both sides of the Fife Circle via Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline. Direct services between Leven and Thornton have also been introduced, boosting connectivity within Fife as well as outwith. Meanwhile, adjustments to departure times now offer passengers travelling from Leven better connections to Dundee via Kirkcaldy.
I have continued to engage with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and the Managing Director of ScotRail to highlight my constituents’ feedback about rail services in Fife. Both have been clear that this timetable is specifically focused on improving rail services for Fife passengers, and Scotrail have confirmed that they are putting in place additional carriages on their busiest services, benefiting passengers at Markinch, Thornton and Leven.
On top of that, yet another exciting improvement was recently announced in the First Minister’s Programme for Government for 2025/26. From September, all peak fares across ScotRail’s network will be abolished for good – resulting in significant cost savings for commuters across the country while encouraging sustainable transport. This decision follows a pilot programme led by the Scottish Government last year which saw an increase in the number of passengers using ScotRail services.
The end of peak fares is just one of many cost of living initiatives which the First Minister committed to in the Programme for Government, such as restoring winter fuel payments and continuing free bus travel for 2.3 million people, as well as announcing 100,000 enhanced service GP appointments and an additional 150,000 NHS appointments and procedures by March of next year.
Though work remains to be done in supporting the regeneration of Levenmouth, as discussed at my well-attended Leven High Street business surgery back in February, local businesses and passengers alike have shared with me their overwhelmingly positive feedback of the Rail Link following the commencement of rail services last June.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Levenmouth Rail Link, these substantial timetable improvements will enable the newly reopened line to run full steam ahead. The additional benefit of significantly lower train fares during peak times is the icing on the cake, and I am excited to see the wide-ranging benefits this will bring to my constituents.
