Fife Circle Line
Encyclopedia
The Fife Circle is the local rail
service north from Edinburgh
. It links all the towns of south Fife
and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth
before heading to Edinburgh
.
stretch of the East Coast Main Line
, which includes the world-famous Forth Bridge. On the Fife side, while this line hugs the coast, the circle is formed by a line from Inverkeithing
that loops back round to Kirkcaldy by an inland route through the old Fife coalfield. Narrowly speaking, just this line could be called the Fife Circle.
There is a goods line connection from Dunfermline
to Stirling
via Longannet Power Station
that rail campaigners would like to reopen to passengers, as it has already been between Stirling and Alloa
. Coal trains that formerly crossed the Forth Bridge en route to Longannet Power Station are now rerouted by that line so that the bridge's maximum signalling capacity for trains can be used to increase the local passenger service. The line between Alloa and Dunfermline currently is not signalled for regular passenger services. The Fife Circle is a priority for present investment in new rolling stock. Its morning peak services can be notoriously overcrowded.
The operator is now First ScotRail
. This is part of First Group, the same company as runs the South Queensferry
-Edinburgh bus service 43 that the Fife Circle train parallels from Dalmeny station
.
In 2000, a new station was opened in the expanding eastern suburbs of Dunfermline and given the name of Dunfermline Queen Margaret, after the nearby Queen Margaret hospital.
Fife Circle and Edinburgh Crossrail stations are served by a half-hourly service, with the stations from Inverkeithing to Edinburgh served by four trains per hour.
capital, under the castle rock and opening onto Princes Street
and its gardens. serves the city centre's West End and Tollcross
districts. is located in the South Gyle
residential suburb. It also serves the South Gyle industrial estate, the Gyle Shopping Centre, and is about a kilometre from the suburb of Corstorphine
. is the station at the south end of the Forth Bridge. It is at the edge of South Queensferry
. is the village at the north end of the Forth Bridge is ancient burgh and port with a history of shipbreaking.
Here the main line and loop line divide.
serves the still active old market town hugging the coast with an unusual long sea promenade off the town centre.
The two lines join forming a circle.
, and the devolved Scottish government is considering backing a branch reopening to Leven, where a new halt will be built next to the swimming pool and at the disused power station. This is to satisfy the long term upward trend of cross-Forth communications in Fife's economy. Along this branch line is Cameron Bridge. Network Rail have scheduled an inspection and assessment of the freight loading gauge for goods on this line in 2010.
It has also been proposed to start a Burntisland-Leith
ferry crossing in order to spread some of the Fife-Edinburgh traffic. A previous attempt at promoting this ferry service as a commuter route failed in 1991. Leith itself, now Edinburgh's government district, is not served by rail but is planned to be linked to the Edinburgh tram network
. Leith is also served by some bus routes from south Fife, but these bus services are subject to Forth Road Bridge
congestion.
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
service north from Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. It links all the towns of south Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
before heading to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Service
The service includes the Edinburgh-KirkcaldyKirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
stretch of the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
, which includes the world-famous Forth Bridge. On the Fife side, while this line hugs the coast, the circle is formed by a line from Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing is a town and a royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. According to population estimates , the town has a population of 5,265. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles north from...
that loops back round to Kirkcaldy by an inland route through the old Fife coalfield. Narrowly speaking, just this line could be called the Fife Circle.
There is a goods line connection from Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
to Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
via Longannet Power Station
Longannet power station
Longannet power station is a large coal-fired power station in Fife capable of co-firing biomass, natural gas and sludge. The station is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, near Kincardine on Forth. Its generating capacity of 2,400 megawatts is the highest of any power station in...
that rail campaigners would like to reopen to passengers, as it has already been between Stirling and Alloa
Alloa
Alloa is a town and former burgh in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on on the north bank of the Firth of Forth close to the foot of the Ochil Hills, east of Stirling and north of Falkirk....
. Coal trains that formerly crossed the Forth Bridge en route to Longannet Power Station are now rerouted by that line so that the bridge's maximum signalling capacity for trains can be used to increase the local passenger service. The line between Alloa and Dunfermline currently is not signalled for regular passenger services. The Fife Circle is a priority for present investment in new rolling stock. Its morning peak services can be notoriously overcrowded.
The operator is now First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
. This is part of First Group, the same company as runs the South Queensferry
South Queensferry
South Queensferry , also called Queensferry, is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located some ten miles to the north west of the city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, approximately 8...
-Edinburgh bus service 43 that the Fife Circle train parallels from Dalmeny station
Dalmeny railway station
Dalmeny railway station is a railway station serving Dalmeny at the east end of South Queensferry, about 10 km west of Edinburgh city centre. It is on the Fife Circle Line, located just south of the Forth Bridge....
.
In 2000, a new station was opened in the expanding eastern suburbs of Dunfermline and given the name of Dunfermline Queen Margaret, after the nearby Queen Margaret hospital.
Edinburgh-bound
- 1 tph - Cowdenbeath to Newcraighall, via Dunfermline and Edinburgh.
- 1 tph - Glenrothes with Thornton to Edinburgh, via Kirkcaldy.
- 1 tph - Newcraighall, through Dunfermline then Kirkcaldy, and back to Edinburgh.
- 1 tph - Edinburgh, through Kirkcaldy then Dunfermline, and back to Newcraighall.
Fife-bound
- 1 tph - Newcraighall to Cowdenbeath, via Edinburgh and Dunfermline.
- 1 tph - Edinburgh to Glenrothes with Thornton, via Kirkcaldy.
- 1 tph - Newcraighall, through Dunfermline then Kirkcaldy, and back to Edinburgh.
- 1 tph - Edinburgh, through Kirkcaldy then Dunfermline, and back to Newcraighall via Edinburgh.
Fife Circle and Edinburgh Crossrail stations are served by a half-hourly service, with the stations from Inverkeithing to Edinburgh served by four trains per hour.
Edinburgh to Fife
is the end of the Edinburgh Crossrail serving Fort Kinnaird. is also on the Edinburgh Crossrail and serves The Jewel and the suburban areas of Brunstane and Duddingston. is major station of the ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
capital, under the castle rock and opening onto Princes Street
Princes Street
Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
and its gardens. serves the city centre's West End and Tollcross
Tollcross, Edinburgh
Tollcross is a crossroads in the South-West of the City Centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, and also the surrounding area which derives its name from the junction.-Physical description:...
districts. is located in the South Gyle
South Gyle
South Gyle is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying on the western edge of the city and to the south and west of an area of former marshland once known as the Gogarloch, on the edge of Corstorphine. To the north, some streets in the area have names including the words "North Gyle" but North Gyle...
residential suburb. It also serves the South Gyle industrial estate, the Gyle Shopping Centre, and is about a kilometre from the suburb of Corstorphine
Corstorphine
Corstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh, Scotland, and is now a suburb of that city.Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks...
. is the station at the south end of the Forth Bridge. It is at the edge of South Queensferry
South Queensferry
South Queensferry , also called Queensferry, is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located some ten miles to the north west of the city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, approximately 8...
. is the village at the north end of the Forth Bridge is ancient burgh and port with a history of shipbreaking.
Here the main line and loop line divide.
Loop line
serves the town well enough but is on its inland side nowhere near the port. It also serves the south of Dunfermline. serves the centre of Dunfermline. serves Dunfermline's eastern suburbs and is near Queen Margaret hospital., serves the town and the nearby village of Kelty. serves the town and the Benarty coalfield villages. serves all areas of the former mining town, serves the village of Thornton, and the new town of GlenrothesMain line
serves the modern town with a shining whitewash look and busy railway station. serves the village with awards for its "silver sands" quiet beaches. serves the seaside resort town facing directly across to Edinburgh. serves the town at the "horn" of the coast where it turns from facing Edinburgh to the open North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
serves the still active old market town hugging the coast with an unusual long sea promenade off the town centre.
The two lines join forming a circle.
Future services
The east peninsula of Fife beyond Kirkcaldy is not served by railways post-BeechingBeeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
, and the devolved Scottish government is considering backing a branch reopening to Leven, where a new halt will be built next to the swimming pool and at the disused power station. This is to satisfy the long term upward trend of cross-Forth communications in Fife's economy. Along this branch line is Cameron Bridge. Network Rail have scheduled an inspection and assessment of the freight loading gauge for goods on this line in 2010.
It has also been proposed to start a Burntisland-Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
ferry crossing in order to spread some of the Fife-Edinburgh traffic. A previous attempt at promoting this ferry service as a commuter route failed in 1991. Leith itself, now Edinburgh's government district, is not served by rail but is planned to be linked to the Edinburgh tram network
Edinburgh Tram Network
Edinburgh Trams is a tramway system which has been under construction in Edinburgh, Scotland, since 2008.There have been several delays and cost over-runs in the construction of the tramway. The new tram system was originally scheduled to enter revenue service in February 2011...
. Leith is also served by some bus routes from south Fife, but these bus services are subject to Forth Road Bridge
Forth Road Bridge
The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, opened in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth, connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...
congestion.