Aberdeen Crossrail is a proposed

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

development in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, first proposed within the 2003 Scottish Strategic Rail Study. It is supported by Nestrans, the north-east of Scotland's voluntary regional transport partnership. Crossrail aims to provide a frequent, cross-city rail service between Inverurie, Aberdeen and Stonehaven, coupled with new stations. It proposed upgrading existing train services from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography Inverurie is in the vall ...

to a regular half-hourly service, adding more services between Aberdeen and

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...

, and opening new stations along existing lines in Aberdeen and

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. It could also bring about the re-opening of lines and stations between Aberdeen and the towns of

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; sco, The Broch or ; gd, A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census at 13,100. It lies at the far northeast corner of Aber ...

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

and

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist ...

. The project is seen as vital in reducing traffic congestion within Aberdeen. Currently, only 12% of north-east residents live within 1 km of a railway station, but if all of the Crossrail proposals were to go ahead, this could rise to 25%. This would aid commuting into the city centre and provide a viable alternative to using the car.

Proposal

The project aimed to have a train between Inverurie, Aberdeen, and Stonehaven every 15 minutes. It also included the reopening of stations at Kintore,

Altens Altens is a district in the city of Aberdeen, on the north-east coast of Scotland. Altens is home to a large industrial estate, alongside a similar estate in neighbouring Tullos. The industrial estates have offices, including a large facility ...

, and

Newtonhill Newtonhill is a commuter town in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is popular due to its location, just six miles south of Aberdeen with easy reach of Stonehaven and with views over the North Sea. History The town was originally called Skateraw. Sk ...

Feasibility studies

The Scottish Executive began a £400,000 feasibility study into the project in June 2005, the outcome of which was expected to be announced by March 2007. A document published in 2010 reported that the predicted costs would be greater than the additional ticket revenues generated for the Crossrail project, regardless of whether services ran at a 15 minute or a 30 minute frequency. This feasibility study into the project indicated that Crossrail could best be delivered on an incremental basis. Nestrans' Draft Rail Action Plan 2010-2021 considered how to achieve frequency and service improvements in the short term, leading to the opening of new stations - such as at Kintore - and more significant service enhancements over time. Network Rail has completed a GRIP2 study to investigate options for Aberdeen - Inverness line improvements, including consideration of a new station at Kintore. The report was published on the Transport Scotland website on 22 March 2011. This confirmed that an hourly service frequency and two hour journey time would be feasible. The Stage 3 study examining the range of options in greater detail is underway and is expected to be completed during 2012.

Implementation

Laurencekirk railway station opened in May 2009.

Transport Scotland Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Organisat ...

announced in March 2016 that the scheme will go ahead as part of a wider timetable recast in 2018. The new service will run between Inverurie and , serving all existing intermediate stations and one at from 2019 (now rescheduled to May 2020). The Aberdeen to Inverurie section will then have a 30-minute interval service in operation. Infrastructure enhancements on the Aberdeen to Inverness line (including the redoubling of track from Aberdeen to Inverurie) are also scheduled to be completed by this time, as part of a £170 million route upgrade project. In 2019, improvements were made to the line between Aberdeen and Inverurie to allow for a higher service frequency. This was completed under the Aberdeen to Inverness Improvement Project.

Kintore railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Kintore railway station 2020 10.jpg , caption = Kintore railway station in 2020 , borough = Kintore, Aberdeenshire , country ...

opened in October 2020.

References

{{Rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom, selected=proposed Transport in Aberdeen Proposed railway lines in Scotland Stonehaven Transport in Aberdeenshire Inverurie Portlethen Kintore, Aberdeenshire Montrose, Angus Laurencekirk

Proposal

Feasibility studies

Implementation

See also

References