Transform Scotland - For Sustainable Transport

11 June 2014

Gleneagles station restoration creates a lasting legacy

Transform Scotland rail campaigner Paul Tetlaw reports:

Gleneagles station is being restored for the Ryder Cup contest which this year takes place on the adjacent golf course. It is important that this multi-million pound restoration creates a lasting legacy for the local community and is not just seen as a one-off makeover for the Ryder Cup.

I recently visited the station and can confirm that the restoration looks to be of a very high standard indeed and should restore this fine historic station to its former glory.

















An overview of the station and new link road

The new link road should go a long way towards correcting the crass planning decision that allowed the dual carriageway A9 to cut off access from the station to the hotel and surrounding community. What we would now like to see are connecting bus services to call at the station and cycling and walking routes created to link the station to the surrounding communities. For more distant communities such as Crieff the station now also offers an excellent park and ride facility. We would hope to see further improvements to the rail service to create even interval services north to Perth and beyond and south to Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh.   

As for the station itself then the real legacy, besides much greater usage would be for life to be brought back to the station. I would now expect the hotel to step forward and become involved with the ongoing running of the station and so start to celebrate its own railway history -- just as has happened on a larger scale with the wonderful restoration of St Pancras station and hotel in London. Perhaps a cafe might be created at the station as well as a gateway reception and marketing point for the hotel.

In terms of the local community then they too may be persuaded to become involved and ScotRail's excellent station adoption scheme is the ideal vehicle for this. It is headed by John Yellowlees of ScotRail and has brought new life to stations the length and breadth of Scotland.

New lifts being installed within the existing station (compare and contrast with Perth!)