Cumnock and Mauchline railway line part of reopening plans

Railfuture Scotland has mapped out the list of 51 stations to be opened or re-opened in a bid to attract the public back on trains as Covid restrictions are lifted and as the nation shifts away from carbon-emitting cars.

Both towns previously had stations serving the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr railway line.

READ MORE: Scottish Greens call for Cumnock train station

They were opened in the 1800s, but bother were closed in 1965.

The stations to be opened or re-opened lie on existing or government proposed rail lines and have been assessed to provide the greatest immediate benefits.

As part of the plans, it is believed that reopening Cumnock Station would create a minimum annual usage of 200,000 passengers, while Mauchline would see a minimum of 120,000 people using the line.

Railfuture Scotland plans

Jane Ann Liston, secretary of Railfuture Scotland said: "These stations are considered necessary to provide an attractive and environmentally-friendly alternative to road vehicles.

"Each of the locations has some specific feature as to why it needs a station, such as an attraction which brings in many people, a major employer or simply a large number of residents who need to travel.

"These stations would open up more of the country to non-road travel".

The updated list comes years after it's first blueprint. Since then seven recommended by the think tank have been or are being re-opened: Leven, Inverness Airport, Cameron Bridge, Robroyston, Kintore, East Linton and Reston."

"The original justifications for the stations on the list still stand but to them must now be added the imperativeness of attracting people back to trains in the wake of the pandemic, as the message that public transport is not safe still lingers in the public consciousness with the result that passenger numbers are still well below what they were prior to March 2020."

The full list of proposals can be found here.