Nwallace wrote:Doubling the bridge would have a knock on capacity effect right into Fife.
Doubling the bridge would have no effect whatsoever. Completely rebuilding the line between Montrose and Usan, easing the very steep curves and making it double track would be the minimum requirement, but there is still the issue of it being a hell of a climb.
There is absolutely no chance of the Kinnaber Junction to Perth line ever being rebuilt. The reason it closed in the first place is that it duplicated the Perth-Dundee-Montrose route, it bypasses Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose and the only centre of any significant population it served was Forfar, which is only 15 minutes or so from Dundee via the A90.
If it was reopened, the closure of the Glenfarg main line (in order to build the M90) means trains between Edinburgh (and points south) and Aberdeen would be considerably slower, having to travel via Thornton Jct and Bridge of Earn. The Friockheim option is equally implausible in terms of timing and bypasses Montrose.
It might be the stuff of railway enthusiast dreams and vote-winning noises, but in the real world when it comes to splashing the cash, spending millions to provid a worse level of service makes no sense at all!
My feeling is that improvements will be made elsewhere, where they will be cheaper and more practical, and the Montrose - Usan section will stay exactly as it is. Given that its only a tiny section, its hardly a bottleneck in reality.