Date: 09/01/2001

Rail traffic is set to return to the Maxwelltown branch line from 2002, thanks to the award of a Rail Freight Facilities Grant by the Scottish Executive. The £10m grant will enable BP to move oil by rail from its Grangemouth refinery to distribution depots throughout Scotland and Cumbria, including to its Maxwelltown distribution depot in Dumfries. This shift from road to rail will eventually remove 542 lorry journeys a year from the region's road network and significantly reduce the number of tanker lorry movements in and around the Maxwelltown oil terminal. Toby Rackliff, the Council's Railway Development Officer, welcomed the news "Dumfries and Galloway Council has campaigned long and hard for the restoration of rail freight services to the Maxwelltown branch line. The Scottish Executive's freight facilities grant award will remove a significant amount of traffic off Scotland's road network and we're hopeful it will also mark the beginning of a rail freight renaissance in the area". £90,000 of the grant has been earmarked specifically for work to renovate the rail access to the Maxwelltown depot, which has suffered from several years of neglect. It is hoped that this work will enable 15,000 tonnes of oil a year to be delivered to the depot, with the oil trains commencing operation within the next two years.