With the construction of the Levenmouth Link railway line progressing well, it has reached the stage where Network Rail needs to close some of the crossings over the line.

Some crossings will be closed permanently from 31 August, whilst some will remain open until planning consent for their closure has been received and construction of new bridges gets underway. Communities affected by the closure are being notified by Network Rail accordingly.

Crossings that will be permanently closed will be fenced-off to secure the railway, and include a number of former paths and historic rights of way. They have been legally extinguished and are no longer open to the public, and include crossings at Balgonie, Doubledykes, Waulkmill, Tullybreck, and Durievale.

Crossing points and pathways that will remain open until planning consents have been received and construction of new bridges begins are those at Methilhill, two at Duniface, and at Mountfleurie. Proposals for the new bridges are currently going through the planning proves, and when the relevant consents are approved the crossings will be closed temporarily so that their construction can take place.

Closure of the crossings is necessary as it is no longer safe to allow public access as parts of the line have now been completed and engineering trains are using them during construction of the rest of the line.

Although most crossings will be permanently closed, three new bridges will be built to maintain connections between communities and improve access to the new stations at Leven and Cameron Bridge.

Joe Mulvenna, Network Rail s project manager for the Levenmouth Rail Link project, said: With significant work ongoing across the route to deliver the stations, signalling and bridges limiting access is now unavoidable as securing the railway boundary will protect the safety of the public.

The most effective way of reducing level crossing risk on the railway is to remove crossings and we do not design them into new railways.

The development of the rail link and associated active travel enhancements has given us the opportunity to reduce the number of crossings and replace some core paths and well-used walking routes with the new bridges which we are building on behalf of Fife Council.