This was a 2,400 megawatt coal fired power station, capable of using other fuels.
The power station was alongside Longannet Mine which provided it with coal by conveyor. In addition further coal was delivered by rail.
The rail facility was a large loop from the Stirling, Alloa, Kincardine and Dunfermline Town route. The loop met the main line with triangular junctions allowing a train to approach from either direction or leave in either direction without reversal. Much of the layout was on an area previously used for a rail served MOD depot.
With the closure of the route beyond Kincardine Power Station in 1981 most trains approached from the west, although there was loading at Kincardine Power Station from the latter 1980s.
With the closure of Longannet Mine in 2002 more trains were required and the additional trains, many with imported coal coming from Hunterston High Level Sidings, clogged up the railways of the Central Belt and Fife, and battered the Forth Bridge. The Stirling - Alloa - Kincardine line re-opened in 2008.
Failure to win a contract to supply electricity to the National Grid led to closure in 2016.
Nearby stations Culross [2nd] Kincardine Culross [1st] Grangemouth Bogside Fife Kilbagie Kinneil Kinneil [1st] Bo^ness [1st] East Grange Thornbridge Halt Bo^ness Birkhill Torryburn Forest Mill | Longannet East Departure Longannet West Departure Longannet Mine Sands Siding Longannet East Arrival Longannet Bunkers Longannet West Arrival Anglo-American Oil Company Oil Tanks Grangemouth No 5 Signal Box (East Cut) Grangemouth Docks Grangemouth New Oil Terminal Arrival Tourist/other Grangemouth Eastern Channel Timber Basin Grangemouth Eastern Channel Firth of Forth Grange Dock |
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line. |
/ /1985 | Stirling and Dunfermline Railway
Kincardine Line (North British Railway) Longannet Power Station (excluded) to Alloa West Junction (excluded) out of use. Track left in place for possible re-opening. |
/04/1997 | Kincardine Line (North British Railway) Longannet Power Station to Kincardine Power Station re-opened to freight. |
19/05/2008 | Stirling and Dunfermline RailwayKincardine Line The railway between Stirling and Alloa re-opens to passengers. The line between Stirling and Longannet Power Station via Alloa re-opens to freight providing an alternative route to the Forth Bridge. |