South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has welcomed the start of work to extend the narrow gauge railway from Leadhills in South Lanarkshire to Wanlockhead.

The current railway, which is around 1km long, stops short of Wanlockhead but volunteers have now begun work on taking the line to Scotland’s highest village after land ownership issues were resolved.

Colin Smyth MSP said:

“It’s great to see the start of work of extending the rail line to Wanlockhead and huge credit must go to the dedicated volunteers carrying out the work and those who run the railway itself. Connectivity between rural villages is crucial for not just the communities which are served but the wider economy as a whole and this innovative rail link can only help boost tourism in the area. More widely, given that the GP out of reach service now no longer covers Wanlockhead and people have to travel to either Moffat or Leadhills, this rail service could give local people another option when making that journey”.