Exhibit marks railway opening

A free exhibition will form part of the launch day marking the re-opening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway line on Thursday 15th May.
Clackmannanshire Council's Museum and Heritage Service has put together a special exhibition to celebrate this historic occasion. It looks at:
how the original railway was planned in the 1840s
the events surrounding its opening in 1850
how Alloa Station got so busy that it had to be rebuilt, partly due to the intense rivalry between the Caledonian and North British Railway Companies
the heyday of the railway before the arrival of private transport
aspects of social history, such as the growth in holiday travel and works outings on the railway.
Susan Mills, the Council's Museum and Heritage Officer said: The decline and fall of the original railway in Alloa is a story which could be told about stations and lines in many other British towns. This is also covered in the exhibition, along with a look at how the line has come to be re-opened.
The exhibition, which is being sponsored by Brodies LLP and Art is an Option, is generously illustrated with maps and photographs, as well as memorabilia including timetables, tickets and a sign or two.
The exhibition will be on display to VIP guests in the launch day marquee on the morning of Thursday 15th May and in the afternoon will move to the Lesser Hall in the nearby Speirs Centre in Primrose Street.
The Scottish Railway Preservation Society is running two special trains along the line in the afternoon - these will be the first public passenger trains to run between Alloa and Stirling for almost 40 years. It is hoped that many of the 600 people who have bought tickets for these pleasure trips will also take the opportunity to view the free exhibition.
Thereafter the exhibition will be open to the public in Greenfield House Reception from 16-17th May, which includes the afternoon of the Community Fayre, which is taking place in Greenfield Park from noon-4pm on Saturday 17th May.
Prior to all the festivities,First Scotrail will be at Asda in Alloa on Saturday 10th May, why not come along and enter our prize draw competitions with some great prizes and chances to win Annual Season Tickets!

Alloa rail timetable

Scotrail’s new timetables, effective May 18th, have been published on their website. They include the new train service from Alloa, although the booklet says date of commencement is to be advised.(Now
Trains will depart Alloa Mon-Sat at 0611,0710,0754,0835,0941 then hourly until 2241. On Sundays departures are hourly from 0913-2113.
Return journeys depart Queen Street 0613,0718 then hourly until 2218(Mon-Sat) and hourly 1015-2215 on Sunday.
A Single ticket from Alloa- Glasgow will cost £7.30, but off-peak return is only £6.80 (50p more than from Stirling). A peak return will cost £10.40.
From Alloa to Stirling, a single will cost £2.50, an offpeak return £2.70, and a full return £3.50.

First fined

First Bus have been fined a total of £131,750 by the traffic commissioner, following
a public inquiry in November over complaints over First In Scotland East not running some services, leaving people waiting at bus stops.
First said it was disappointed with the level of the fine.
The bus firm had been warned at two previous public inquiries, and two years ago, fleet numbers were restricted by the commissioners.
First responded to the fine by insisting "In the last year we have invested over £7m in new vehicles and we are continuously recruiting and training staff as part of our overall effort to continually improve our services."
No new vehicles were allocated to Forth Valley services. Larbert & Bannockburn were allocated newer second hand vehicles made surplus by new arrivals in other East of Scotland depots.