TRAINS are calling at Kintore in Aberdeenshire today for the first time since December 1964.

The new two-platform station was built at a cost of £15 million. It is fully accessible, with lifts to the footbridge, and also has a car park which offers 168 spaces – 24 of them equipped with electric charging points.

The new station will be served by up to 28 ScotRail trains a day, with a half-hourly frequency at the busiest times towards Aberdeen and Inverness.

It has been funded by Transport Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council and Nestrans, and the contractor was BAM Nuttall.

Although the original 1854 station closed its doors almost 56 years ago, some heritage benches and signs have been rescued and returned to the station.

Reopening Kintore has been made possible by the recently completed Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project, which doubled the track between Aberdeen and Inverurie.

Network Rail Scotland’s capital delivery director Kris Kinnear said: ‘We’re committed to working alongside the Scottish Government to open up our railway to as many communities as possible. This station will create new social and economic opportunities for people in Kintore and we are pleased to have been able to deliver the new facility for the town.’