Going the Glenfarg way

02/01/2025 Ashleigh Sinclair Features, Operator Profiles

TH55 BUS is one of three low-floor Sprinters used by Glenfarg Community Transport on its routes 23 and 55. JONATHAN WELCH

Jonathan Welch tries out the community-run bus services of Glenfarg Community Transport and finds out more about its operations

Located in the Ochil hills of Perth & Kinross, the village of Glenfarg is likely unknown to many, or maybe just another name on a road sign as they pass by on the motorway. Situated around half way between the county town of Kinross and the city of Perth, the village sits around 30 miles by road north of Edinburgh, and is home to around 1,000 inhabitants.

Despite being located right next to the M90 motorway, the main arterial route north from Edinburgh towards the east coast cities of Dundee and Aberdeen as well as towards the Highlands and Inverness in the far north, Glenfarg has seen its transport links dwindle over the years. The road which runs through the centre of the village, now the B996, was once the main road north, in an era where the railways still dominated long-distance travel and cars were few and far between. It follows the path of the River Farg, as did once the railway which served the village until 1964.

Although the station closed that year, the railway itself remained open until 1970, though little trace remains now, large sections of the track bed hereabouts having been used for the construction of the new M90 motorway, Britain’s most northerly, which opened in stages between 1964 and 1980. The last section to open was coincidentally the one which passes Glenfarg, and which today covers the site of the town’s former railway station.

In the six decades since the station closed, the village, like the wider world, has changed. Whereas in the immediate post-closure days, a significant number of villagers would have still required to travel by bus to local and regional centres, increasing car ownership and changing lifestyles have meant a concurrent dwindling in the number of bus passengers and the number of buses to serve them.

Last year, to address the need for a frequent and regular bus service, locals set up Glenfarg Community Transport with the aim of resurrecting a link which had been lost twice in recent years.