Former First Minister Alex Salmond has pledged to fight for a new railway for Peterhead and Fraserburgh, if he is re-elected to parliament.
Mr Salmond was joined by SNP colleague and fellow north-east candidate, Eilidh Whiteford, in promising to campaign for a Buchan railway development inspired by the success of the recently reopened Borders railway.
But opponents have derided the announcement as a “cynical manoeuvre” after the nationalists lost ground to the Conservatives in last week’s local government election.
The original Formartine and Buchan line closed in 1979 after more than a century of service between the two north-east ports and Aberdeen.
The line was scrapped as part of the controversial Beeching closures.
In 2015, a project to reopen the Borders branch line, similarly lost in the closures, was completed at a cost of £358million.
The route, which carried one million passengers in its first year, includes 30 miles of track and seven new stations.
Now Mr Salmond, Ms Whiteford and their fellow Aberdeenshire SNP candidates have pledged to use the Borders blueprint to reinstate the railway link north of Dyce.
Mr Salmond said: “It is important we seek to build upon those successes and a rail connection between Aberdeen, Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh would be a fine addition to the already impressive SNP infrastructure investments in the north-east.”
Ms Whiteford added: “The success of the Borders railway provides a template and shows it can be done for the north-east.”
But opposition candidates have condemned the announcement as a bid to claw back momentum lost during the local government elections.
A Conservative spokesman said: “The SNP are clearly rattled after last week’s election result and scrambling to make promises to try and win back votes in the north-east.
“However, as the SNP should know, transport is devolved to Holyrood, and decisions are not taken at Westminster.
“If the SNP want to talk about devolved issues, let’s have a debate about the failures on education, health and the economy after ten years of a Scottish government completely obsessed with independence.”
Liberal Democrat candidate for Gordon, David Evans, said: “The Buchan line certainly has potential to drive investment in the north-east.
“However, coming after the Liberal Democrats made gains in Gordon last week, people will see through this cynical manoeuvre.”
And Banff and Buchan Labour candidate Caitlin Stott added: “People in Banff and Buchan are sick to the back teeth of the SNP’s jam tomorrow promises at elections.”