A campaign group led by a former train driver could use second-hand track to resurrect a £5million north-east line.
Retired driver and track layer Bill Scatterty has proposed reinstating the track from Banff to Portsoy as a tourist attraction.
The scheme would be run as a heritage line similar to the Royal Deeside Railway near Banchory.
Now Mr Scatterty and his group, North-East of Scotland Railway, are building a business case.
Their plans include buying used track from rail firms in England and Wales, which could be re-laid along the Banffshire coastline. The line was closed in the 1960s.
Mr Scatterty’s estimates the scheme could cost around £5million and is preparing to submit grant funding applications.
Last night the former railway man said: “We’re putting a business together and hopefully that will be on show in the next two or three weeks.
“We’re hoping that with the track bed available we can get it back to the way it was. When we have a business plan we can look to funding and that will show we’re serious.”
Mr Scatterty – who worked for British Rail from 1965-2002 – said the proposals to link Banff and Portsoy are the first phase
in a plan which could branch out to include other towns along the Banffshire and Moray coast.
He added: “£5million is our estimate and we’ve got ‘first refusal’ on some track already.”
The group has identified three miles of track – including points and sleepers – which has been lifted and replaced. Mr Scatterty said the cost for the materials would be between £50,000 and £150,000.
Under the scheme, stations would be reinstated in both Banff and Portsoy with a 10-mile line in between.
The North-East of Scotland Railway will meet regional tourism expert Roger Goodyear later this month.
Mr Goodyear, Banffshire Coast Tourism Partnership, has already welcomed the proposals describing them as “terrific” idea.
The group is now appealing for volunteers to join them contacting Gordon Kirtley: gordon3@gmx.com