The campaign to reconnect the North-east by rail has received unanimous, cross-party support at a Press and Journal election debate.
In a special audience edition of The Stooshie podcast, Jenny Laing (Labour), Duncan Massey (Reform), Michael Turvey (Liberal Democrat), Gillian Martin (SNP), Maggie Chapman (Scottish Green) and Douglas Lumsden (Conservative) all fielded questions ahead of the Holyrood elections.
Asked about what the what the region needs in order to thrive, the Campaign for North East Rail, linking communities like Ellon, Cruden Bay, Peterhead and Fraserburgh, was top of the list across the board.
Jordan Jack, General Secretary of the Campaign for North East Rail, told the P&J: “The election in 2026 is very different from the election we faced in 2021, we have done the studies, the groundwork is laid, and we have the evidence.
“Our elected politicians will have the opportunity to make living in the North-east significantly better over their time in office, should they bring the political will to push these projects ahead with them into parliament.”
Read the candidates' full comments on the proposals in The Press and Journal.
Last month, polling commissioned by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) and True North Advisors revealed there is huge public support for reopening key North-east rail routes.
The survey of more than 1,300 people across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire found more than three-quarters of respondents back new rail links from Aberdeen to Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh.
The poll found 78% support reopening the line to Ellon, while the same proportion backed restoring services to Peterhead. Support for reconnecting Fraserburgh stood at 76%.
It comes after the Chamber hosted a roundtable event last summer bringing together major stakeholders and figures for a collaborative and productive discussion around the future of rail in the North-east.
Among the speakers, Jordan Jack set out the "four locks" holding back the region's renewable opportunities, and offered the "four keys to unlock them".
Jordan spoke about the benefits of reopening a station at Cove and Newtonhill, comparing it to Dyce in terms of population size and industry location, with its proximity to the ETZ.
He said: "As we see it, Cove Bay would be the perfect station for the south of the city and for this new industry that's coming."
Jordan also discussed improving the railway between Aberdeen and Inverness, bringing the journey time down to under two hours, making it 45 minutes faster than driving.
That would also enable train drivers to work two trips to Inverness and back in a single day, whereas current journey times make that impossible due to break requirements.
Jordan's third and fourth keys were to reopen platform 8 at Aberdeen station, and reopen the Buchan line.
He said: "There's a bounty of freight up here which is perfectly suited to rail. It's large quantities, it's long distance and it's frequent.
"Just the existing freight alone could be 36 million lorry kilometers every year."
He added carbon capture and storage freight would also benefit significantly from rail improvements.