Fact Check: This Viral Pic Supposedly Shows a Reopened Scottish Railway Line on Side of Mountain. We Looked for Proof
Claim:
A photo shared online in April 2024 shows a train navigating a tricky reopened railway line in Scotland.
Rating:
On April 16, 2024, the Facebook page Abandoned Places Story posted an image purportedly showing a train navigating a tricky stretch of track on a mountainside along a reopened railway line in the county of Fife in Scotland, U.K.
The photo's caption read: "Scotrail have today announced the re-opening of the Northern Line, traditionally only used during the summer months. The route, from Kirkcaldy to Dundee through the beautiful mountain region of Fifeshire, shaves hours off the coastal route."
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122168662064027488&set=a.122108858222027488
Similar posts could be seen elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter). Together, the posts had amassed thousands of interactions at the time of this writing.
Scottish followers will be pleased to hear of the re-opening of the Northern Line, traditionally only used during the summer months. The route, from Kirkcaldy to Dundee through the beautiful mountain region of Fifeshire, shaves hours off the coastal route. 💖 pic.twitter.com/0g6vFqzQeo
— Janice Greer (@JaniceGreer34) April 4, 2024
Many social media users appeared to believe the veracity of the picture, with one writing on X: "This train journey is probably & will be safer than it looks but still looks frightening being right up there & the train being so close to the wall let alone the other side!"
This train journey is probably & will be safer than it looks but still looks frightening being right up there & the train 🚊 being so close to the wall let alone the other side 😥😬! 😊
— Rischard Ó Hearchai (@Richard07502700) April 5, 2024
However, the image appeared to originate from an animation posted on Instagram by an account called @therealnaturelove, which wrote in its bio that it posts high-definition videos showing "natural animation."
It made no mention of the clip showing a railway line in Scotland.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4-bdIDxo5N/?hl=en
The Instagram page contained thousands of posts, many of which were similar in style to the animation of the train on the side of the mountain.
Snopes has approached the page for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.
The image of the train was also posted in a Facebook group named Travel Scotland Goals Group, which shares content that "may not be 100% accurate."
Travel blog Pipeaway published an article on April 11, 2024, addressing the falsity of the photo.
Searching for "mountain train Fife Scotland" on Google Images produced no evidence of such a trainline existing.
Sources:
Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C4-bdIDxo5N/?hl=en. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
---. https://www.instagram.com/therealnaturelove/?hl=en. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Kralj, Ivan. 'The Rise of Fakebook: Flood of AI Pictures in Your Feed'. Pipeaway, 11 Apr. 2024, https://www.pipeaway.com/ai-facebook-pictures/.
Log in or Sign up to View. https://www.facebook.com/login/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
