Pressure is being stepped up to extend the Borders railway further south from its current terminus at Tweedbank on towards Hawick and Carlisle.

 

Trains began running out of Edinburgh on the former Waverley Route once again in September 2015, after the line closed in 1969. Now the Campaign for Borders Rail has renewed its call for the extension and for services to be improved on the reopened section of line.

 

Campaign chairman Allan McLean has sent copies of a new report to Parliamentary candidates in the region ahead of the General Election, and handed the first copy to Scottish Transport Minister Humza Yousaf.

 

“The economies of Edinburgh, Midlothian and the northern Borders have all gained from the opening of the Borders Railway. Now it is time for Hawick and other communities in the southern Borders to benefit,” said Allan McLean.

 

The new report makes the point that full reinstatement of the Edinburgh to Carlisle route is the long term ambition, but says an interim extension to Hawick could be a secondary scenario. Journey times from one end of the line to the other (157km) would take just under two hours.

 

Options for a rail freight terminal in the central Borders region with good road access should be explored, the group adds, to allow the movement of goods by train including timber. It also says that the ‘baseline specification’ for the extension is for a single track line with dynamic passing loops. But it adds that earthworks and structures should be future proofed to allow for double tracking at a later date.

 

(Photo: Network Rail)