Borders Railway could be extended to Carlisle

THE Borders Railway could be restored completely to Carlisle, as one of a series of projects which is set to be examined by Transport Scotland.

TS said it intended to award the contract to carry out the study to Jacobs UK.

The study is expected to take about seven months to complete, and the prospect of reopening the rest of the line beyond Tweedbank through Hawick to Carlisle will be welcomed by transport campaigners, who have been calling for such an extension to be built.

The section between Newcraighall in the south of Edinburgh and Tweedbank was opened in September 2015, and in January this year the Scottish Tourism Economic Assessment Monitor reported that visitors to Midlothian had spent 16 per cent more in the first half of 2016 compared with a year earlier, which was before the railway had opened. The number of days visitors spent in the Borders also rose by 11 per cent.

At the time, Councillor Stuart Bell of the Scottish Borders Council said: “Tourism is absolutely vital to the Scottish Borders' economy, and that is why this substantial rise in tourism activity in the first half of 2016 is so important. For the first time in a decade, the Borders have shown improved results in every category – the only area of mainland Scotland to do so for this period.”

The line, also known as the Waverley Route, was closed in the face of protests in 1969 when it was considered to be an unnecessary duplicate of the West and East Coast main lines.

But the success of the restored railway through Galashiels to Tweedbank, which has at times suffered from overcrowding, has boosted official interest in taking the trains further.

Transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “In the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government a commitment was given to examine the case for an extension of the Borders railway along with improvements to the A1, A7 and A68.

“We want to build on the existing Borders railway by considering whether it should be extended to Carlisle. The study will also look at how we improve access from the Scottish Borders to key markets in Edinburgh, Carlisle and Newcastle.
 
“Working with partners in Scottish Borders Council and SEStran, Transport Scotland will identify a range of options for improving transport that can be considered as part of the review of the Strategic Transport Projects Review which will look at future transport infrastructure projects for the whole of Scotland. These options could include new rail services, improvements to existing road infrastructure and improved public transport provision.”

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