Project manager plan to drive forward Borders Railway ambitions

The Borders Railway currently runs to Tweedbank

Councillors are being asked to agree to appoint a project manager to help drive forward an extension to the Borders Railway.

The line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank opened in 2015 but it is hoped it could be taken on to Carlisle.

Scottish Borders Council (SBC) is being recommended to take forward plans to hire a manager to develop a business case at a cost of £220,000 over three years.

Funding will be drawn down from the UK and Scottish governments through the Borderlands Growth Deal to cover the expenditure.

The original 98-mile (158km) Waverley Route between Edinburgh and Carlisle closed in 1969 as part of the Beeching cuts to the UK rail network.

A 30-mile (48km) section, between Edinburgh Waverley and Tweedbank, reopened in September 2015, at a cost of £294m.

As part of the Borderlands deal, signed by both governments in 2021, £10m was earmarked for a feasibility study into extending the line across the border.

Part of that project would be to appoint a senior project manager to oversee the process.

A report to the council recommends that it agrees to take forward recruitment for the post.

It will also set up the first meeting of a cross-party working group and the Borders Railway reference group once the appointment process has started.