Borders rail extension study could start this year

There have been repeated calls to extend the Borders Railway on to Carlisle

A £10m feasibility study into extending the Borders Railway could start later this year.

Following lengthy delays, a cross-border consensus has now been reached on the strategic merits of taking the line from Tweedbank to Carlisle.

The current Borders Railway - from Edinburgh to the central Borders - opened in 2015 at a cost of £294m.

Passenger numbers in the following years far exceeded expectations and electrification of sections of the route is currently ongoing.

Calls to extend the tracks all the way to Carlisle were given a boost four years ago when £10m as part of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal was earmarked for funding a feasibility study.

But delays – at both Holyrood and Westminster - have plagued the process ever since.

Last week's agreement by both the Department of Transport and Transport Scotland to sign off the strategic case has been welcomed.

Usage figures for the railway were above those anticipated

Scott Hamilton, deputy leader of Scottish Borders Council (SBC), said: "This is great news for our area and also for people across all of our Borderlands partner areas.

"We now have an agreement from both the Scottish government and the Westminster government that the strategic case for extending the railway has been made."

Partner authorities on the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal – Carlisle City, Cumbria County, Dumfries and Galloway, Northumberland and Scottish Borders councils – will now refresh, update and submit the business case for the rail extension.

Agreement will then trigger the £10m funding for a full infrastructure study to begin.

Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk MP John Lamont is delighted that progress is now being made.

He said: "I said we must see real progress on the Borders Railway extension this year and I am pleased that this project now seems to be moving forward.

"Extending the rail service to Hawick, Newcastleton and onto Carlisle could bring substantial economic benefits and create good local jobs in the Borders.

"I look forward to the UK and Scottish governments continuing to work together constructively throughout the feasibility study process."