Workers clean human waste from Borders Railway tracks

Rail workers have been forced to clear up raw sewage dropped on the tracks of the Borders Railway.

It had been discarded from carriages pulled by the Union of South Africa steam train over the last month.

Michael Hogg, of the RMT rail union, said workers who change sleepers and maintain rails on the line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank had dealt with human waste.

"It's disgusting and it's just not acceptable," he added.

The steam train transported the Queen to the Scottish Borders for the official opening of the £300m line in September.

Since then it has carried 6,500 railway enthusiasts and day-trippers on three return excursions a week.

Its run on the Borders Railway officially ended on Sunday but the popularity of the excursion means further charter trips could be arranged.

Diesel trains on the line's regular services retain human waste, but the use of older carriages to carry passengers on steam train trips skirts the rules for modern trains.

Mr Hogg said: "It's diabolical that in this day and age people have to put up with these kind of working conditions.

"It's bad enough having human waste on the tracks, but you're having workers stand back for a passing train and be sprayed with raw sewage.

"We're talking about people possibly being exposed to harmful bacteria that could cause illness and disease, such as hepatitis C."

He added: "We appreciate that these steam rail trips are very, very popular and are likely to continue, but we can't accept the use of old rolling stock which fails to prevent waste ending up on the tracks."

ScotRail confirmed that steam train toilets were not fitted with tanks to collect human waste.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) gave the rail firm permission to allow customers to use toilets between stations on the Borders Railway steam trips.

Onboard toilets remained locked when the train was stabled in or near a station.

A spokeswoman for the ScotRail Alliance said: "The line has been closely monitored and, now that the last steam train has run on the line, our specialist team will carry out a full track clean."