The Borders Railway Prospectus is intended to inform ongoing discussions with the UK and Scottish governments. Work to assess the benefits and challenges of options to extend the Edinburgh – Tweedbank Borders Railway to Carlisle is part of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. The deal was signed in March by both governments, and the five Borderlands partners - Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council and Scottish Borders Council.
Funding of £10m has been allocated to support the work.
In developing the Prospectus, the Partnership has assessed what is needed to tackle the transport connectivity issues in the region and has identified the development of the Tweedbank to Carlisle railway as the best solution. The Prospectus will be discussed at the planned meeting between Scottish government cabinet secretary for finance and the economy, Kate Forbes, and the Borderlands Partnership later this month.
The Prospectus outlines the Borderlands Partnership’s views on where and how the railway extension would result in positive change in the Borderlands region and help to address a regional connectivity need, whilst also having the potential to provide solutions at a UK level for enhancing cross border capacity, resilience and connectivity. It provides more context as to why an extension to this route could be transformational to the Borderlands region. However, the document itself does not provide a view on where stations should be located on the route or comment on the viability of potential freight traffic opportunities. These will be matters for the feasibility study.
Councillor Shona Haslam, leader of Scottish Borders Council, said: “The re-establishment of a rail line between Edinburgh and the central Scottish Borders has brought immense and wide-ranging benefits that we continue to try to maximise.
“Scottish Borders Council has made a case for the extension of the line to Hawick and on to Carlisle for some time, and together with the other Borderlands local authority partners we are reaffirming and strengthening that case in the Prospectus.
“We look forward to continued discussions with both the UK and Scottish governments around over the coming weeks and months.”
Councillor Elaine Murray, leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council and Borderlands Partnership co-chair, said: “The Borders Railway offers the opportunity to build on the success of the initial phase, which re-established a rail line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. The usage of the initial phase of the Borders Railway line extension has exceeded the forecast of the business case by up to a factor of ten. In practice, the benefits have been much higher, and particularly at the local level where evidence points towards substantial impacts on the delivery of economic and social benefits.
“The Borderlands Partnership was successful in making a strong case work to consider the extension of the Borders Railway across the border to Carlisle in the Deal. The Prospectus provides information that builds a strong foundation for taking forward the study and shows its importance for the overall Deal.
Councillor Stewart Young, leader of Cumbria County Council and Borderlands Partnership co-chair, said: “The extension of the Borders Railway offers the opportunity to build on the success of the re-establishment of a rail line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, as well as capitalise on the nationally significant infrastructure investment from HS2 and the proposed modification of rail infrastructure at Carlisle to allow high speed trains to call at the station.”
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