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WAVERLEY ROUTE TRUST
NEWS RELEASE
30 January 2006
CALL FOR SCHEME REVISION TO SAVE BORDERS RAIL PROJECT
An alliance of rail lobby groups and environmental campaigners has called
on Scottish Borders Council to revise the Waverley Railway Project to
provide a more cost-effective and attractive scheme. In the face of calls
for the project to be scrapped [1], the campaigners have urged the railway
promoter, Scottish Borders Council, to ditch what they describe as “an
uninspiring one-size-fits-all timetable” which would see trains
taking 61 minutes for the 35-mile journey from Tweedbank to Edinburgh.
Instead they envisage two separate train services – a fast (less
than 50 minutes) express service every hour from the Borders to Edinburgh,
and a half-hourly ‘inner suburban’ service calling at all
stops between Gorebridge and Edinburgh. The campaigners argue that their
scheme would cost broadly the same as the current project, but would provide
a much more attractive service for commuters, leisure travellers and tourists.
The call for a fresh look at the rail project comes from the Capital Rail
Action Group, TRANSform Scotland and the Waverley Route Trust [2]. The
Trust’s Chair, Petra Biberbach, commented:
“The specification for the railway has been wrong from the word
go - that's why the business case is pretty poor and the line will require
significant subsidy. An uninspiring 'one size fits all' timetable with
a 61 minute journey from Tweedbank, and no spare capacity for freight
and passenger charter trains, is a recipe for failure. We have been pointing
the Promoter towards better and more realistic ways of building and operating
the railway since we set up in 2002, but they have failed to look seriously
at practical alternatives. As we predicted, the chickens are now coming
home to roost, and a vicious anti-railway campaign is taking root.”
Capital Rail Action Group spokesman Paul Tetlaw commented:
“This isn’t just about benefits to the Borders. A faster rail
service would bring big benefits to Edinburgh city centre, with easy access
from Galashiels, Tweedbank and the surrounding area. The people of Edinburgh
and the millions of tourists here would also have the opportunity to take
convenient day trips to the heart of the Border country.”
The Executive Director of TRANSform Scotland, Colin Howden, commented:
“The Borders is the only mainland region of Britain without a rail
service. With the impact of climate change becoming ever clearer, and
rising oil prices likely to be a growing threat, the Borders desperately
needs a high-quality sustainable transport link. But not many motorists
will leave their cars at home for a train journey averaging just 35 mph.”
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] Scotland on Sunday on 29th January reported growing unrest among MSPs
about the costs and benefits of the Borders railway: “Fears over
deficit pose new barrier to Borders rail line” <http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=144942006>
[2] The Waverley Route Trust was set up in 2002 to press the case for
a ‘community railway’ to the Borders. In 2004 consultants
Corus produced their ‘Delivering an Innovative Borders Railway’
report for the Trust, recommending that the Waverley Railway Project be
enhanced to provider faster services and more cost-effective infrastructure.
For a short summary of the report see <http://www.waverleyroutetrust.org.uk/graphicpages/study.htm>
END OF NEWS RELEASE
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