Next stop Hawick? Council urged to get Borders Railway extension back on track following election
Last updated 9th May 2022
It's feared cross-border politics may be behind the delay to the start of work on a study into the feasibility of extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle.
£10 million was promised for the project as part of the Borderlands Growth Deal three years ago - but there's been no indication over when it will happen.
Former local authority convener David Parker, who's been re-elected to the ward which includes the current rail terminus in Tweedbank, believes one way to get the project back on track is to focus on building the next stage of the line to Hawick.
And, with the political will, he believes the first trains in more than half a century could arrive in the Borders biggest town by 2028.
Speaking to Radio Borders following the election, Councillor Parker (Independent) said: "The new council, in my opinion, has to grasp the extension of the Borders Railway in a more positive way than we have so far. We're too focussed on just going to Carlisle, and we need to start to think about the Borders Railway in incremental stages.
"There's no reason why we can't go to Hawick first, and there's no reason that can't be delivered by the Scottish Government - because they have all the powers and money to do it.
"I certainly hope the council will continue to commit to the extension to Carlisle, but will put more work and more pressure into delivering to Hawick first as the next step in the railway extension.
"With a fair wind, with Scottish Government support, I see no reason why we couldn't be in a period of construction within four years from now and delivery two years later. So, it's absolutely possible within the next five to six years, if there is the political will from the Scottish Government to deliver it, we could go from Tweedbank to Hawick first."
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The Campaign for Borders Rail has always championed the case to extend the line all the way to Carlisle - including rebuilding a station in Newcastleton.
But Hawick councillor Clair Ramage, who's a member of the local lobby group, isn't ruling anything out. The retired teacher regained her seat on the council after quitting the SNP to stand as an Independent this time around.
She said: "It needs to be completed all the way to Carlisle but we need to start somewhere; and, if it came to Hawick - brilliant!
"If people can travel further for work and come back home to spend their money it will reinvigorate the town.
"We've got the feasibility money, why we're not doing that now concerns me. We need to really push on; I don't want this to happen in 20-30 years, I want it to happen immediately."