Another indication that the railway really is coming – with thanks to Geoff Ruderham, who spotted this ad.

https://firstgroup.hua.hrsmart.com/ats/js_job_details.php?reqid=6347

The Campaign for Borders Rail 2012 Annual General Meeting will be held in the National Mining Museum at Newtongrange at 19.30 on Tuesday, 6th November. The Speaker will be Dr Ann Glen who will give a presentation on the re-opening of the Airdrie-Bathgate line.

CBR is seeking nominations for replacements for the posts of Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer, and nominations (to the Chair at his address on the Contact Us page on the web site) would be very welcome in advance of the AGM.

Campaigners have got used to misinformation from John Lamont MSP, who describes the new railway as the “Galashiels Railway Project” – ignoring the benefits it will bring to a wide swathe of the Central Borders through bus-rail interchange and park-and-ride – but his latest effort plumbs the depths.

A spurious new story in the Hawick News on 19th October ‘revealed’ that the cost of the railway has doubled from the original budget. Well, we knew that already, and it’s no different to the way that the cost of all three previous rail re-opening projects in Scotland increased from original budget to completion, ditto the M74 Northern Extension. And we know how much of a success these new railways have been.

Bizarrely, Lamont viewed this old news as “yet another blow to the Galashiels Railway Project that would see it delayed once again. With nearly £54 million spent there is still very little to show for it as not a single piece of track has been laid yet.” He obviously hasn’t been at Millerhill since June 2011 (see photo above).

While Paul Wheelhouse MSP rightly accused Lamont of “a campaign of misinformation”, he didn’t help matters with a media statement full of errors:

“The previous specification by Labour and the Lib Dems was little better than light rail and would have resulted in a slow journey time of around 70 minutes, lack of dual-tracking, and no provision for future freight development. The project as is now specified will deliver trains in 55 minutes from Tweedbank to Waverley Station, has largely been dual-tracked for improved resilience, has a standard gauge for future freight and provision for freight-handling facilities, while the additional station at Stow is now included.”

Why can’t our political representatives get their facts right?

This is David Spaven here – I’ve taken over blog administration on behalf of CBR, and hope to be able to make regular postings in the exciting period following the anticipated announcement – in the next couple of weeks – of the go-ahead for construction of the Borders Railway.

I look forward to your comments on postings, and ongoing discussion on how CBR and others can help to ensure we get – in the words of CBR – ‘the best possible Borders Railway’ – by 2014-15.

I will need to feel my way into this new role, so please bear with me if the technology initially gets the better of me! Just one request at this stage – it would be great if your comments were attributable rather than anonymous, unless of course your employment precludes this.

Here’s an account of a meeting from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport – containing details of the form of the route and elements of Network Rail’s progress with organising its construction – web link.

January 15th, and a frosty trackbed in the cutting north of Fountainhall, where site preparation is under way. The trackbed at this point climbs at 1:150 on its way to Falahill Summit, around four miles to the north.

Network Rail, who have now taken on the construction of this line, will shortly announce whether it is feasable to meet the 2014 opening date. Over 80 structures from the original route are to be reused.

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Work is well under way to form the connection between Network Rail and the Borders Railway at Newcraighall. Here’s three images of the work by Network Rail’s contractors to realign the turnback siding at Newcraighall. It will form the connection to the Borders Railway itself – the latter will be neither owned nor maintained by Network Rail.

As the project moves into its build phase, advance works are in progress at various locations on the route. Removal of a defective accommodation bridge at Cowbraehill will allow for its replacement by a new structure. Some of the masonry from the old bridge will be reused on the Borders Railway project. The image shows the Waverley Route trackbed and the cleared site of Cowbraehill bridge.

Here’s more, in a press release from Transport Scotland.

The end of September saw advance work begin at a number of sites along the Gala Water. More from Transport Scotland.

The discovery that high voltage electricity cables impinge on the planned site for Tweedbank Station may mean that the site of the new station is moved. More in this article and this one from the Border Telegraph.