This article has been published as a supplementary feature in conjunction with Campaign for Borders Rail’s Newsletter 62. To receive the full newsletter, please subscribe to become a member of the Campaign – details at https://campaignforbordersrail.org/support/

Back in the days before shaking hands became life-threateningly foolhardy, Simon Walton met Rob Bell, for a special edition of Britain’s Lost Railways. TV’s Mr Enthusiastic may be the persona he plays up, but proper professional broadcaster is what’s going on behind that boyish, ever-present smile, says the Campaign chair.

It’s no coincidence that several locations from the Borders feature in the opening titles for the whole series. Sweeping landscapes; aerial footage of Melrose; the restored Hassendean station, and even a still from Stobs in the production company publicity. Is it any wonder that the Channel Five schedulers saved the best until last.

Yet, holding my own when it came to toothy grins, I merrily sent Rob on his way, to walk the remaining sixty-odd miles of the line. Clever editing kept the two production Range Rovers out of shot, apparently.

Novel Competition

Before getting on my own way, I just had time to enter that Channel Five competition, the one they’ve been running to promote the Borders in every ad-break over the entire six-part series. A luxury visit to Edinburgh and the Borders, including a trip on the Borders Railway and a private dining opportunity at Abbotsford. All that’s missing from that is for Walter Scott himself to pour the tea.

What’s engaged me most about the series, is that it’s not just about railways. Far from it, and I think the Borders edition played that hand most effectively. There is just so much with which to engage, and I didn’t envy the producers in making their choices. There were bound to be some left out on the cutting room floor. Sadly, no room for rugby, reivers nor common ridings, but step forward so much more besides. Walter Scott, Stobs Camp, Tweed river, and tweed cloth, all made the final cut, and so much more besides. Yet, tying it all together, that steel thread of the Waverley Route, the lost railway in question.

Showcase the Borders

For a whole new audience, the very essence of what the Campaign strives to achieve was brought out in a whole new context. How many times did ‘railway’ make it into the script? It’s into triple figures. Yet, cut the overtly trackside elements from the show, and you’d still have a lengthy diorama of the Borders.

Rumpus Media, who made the programme, have done as much to showcase the Borders on the back of this Channel Five series as we have ourselves.  Anticipation from you, our members, and supporters all over the world, has made this far and away our most popular discussion points of the year. More than 10,000 visitors to our social media channels, and still counting.

Lost no more

Rob Bell made a really telling pay-off, when he did his closing piece to camera, down at Carlisle Citadel station. His remarks were not prompted by the Campaign, but I think that, having seen first hand the passion for the line, and the passion for Borders life, that he was in no doubt that what we’ve started we must finish. Like the man himself, as I waved Rob on his way from Tweedbank, it’s onward to Hawick and Carlisle.

You can still catch the show, online at My5, the Channel Five catch-up service. It’s there for the next three years at least. Now, who’s to say that by then, Rob’s words won’t have come true, and the Waverley Route will be a lost railway no more.

Endnote: Nostalgia while looking to the future

Campaign chair Simon Walton thanked everyone involved in our recent national television exposure, Britain’s Lost Railways on Channel Five in the UK. He says while looking back, everyone was looking forward too. “There is a vast legacy of pride in the Borders, and that pride is epitomised in the Waverley Route and all it stands for.” 

Presenter Rob Bell met real Borders ambassadors every step of the way, from Edinburgh to Carlisle. “The producers took a real interest,” said Simon. “Campaigners played a real part in making the programme the best viewed of the series.” The producers said how much everyone on the team appreciated the generous support of everyone they’d met. 

Simon was however critical of statutory bodies, who hadn’t taken advantage of the same opportunity. “I would have hoped for more from those employed to promote the very best of Scotland, and the very best of the Borders. A free hour of dedicated national television does not come around very often,” he said. 

“Campaign more important now than ever”

• “Building the new cross-border rail rink is the most important post-coronavirus project we can undertake to redefine ourselves” Simon Walton, chair, Campaign for Borders Rail

• Campaign for Borders Rail has made a radical restatement of policy, and pledges more to commerce and the community on both sides of the Border. 

• Addressing the membership through the latest newsletter – published today – the Campaign restated its case for extending the Borders Railway through Hawick to Carlisle. 

Expanding on its aims to serve the community and facilitate economic regeneration, beginning with the establishment of a through, cross-border rail link, the Campaign for Borders Rail says that the need for investment in the community is even greater in the light of the coronavirus crisis. 

In a leader column for the newsletter, Nick Bethune, Campaign secretary, said that the need for investment represented by the new rail link had only increased in the past few months. “Despite the trend for increased home working given impetus by the crisis, it’s clear that the capacity and coverage of the rail network will need to expand in future,” he said. “Changes in strategic priorities are needed to address the climate emergency and inclusivity goals. The ‘new normal’ may be very different but the vital need to extend the Borders Railway remains.”

Simon Walton, Campaign chair, said building the line is now more important than ever. His written address to the membership, reproduced below, is an affirmation of Campaign policy, and a positive response to the coronavirus crisis. “Governments on both sides of the Border, and elected representatives from all political persuasions, are united in the understanding that economic development is vital if there is to be a meaningful recovery. Infrastructure, which demonstrably supports both commerce and community is the best way to invest in that recovery,” he said. 

“The evidence of the success of the existing Borders Railway, and other rail-based projects nation-wide, gives precedent to the business case made by the Campaign,” added Simon Walton. “It is our commitment to the members of the Campaign, who have already demonstrated their support for the community at large, to push for that consensus to be turned into commitment and move as rapidly as possible through the stages of development and construction to completion and operation.”

Extract from Campaign for Borders Rail Newsletter #62 (June 2020).

View from the Chair

Building the line is now more important than ever, says Simon Walton.

We are facing a worldwide crisis that transcends any of our own ambitions. Our lives and livelihoods are in turmoil. There are stresses and anxieties most of us will never have faced before. We are tied down, in a cycle of isolation and immobility. 

But not forever. Of this, we must not lose sight. 

I have been receiving reports of sacrifices made by members, working hard in their communities, and helping make life better for family, friends, neighbours and strangers who need support. Once again, I am proud to be part of the Campaign, and count myself among your number. People who support the Campaign are the sort of people who understand the value of community, and are prepared to take that extra step, for the benefit of others. 

When this crisis in our lives has past – and it will pass – we will have experienced the very best that our community has to offer. Our nation – however you define nation – will have pulled together, in ways we may not have thought possible. We have demonstrated how important it is to pool our resources, and value what we have to offer, wherever we are. 

For these reasons, I say that our Campaign is more important than ever.

Bringing communities together, making it more possible to communicate with each other, will be even more important. Better connecting the Borders to each other, and to those communities around us, will be recognised for its true worth.

Yet, more importantly, there will be a need to better define our sense of national purpose. Tangible evidence that we pull together as one. Projects that bring people together, and serve a national purpose too, will be the most important part of that recovery. 

No matter how you stand, on issues of community, communication or nation, there is one project of which I can think, that answers all those calls, and defines our recovery. That project is the completion of the Borders Railway. The very project to which our collective ambition is directed Onward from Tweedbank to Hawick and Carlisle, reconnecting the Borders in the spirit of community and cooperation.

Our movements may be restricted – for now – but our ambition remains unbounded. We do of course keep up our efforts remotely. When the time is right, and it is safe to do so, we will be re-engaging with decision makers, and progressing the Campaign.

Content also includes:

• New Campaign website revealed 
• Extension plans in more detail
• Historic photo feature of late 1960s excursion 
• This edition’s guest elected representative is Paul Wheelhouse MSP
• Northern Powerhouse director Henri Murison on strategic significance of a new cross-border rail link

Campaign for Borders Rail Newsletter 61

Headlines include:

• Two million passengers

• Operational issues

• Extension to Carlisle

• Congratulations for Stow community

• Harsh words from local councillor

• Channel 5 features line AUDIO INTERVIEW with Rob Bell LINK: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ije2nk3kld2bxws/rob%20bell%20and%20simon%20walton.m4a?dl=0

The Campaign for Borders Rail, the group that successfully lobbies for the building of the Borders Railway in Scotland, and continues to monitor performance, and seek extension through Hawick to Carlisle, welcomes figures that show record patronage. That is the headline story in the Campaign’s latest newsletter, sent to its membership today (attached).

Chair of the Campaign, Simon Walton, is quoted, saying: “We always said that the Borders Railway would be far more popular than predicted by the discredited business case, and so it has proved, yet again.”

The figures come from the Office of Rail and Road, and Campaigners say they further strengthen the case for extending the line and making it a new cross-border link, effectively reinstating the former route that connected communities in Edinburgh, Midlothian, the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway Cumbria and Carlisle.

Chair Simon Walton adds: “The Campaign has long argued tat this is not just a railway project, and that Campaigners recognise the far wider benefits that building this railway will accrue. The strategic benefits of this railway project cannot be underestimated. It is not just about reconnecting communities it is about economic regeneration on a regional scale, about social inclusion and about environmental sustainability It is about providing opportunities for generations yet to come. Most of all it is a tangible way to achieve the economic growth and environmental sustainability that is on everyone’s agenda.”

The newsletter also goes on to praise the community grounded projects within the Sottish Borders, such as the reinvigoration of the station buildings in the village of Stow – a community that the Campaign directly challenged the promoters to serve, and successfully lobbied for the retention of the historic buildings on the station site. The newsletter also features a personal perspective from former Stow resident and local councillor Sandy Aitchison, which pulls no punches in decrying the shortcomings of the line as it stands: “ I was told it was the Waverley Line’s return. It was not!”

Further news includes the second meeting of the Borderlands Growth Initiative, in which the Campaign takes an active role; the Campaign’s highly successful 20th anniversary AGM; the forthcoming Channel 5 series Walking Britain’s Lost Railways – presenter Rob Bell gave an exclusive audio interview to Simon Walton – also linked here — in which he praises the work fo the Campaign and recognises the generational benefits of bringing rails back to the Borders as a whole.

 Holding its first AGM in Edinburgh for over ten years, the Campaign for Borders Rail was told on Tuesday morning that completing the main line from Tweedbank to Carlisle, was ‘absolutely rock solid’. That enthusiastic message came from Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweedale and Lauderdale, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Campaign throughout its twenty-year existence. The prospect of rebuilding the southern section of the line, joining up with the existing Borders Railway from Edinburgh, would make a through route in the Scottish Borders a reality for the first time in fifty years.

Simon Walton, re-elected as chair of the Campaign, said he shared that commitment, and urged Campaigners to ‘raise their game’ as the Campaign sought to ensure that the promise of £10m for a feasibility study (made jointly by Holyrood and Westminster governments in September) remains top of the agenda, and delivers a positive recommendation. “I have always regarded the existing Borders Railway as phase one of our ambition for the Borders. Getting commitment to build the remainder has to be our next goal, and we’re moving closer to that every day,” he said. “The political climate has moved significantly in favour of environmentally sustainable economic development. That means railway projects like the completion of the Borders Railway make even more sense as a means of rejuvenating communities at the same time as greening the environment.”  

Author David Spaven, who wrote the definitive history of the closure and rebirth of the line, delivered a presentation and concise history of “The Borders Railway and 20 years of CBR”. Mr Spaven praised the efforts of the Campaign, particularly noting the successful case made for a station at Stow, and the concessions won to accommodate charter traffic. He was however critical of the cuts made to bring the railway project in on budget, and highlighted what he called inappropriate gold-plating on aspects fo the project, such as bridge structures designed for only one rail track, while also highlighting the additional costs of rectifying breaches to the line made in the intervening years.

Honoured guests included Hawick’s Madge Elliot, the emeritus campaigner, who organised a petition, presented to Prime Minister Harold Wilson at Downing Street in December 1968, and environmental campaigner Petra Biberbach, who was the first chair of the Campaign in 1999. Ms Biberbach and Mr Walton went on to cut a ceremonial birthday cake in commemoration of the Campaign’s anniversary.
For images, contact Ger Harley at Ger@edinburghelitemedia.co.uk / 07917161762

Simon Walton, chairman

‘The Campaign for Borders Rail one of the most successful grassroots rail campaigns in Great Britain’

www.campaignforbordersrail.org

℅ Future Hawick, 2 Kirk Wynd, Hawick TD9 0AL

Chairman.bordersrail@uwclub.net

Ten million pounds for feasibility study, and ten thousand pounds to fund the Campaign.

Campaign for Borders Rail launches Onward To Carlisle fundraiser, and governments pledge funds for long awaited feasibility study to extend Borders Railway to Carlisle, as Campaign prepares to hold 20^th anniversary AGM. These are the top stories for the Campaign’s latest newsletter.

Feasibility Study

Governments in Holyrood and Westminster have pledged to fund a cross-border feasibility study, as part of the Borderlands Growth Deal funding package. “Our biggest success since securing the reinstatement of the Borders Railway to Tweedbank,” said Campaign vice-chair Marion Short. “The Campaign’s efforts have helped win substantial funding for cross-border feasibility work on extending the line to Carlisle.”The long-term benefits of the Deal aim to reach all parts of the Borderlands area. Marion Short adds that rail development will be the most tangible way to deliver significant and lasting benefits for individuals, businesses and communities. “Those living in the Scottish Borders south of Tweedbank where currently communities do not enjoy a railway facility and residents there express a general feeling of social isolation,” she added.

In a busy newsletter, that’s unsurprisingly the lead story for the Campaign’s 1500 paying members. Those members will have an opportunity to express their views at the Campaign’s 20^th Anniversary AGM and Celebration, being held in Edinburgh on 8 October.

Fundraiser 

“The generosity and commitment of the membership continues to impress me,” said Simon Walton, the Campaign chair. “They’ve consistently contributed to the running of the Campaign, but the financial burden of engaging with governments and agencies up and down the country cannot be borne solely but those dedicated individuals. We have ten times that number who informally support the Campaign, so we’ve launched a wider fundraising initiative to let that wider body offer support, even if they don’t feel they can commit to full membership.”

The Onward To Carlisle Fund is hosted by JustGiving.com with a target of £10,000 aimed at underwriting the Campaign’s engagement with stakeholders as the project moves through the critical feasibility study phase. “We are entirely voluntary, and we’re lobbying for the biggest development project in Britain without any paid officers,” said Simon Walton. “That’s not a boast, it’s a tribute to the commitment of the individuals involved with the Campaigner for Borders Rail. After twenty years, they deserve a celebration, and not a penny raised will even go towards paying for so much as the cake.”

Operations “13 minutes from Longtown”

Also in edition 60, there’s an in-depth look at the technicalities of operating an extended Borders Railway, by CBR’s Robert Drysdale. Speaking of a journey from Edinburgh, he said: “We estimate that a full-line run through to Carlisle would take around one hour and 50 minutes. At the south end of the line, journey times to Carlisle would be around 48 minutes from Hawick, 25 minutesfrom Newcastleton and 13 minutes from Longtown.”

South Borders committee member Greg Cuthbert details the extensive programme of Campaign liaison, from community and commerce, to local council and ministerial committee briefings. “We carry on campaigning to see improvements in educational choice, social inclusion and employment prospects, and all the other opportunities that will come with the return of the railway,” he said, speaking as a guest of Stobart Group at the opening of Carlisle Lake District Airport.Newsletter 60 is attached.  

//ENDS

[Newsletter 60  has been circulated to members of  Campaign for Borders Rail]
PRESS CONTACT: Simon Walton 07540 313018

CAMPAIGN FOR BORDERS RAILPRESS RELEASE

17 June 2019

Political prevarication prompts Campaign funding launch

The Campaign for Borders Rail has responded in generally positive terms to the news that electrifcation is on the agenda for the Borders Railway, as reported in The Scotsman (https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/scottish-government-is-considering-plans-to-electrify-the-borders-railway-1-4948207)

Additionally, the influential lobbying organisation has launched its widest ever funding appeal, aimed at hastening the extension of the Borders Railway from Tweedbank, through Hawick and on to Carlisle, providing an economic lifeline for the Borders, and a new strategic arm of the national rail network. The funding initiative comes on the back of what the Campaign calls a political wrestling match, leading to delay and obfuscation.
In the Campaign’s latest newsletter (number 59), being delivered to all 1,500 members this week, Chair of the Campaign Simon Walton says that despite being closer than ever in the Campaign’s twenty-year history, there could be a wall of resistance building up. In a leader column, he says that there is too little evidence of progress. “Despite encouraging words from political offices, Borders’ communities are in danger of being spectators to would-be decision makers, posturing around in the ring, and taunting each other. We don’t want to see a political wrestling match, leading to delay and obfuscation.”
Mr Walton goes on to say that launching the Campaign’s ‘Onward to Carlisle Fund’ will help see their ambition of a modern, cross-border rail service, supporting economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability established within years, not decades. “We need to take our message further into the national agenda,” he said.
Also in the newsletter, Vice Chair Marion Short makes a detailed analysis of the state of cross-border political support. Recent ministerial meetings in Westminster and Holyrood have advanced Campaign initiatives and raised awareness. However, she feels that there is still much work to be done, to mesh together the approaches of the Scottish Government, the UK Government, and the overarching Borderlands Growth Deal. “We fear that rail extension plans will become mired in bureaucracy and it would be our wish that the politicians take charge of the process,” she said.
In a guest newsletter column, Carlisle MP and Borderlands Growth Champion John Stevenson, recognised that rail communications serve an important logistical purpose, and also have a hugely significant cultural impact on the communities they serve. “Few countries have been shaped by the railways like ours – acting like an artery for ideas and progression,” he said. Referring to the infamous report which cut off that lifeblood in 1969, with the closure of the entire network in the Borders, he added: “It’s why the Beeching cuts were felt so deeply. It’s why the Campaign for Borders Rail exists today. It is why the argument for the Borders Railway extension must be economic – but also cultural.”
Later this week, a top-level Campaign delegation and counterparts at Transport Scotland are scheduled for their latest meeting. “Again we will have the opportunity to put our views forward for a stand-alone project for railway extension,” added Marion Short, underlining the part the Campaign plays in promoting cooperation between all decision-making stakeholders.
For images and more information contact Simon Walton below. A business case briefing produced by the Campaign is available on request.
Simon Walton, chairman

www.campaignforbordersrail.org
07540 313018
waltonsg@uwclub.net

CAMPAIGN FOR BORDERS RAIL : PRESS RELEASE 18 FEBRUARY 2019

Campaign concerns on overcrowding as Borders Railway growth continues

The Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR) has again voiced concern regarding overcrowding on the Borders Railway. It makes a statement in the latest newsletter (February 2019, #58). A call has been made for a user group to bring the concerns of passengers into sharper focus.

CBR committee member, Robert Drysdale, who has collated performance data, reports that short-formed trains and cancellations were still being experienced by long-suffering passengers. “Sadly, the run-up to Christmas saw those problems reaching an acute level, with passengers being unable to board packed trains – hardly a good way of encouraging rail travel in Midlothian and the Borders.”

The Campaign has acknowledged that problems with overcrowding are not confined to the Borders Railway, but have been experienced across central Scotland. “CBR will continue to campaign for better services on the Borders Railway,” says Robert Drysdale. “At the same time as pursuing the aim of securing extension of the line through the Borders to Hawick and Carlisle, it is clear that formation of a ‘Users Group’ of regular passengers would be a big step forward. Such a group, with members who are all travelling on the line frequently, would be in a strong position to monitor train capacity and operational problems, and take up these issues with ScotRail, assisted where appropriate by CBR.”

Elsewhere in the newsletter, the Campaign has commemorated the fifty years since the closure of the former “Waverley Route” – the main line between Edinburgh, Midlothian, the Borders towns of Galashiels and Hawick, and Carlisle. It’s the Campaign’s primary objective to have reopened this main line, in its entirely, as a catalyst for economic regeneration throughout the region. Recalling events in the early hours of 6 January 1969, Alastair Dalton (The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday newspapers transport correspondent) recounts the famous Newcastleton blockade, when the last train was halted by angry protestors, furious at the loss of their service. There is also a report on commemorations of the twenty years since the founding of the Campaign, which was incorporated on 25 January 1999, and the launch of author and Campaign member David Spaven’s new book, looking at the ill-fated attempt to revive the railway as a commercial enterprise in “Border Union Dream” (Stenlake Publishing).

Looking to the future, there are calls for extension of the Borders Railway, made by representatives of both Scottish Borders Council and Carlisle City Council. Colin Glover, the leader of Carlisle City Council, says the Borders Railway from Edinburgh to Tweedbank has been very successful and extension would be a boon for Carlisle as well. “Our proposals are now asking the UK and Scottish Governments to provide funding for a feasibility study to extend the line on to Hawick and Carlisle.”

The Campaign also pays tribute to long-standing member Kenneth Gray, who, for much of his eighty years, visually documented life in the Borders through the prism of its once extensive railway network. Kenneth died in January in his home town of Hawick. His eulogy is written by friend and fellow campaigner Bruce McCartney.

 “The Campaign for Borders Rail” may be freely quoted. For further comment and information, please contact Marion Short, vice chair of the Campaign for Borders Rail on ‭07549 853549‬ / over50s@tiscali.co.uk.

Commemoration of 50th anniversary of closure.

Campaign for Borders Rail to commemorate closure of ‘Waverley Route’ and reaffirm lobby for extension of the Borders Railway, through Hawick to Carlisle

Photocall at Tweedbank Station Saturday, 5 January 2019, at 1335 (scheduled arrival time of special train commemorating last through working). Office bearers and supporters of the Campaign in attendance, retiring afterwards to the village of Stow for the launch of author David Spaven’s new book “Border Union Dream” on the early attempts to save the line from closure.

The Campaign for Borders Rail has today reaffirmed its resolve to see rail services restored through Hawick to Carlisle, as a driver for economic regeneration, business development and social inclusion. With the overwhelming success of the Borders Railway between Edinburgh and Tweedbank – the northern section of the former mainline – Campaigners are calling on both Holyrood and Westminster governments to rally behind the project to extend the line. By bringing communities throughout the Borders, in both Scotland and England, back on to the national rail network, it will provide the region with a tangible means to reverse the decades of economic decline, and allow those communities to thrive once again, and play a full part in the modern economic revival of both nations.

Simon Walton, chairman of the Campaign, says that there is growing recognition of the tangible part rail services can play in the regeneration of the Borders, and that the ambitions of the Campaign are closer than ever to being realised. “The phenomenal success of the Borders Railway is a clarion call to governments on both sides of the Border. Rail services work as a catalyst for economic development. Now, with the Campaign’s aims firmly on the agenda in both Holyrood and Westminster, and a cornerstone of the Borderlands Growth Initiative, it’s time to build on that success by committing to realising this vital new infrastructure through a beautiful but economically blighted part of the United Kingdom.”

The last scheduled services to run on the former ‘Waverley Route’ departed Edinburgh and London on 5 January 1969. These were overnight sleeper services of which the southbound train was famously blockaded at Newcastleton in the early hours of 6 January, in a show of widespread civic dismay at the loss of rail services.

However, with membership of the Campaign for Borders Rail now at an all-time high, and broad consensus across communities, business and government, Simon Walton says there’s more reason than ever for optimism. “We are closer than ever to seeing a new strategic cross-border rail link established, and the benefits of that will be felt keenly, not only in the region, but by the economy across the entire UK rail network.”

Notes to Editors:

The report Summary Case for a New Cross-Border Rail Link is available on request to: Simon Walton, phone 07540 313018 or email waltonsg@uwclub.net

Campaign for Borders Rail Onwards through Hawick to Carlisle www.campaignforbordersrail.org 

Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/campaignforbordersrail/