Campaign AGM sparks debate and new hope for extension
The Campaign for Borders Rail AGM saw lively debate during a “question time” afternoon session, featuring a panel including political rivals John Lamont MP and Paul Wheelhouse MSP.  
In front of an audience of around two hundred members and guests at Hawick High School (Saturday, 20 October 2018), the Westminster MP and the Holyrood MSP initially argued over their respective track records on support of the Campaign’s cause to extend the Borders Railway through Hawick to Carlisle. However, in the face of intense questioning from the audience, they did reach consensus on the benefits that rail infrastructure would bring to the community.
Simon Walton, the CBR chairman, who hosted the ‘question time’ styled public event, said it was a real endorsement of the Campaign’s hard work over the past twelve months. “That politicians demonstrated they are united behind the project, proves how far we’ve come,” he said. “We invited panelists from all facets of political and civic life to join us at our nineteenth annual general meeting, and they were able to demonstrate that whatever ideological differences they may have, they were in no conflict over the benefits of being part of the national rail network.”
The meeting also heard that the Scottish Government had decided to take forward two rail-based proposals from the recent Borders Transport Corridors Study (the so-called Jacobs Report) – identifying Tweedbank to Carlisle as an option for examination, and also, to look in more detail at a possible link to the East Coast Main Line.
“The Campaign remains committed to re-establishment of the former ‘Waverley Route’ as the best and most achievable outcome,” said Simon Walton. “The bottom line is that a new rail service through Hawick and the Scottish Borders will go a long way towards solving many of the economic and social challenges faced by the region. It will be the most tangible and achievable way to kick-start that regeneration process, and bring about the best return on investment for the benefit of the widest possible cross-section of the community.” 
Panelist and academic Brian Eaton, who has extensive experience of the value of rail development around the world, cited other examples of sparsely populated areas generating larger than expected traffic flows. His example par excellence was the New Zealand station of National Park, which has virtually no resident population, yet is among the busiest places on the North Island, simply due to the accessibility afforded by rail transport.
Shona Haslam, leader of Scottish Borders Council, emphasised the collateral benefits to communities around the Borders, just by having closer proximity to rail services. From the panel on stage, she listened to host Simon Walton who noted initiatives like Kelso Racecourse’s “track to track” shuttle which brings rail-travelling racegoers direct to the venue. “It’s ideas like this that show how rail demonstrably helps nurture and grow business in the Borders,” added Simon Walton.
Most closely questioned panelists were Richard Morris, the former chair of the Friends of the Carlisle and Settle Line, who recounted how that line, regarded as a sister business case for the ambitions of the Campaign for Borders Rail, had helped support enterprise in the rural economy, and greatly raise the profile and attraction of the region to a worldwide market. However, the most interest was reserved for John Stevenson, the Carlisle MP, and ‘champion’ of the Borderlands Growth Initiative, who reiterated his support for funding of a full feasibility study, as the very next stop on the line to reinstating the badly needed link through the Borders to Carlisle.
Concluding, Simon Walton said: “Having the stated support of the new cross-border agency is a vital step forward. The Campaign and its members must take credit for pushing that agenda forward. John Stevenson did all but pull out his agency’s cheque book, and Paul Wheelhouse reminded us that, while the current agenda puts extension several years down the road, it’s up to the Campaign to be ready to present the case for the Borders Railway extension in the eventually of circumstances changing. Our policy of informed and rational advocacy has served us well thus far, and will serve the Borders well in the future. We’re closer now than ever to seeing everyone’s ambition achieved.”

GUIDE IMAGE: L-R Brian Eaton; Shona Haslam; John Lamont; Paul Wheelhouse; John Stevenson; Richard Morris

For more information contact Simon Walton below.

Simon Walton, chairman

www.campaignforbordersrail.org
07540 313018

waltonsg@uwclub.net

CAMPAIGN FOR BORDERS RAILPRESS RELEASE 

Issued 15 October 2018

Frank discussions with Transport Secretary ahead of Campaign AGM including political heavyweights Lamont and Wheelhouse.
The Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR), which is building on the success of the Borders Railway and seeking extension through Hawick to Carlisle, has met with Scottish Government minister Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, ahead of their Annual General Meeting in Hawick on Saturday 20 October.
A CBR delegation met in Edinburgh with the recently appointed cabinet secretary, to raise awareness of campaign issues, and to take a briefing on the current government position regarding infrastructure development, with particular relevance to extending the Borders Railway. The Campaign reiterated its invitation to the their “Question Time” style public debate at the AGM.
Simon Walton, the Campaign’s chair, said the meeting was productive, and allowed both sides to express their positions. “The fact that we are around the table, discussing options for extension, rather than still trying to argue the case for the railway, shows how far we have come,” he said.
Marion Short, vice chair of CBR, said that the AGM would be the ideal platform from which to update the membership, and the community at large. “There is a great deal of progress to bring to the membership, and this meeting could not have come at a more opportune time.”
Robert Drysdale, also a senior committee member of the Campaign, raised several issues, which impact directly on the future of the Borders Railway, and the prospects for extension. “Given the nature of the industry, there are a number of bodies involved in any rail project. It’s our job as a Campaign to bring together all the political points of view, the statutory bodies, and the interests of commerce and community, and get them around the table. This is particularly important now that we’re promoting a new cross-border strategic rail route connecting Scotland with England. We’ve plenty of new information to bring to Campaigners at the AGM, and plenty of new questions to put to the panel as well. It should make for a lively afternoon.”
The Campaign’s Annual General Meeting is this Saturday (20 October, 1300-1600) in Hawick High School. The highly-popular “Question Time CBR” panel has been finalised with six prominent figures answering questions from members and the public. They are: John Stevenson MP from the Borderlands Growth Initiative; John Lamont MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk; and Paul Wheelhouse, MSP for South Scotland and ministerial deputy for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. Local government is represented by Shona Haslam, leader of Scottish Borders Council. Community and commerce are represented by Brian Eaton, academic in the subjects of transport and tourism at Edinburgh Napier and Hong Kong universities; and Richard Morris, chairman of the Friends of the Carlisle and Settle Line, often regarded as the sister railway of what was the “Waverley Route” through the Scottish Borders.
The AGM’s “Question Time” session is open to the general public, with doors open at 1415hrs.

IMAGE: L-R Simon Walton, CBR Chair; Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity; Marion Short, CBR vice chair; Robert Drysdale, CBR committee. 
For more information contact Simon Walton below.

Simon Walton, chairman

www.campaignforbordersrail.org

07540 313018

waltonsg@uwclub.net

Cross-Border rail campaigner unites 43 communities in fight against Alzheimer’s
Announced on the longest day of the year, a life-member of the Campaign for Borders Rail plans to undertake the longest cross-border rail journey in the UK, to connect with communities from North East Scotland to South West England in an epic effort to raise awareness of what can be achieved together, no matter what the cause may be.
On Monday, July 16, John “Kim” Elliot will board the early morning rail service, provided by operator CrossCountry, at Aberdeen. He’ll undertake the 785-mile trip to Penzance, making 43 stops along the way, in the course of the thirteen and a half hour journey.
As a tangible contribution to the community at large, Kim is raising awareness for Alzheimer’s Research UK fight the condition that leaves sufferers disconnected from their friends and families. His fundraising is already underway at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnElliot2.
The journey is symbolic of the way rail services make collaboration between communities possible. The timing of the journey is symbolic of the day that severed that connectivity for many, including Elliot’s own community of Hawick.
In 1968, 11-year-old Kim was part of a delegation that marched on 10 Downing Street to deliver a petition to Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the day, demanding a reprieve for the impending closure of the 98-mile long main line railway running from Edinburgh Waverley through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders to Carlisle Citadel. The line, known as the Waverley Route, was a lifeline to communities large and small, all of which were cut out of the railway network, and lost out on generations of economic regeneration, when the axe fell six months later. Many places, including the once prosperous mill-towns of Galashiels and Hawick have declined dramatically in the five decades since then.
Elliot’s mother, Madge, led the petition in late 1968, and has remained an active campaigner ever since, though she has now been forced into retirement by the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. 
His mother’s enforced decline was the inspiration behind Kim’s forthcoming effort to raise awareness for the Campaign his mother inspired, and to prove that much can be achieved when communities are connected together.  
“It promises to be some journey, but the memory of that black day in 1968 – Monday, July 15 – should never be forgotten,” said Kim, emphasising that by remembering what has been lost, keeps alive the ambition to return services and connection to communities isolated by the closure. 
“It is an ironic parallel of the disability of Alzheimer’s Disease,” he said. “It’s a disability of disconnection and, if we can all work together to do something to put right the disconnection suffered by the Borders, and suffered by those afflicted by Alzheimer’s Disease, then we can prove that connected communities do have common purpose that’s made possible by the ability to worktogether. 
Originally inspired by a radio programme called, ‘A Journey Through English’ (first transmitted on BBC’s Radio 4 network on Saturday, 3rd September 2016), Kim had intended to undertake the longest continuous train journey in the UK – between Aberdeen and Penzance – last September to coincide with his 60th birthday, but thought the experience would be enhanced if he waited until longer daylight prevailed. After giving the idea some more thought, he decided to wait until July and dedicate the expedition to:

• raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s Research UK (via uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnElliot2).
• elevating the profile of Campaign for Borders Rail
• commemorating the 50th anniversary of Richard Marsh’s announcement 

In addition to experiencing the UK’s longest continuous train journey between Aberdeen and Penzance, which remains the expedition’s central plank, he hopes to walk from John O’Groats to Thurso and Penzance to Land’s End to top-and-tail the trip. The missing link between Thurso and Aberdeen will be negotiated by boarding the only Sunday train service running from Thurso to Inverness before connecting with an early-evening ScotRail service from Inverness to Aberdeen (Dyce).      
Kim Elliot is available for comment, interview and photo opportunity, before or after the rail elements of his journey. Contact Mr Elliot directly on 07762 755741.  
Please note that this press release does not sanction any media activity around the railway network. Any such activity must be agreed with the relevant owners and operators.
In case you missed it: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnElliot2.
Any other media enquiries may be directed to Simon Walton, Almond Bank Communications, on 07540 313018 / waltonsg@uwclub.net
Does Kim stop in your community? The CrossCountry timetable for the direct 0820 Aberdeen to Penzance service.

 08:20 Starts and departs from Aberdeen
 08:38 Stonehaven

 08:59 Montrose

 09:15 Arbroath

 09:35 Dundee

 09:48 Leuchars

 09:55 Cupar

 10:02 Ladybank

 10:09 Markinch

 10:18 Kirkcaldy

 10:33 Inverkeithing

 10:51 Haymarket

 11:06 Edinburgh (Waverley)

 11:28 Dunbar

 11:51 Berwick-Upon-Tweed

 12:12 Alnmouth

 12:41 Newcastle

 12:54 Durham

 13:12 Darlington

 13:44 York

 14:11 Leeds

 14:23 Wakefield Westgate

 14:55 Sheffield

 15:07 Chesterfield

 15:28 Derby

 15:38 Burton-On-Trent

 16:12 Birmingham New Street

 16:51 Cheltenham Spa

 17:26 Bristol Parkway

 17:44 Bristol Temple Meads

 18:16 Taunton

 18:28 Tiverton Parkway

 18:46 Exeter St David’s

 19:06 Newton Abbot

 19:18 Totnes

 19:49 Plymouth

 20:12 Liskeard

 20:24 Bodmin Parkway

 20:34 Par

 20:41 St Austell

 21:02 Truro

 21:18 Redruth

 21:25 Camborne

 21:35 St Erth

 21:43 arrives and terminates at Penzance

Campaign for Borders Rail

Press Release

Saturday, 21 October 2017

Campaign Given Mandate to Carlisle

Guests Alex Hynes (ScotRail MD); Rachael Hamilton MSP; Cllr Colin Glover (Carlisle CC); and Hawick Provost Watson McAteer (Scottish Borders Council) make passionate pleas for extension through Hawick to Carlisle.

The unanimous vote of the membership gave the Campaign for Borders Rail leave to continue pressing the case for a new cross-border rail link via the Scottish Borders, by extending the Edinburgh – Tweedbank (Borders Railway) through Hawick to Carlisle. The vote was taken as the climax to the Campaign’s AGM, held before an enthusiastic audience at the Heart of Hawick.

A panel of four prominent guests took part in a ‘question time’ styled debate, answering questions posed by the membership at large.

Watson McAteer, Provost of Hawick said that a railway would bring benefits to the community in Hawick, and provide a catalyst for economic growth.

His counterpart, Colin Glover, Carlisle City Council Leader, reiterated the importance of improved communications between the Cumbrian capital and the Scottish Borders. A new link would provide better opportunities for all communities served, including adding appeal to Carlisle as a destination for business and leisure.

Rachael Hamilton, the MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, said that the line represented a vital step for the Borders. She praised the professional approach of the Campaign, in it’s continued lobby to keep the argument for extension on the public agenda.

Alex Hynes, Managing Director of ScotRail Alliance said that the 2.6million journeys made on the existing Borders Railway, in the two years siunce opening, proved there was demand for services in the Borders. He noted that improvements, such as longer trains, were in the planning pipeline, and said his role would certainly involve him in any service planning for an extended Borders Railway.

Simon Walton, who was elected for a second stint as Chair of the Campaign for Borders Rail, said this would be a pivotal year for CBR. He said that with a Scottish Government backed transport study expected in the New Year, it was crucial that the Campaign be methodical in its response. The recommendations, he said, were by no means assured to be positive towards railway development. However, the new chairman praised the efforts of Campaigners, who recently raised paid-up membership to an all-time high of over 1000. He said the weight of expectation was now firmly on the Campaign’s shoulders, and that remaining focused, committed and confident were the keys to seeing their ultimate goal achieved.

 
Notes to Editors:
The report Summary Case for a New Cross-Border Rail Link is available to download at www.CampaignforBordersRail.org.

The Borders Railway is the northern part of the Waverley Route that closed in 1969 between Edinburgh and Carlisle through Galashiels and Hawick. It was formally opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 9 September 2015.

News Media contacts for CBR:
Allan McLean, phone 07531 129892 or email allanpmclean@gmail.com
Simon Walton, phone 07540 313018 or email waltonsg@uwclub.net

Campaign for Borders Rail
Onwards through Hawick to Carlisle
www.campaignforbordersrail.org
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Campaign report calls for a new Cross-Border Rail link

A report detailing the advantages of enhancing and extending the Borders Railway to better serve more communities directly has been published by the Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR). CBR-2017-Summary Case-Digital Version

Under the report proposals, the service that opened in September 2015 between Edinburgh, Galashiels and Tweedbank (near Melrose) would be improved, and the line would be extended as a through route, via Hawick to Carlisle, providing a new strategic link in the national network.

“We believe that the Borders needs a through route to the south to maximise the region’s economic potential. For Hawick, a rail link is vital,” the CBR briefing document states.

The Summary Case for a New Cross-Border Rail Link adds: “Campaign for Borders Rail is committed to making the case for further rail-led economic and social regeneration of the Borders and a transformative new cross-border rail link.”

The briefing, which is being distributed to parlimentary candidates ahead of the 8 June Westminster General Election, and made widely available other individuals, stakeholders and organisations, sees the vision for an extended Borders Railway as an “exciting opportunity”.

The railway development would connect more of the places that were served by the Waverley Route when it closed over the 98 miles between Edinburgh and Carlisle in 1969. The existing line largely follows the course of the northern end of the old Waverley Route out of Edinburgh and through Midlothian into the central Scottish Borders. It has proved hugely successful and can be improved and extended.

“This document will help inform the debate on preparing for the proposed railway through the Scottish Borders to Carlisle and beyond,” said Allan McLean, chairman of the Campaign for Borders Rail.

“The economies of Edinburgh, Midlothian and the northern Borders have all gained demonstably from the opening of the Borders Railway. Now it is time for Hawick and other communities in the southern Borders to benefit directly,” he added.

The briefing document sets out the CBR’s commercial, social and economic cases for a new railway linking the existing Tweedbank terminus to the West Coast Main Line at Mossband, just north of Carlisle. 

“The completed railway would allow through trains between Edinburgh and Carlisle, serving intermediate settlements including Hawick. Communities not directly served would benefit from access by connecting bus services and Park & Ride stations,” the document states.

Extending the railway to Hawick and Carlisle is the only realistic proposal to adequately address economic and social problems faced by the Scottish Borders and release the full potential, states the report. Detailed studies indicate benefits for passengers and freight that can be realised by the investment.

The first copy of the 20-page document was presented by the Campaign Chairman, Allan McLean, to Scotland’s Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf MSP, at their most recent meeting at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

Notes to Editors: 

The report Summary Case for a New Cross-Border Rail Link is attached. Reproduction in full or in part is authorised, please credit “CampaignforBordersRail.org”. 

The Borders Railway is largely on the trackbed of the northern third of the Waverley Route that closed in 1969 between Edinburgh and Carlisle through Galashiels and Hawick. There is a deviation from the original alignment between Edinburgh and Midlothian to serve a new development at Shawfair. There are stations at Tweedbank, Galashiels, Stow, Gorebridge, Newtongrange, Eskbank and Shawfair and Borders trains also serve stations in Edinburgh at Newcraighall, Brunstane and Waverley. The Borders Railway was formally opened by the Queen on 9 September 2015, a few days after initial passengers were carried by ScotRail. Politicians from different political parties have welcomed a study recently announced by the Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland into the potential for transport investment including on the Borders Railway.

News Media contacts for CBR:

Allan McLean, phone 07531 129892 or email allanpmclean@gmail.com

Simon Walton, phone 07540 313018 or email waltonsg@uwclub.net

Press release from Borders Rail Monitor – for immediate publication 3rd December 2016

RAIL MONITORING GROUP ATTACKS BORDERS RAILWAY ‘FORECASTING FAILURE’

Responding to ScotRail announcements [1] on the first year’s patronage of the Borders Railway and the planned introduction of extra coaches on the line’s trains, David Spaven of the Borders Rail Monitor group [2] commented:

‘The big story here is the shocking failure of rail forecasting. All three Borders stations have performed massively better than forecast [3] – by a factor of more than seven times better in the case of Tweedbank, and more than four times better at both Galashiels and Stow.

‘But all four stations in Midlothian, with the exception of Newtongrange, have had substantially fewer passengers than expected. This is in part a reflection of the poor levels of reliability on the Borders Railway, with Midlothian stations being particularly affected by trains which skip intermediate stops in order to catch up time. At Newtongrange, which performed relatively close to forecast – the only station on the new railway to do so – this almost certainly reflects the local leisure and tourist market, with passengers to the Scottish Mining Museum being less concerned about rail reliability than regular commuters. And rail in Midlothian has to compete with much more intensive bus services than are available from the Borders to Edinburgh.

‘Borders people continue to use the railway in large numbers despite its reliability problems, demonstrating the extent to which bus and car competition to Edinburgh is constrained by road congestion. In the case of Galashiels, for example, the train is more than half an hour faster to Edinburgh than the competing X95 bus. And the regularly full-to-overflowing car park at Tweedbank station demonstrates that demand for rail is probably now being suppressed at the line’s terminus.

‘It is encouraging that Transport Scotland is now – at long last – reviewing its rail forecasting techniques. But if we had had robust forecasting five years ago, the Borders stations’ forecasts would not have been so ludicrously pessimistic, the rail project’s business case would have been far better, double track on the Borders Railway would not have been cut back from 16 miles to nine and a half miles, and the railway would have been much more reliable than it has proved to be in practice.’

Commenting on the planned introduction of additional coaches on some trains, Mr Spaven said:

‘The strengthening of some trains is very welcome, but not all the key overcrowded trains are being tackled, and the overall increase in daily seating capacity is actually less than 5%. With their Performance Improvement Plan underway, ScotRail need to be planning for further increases in train capacity as service reliability improves. The decision to replace the unsatisfactory 2-coach Class 158 trains with 3-coach Class 170 trains once the Edinburgh-Glasgow line is electrified is very good news, but Borders Railway travellers need to see more of the superior Class 170s well before the 2017-18 electrification.’

MORE INFO: David Spaven on 0131 447 7764

NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] In a press release on 2nd December 2016, ScotRail indicated “that 1.3m passenger journeys were made on the Borders line in the first 12 months of operation, broadly in line with business case projections” and announced that “2,700 extra seats each week” will be provided on the Borders Railway through the strengthening of selected trains.
[2] The Borders Rail Monitor group is led by rail campaigners Bill Jamieson and David Spaven, who were long-time activists with the Campaign for Borders Rail and the Waverley Route Trust. They have been monitoring performance since late-October 2015, using data from the Realtime Trains web site, which in turn uses Network Rail data. Their key findings include:

· ‘Right Time’ arrivals at Tweedbank station (ie within 1 minute of schedule, or not more than 59 seconds late) have never exceeded 66.2% across any one week

· ‘Right Time’ arrivals at Edinburgh Waverley station have never exceeded 49.8% across any one week

· Not since May 2016 has the Borders Railway experienced a week without any train cancellations.

[3] The table below shows Transport Scotland’s 2012 Business Case forecasts for Year 1, ScotRail’s actual patronage figures for Year 1, and the actual v. forecast variance. Please note that ScotRail have not provided the data for travel from Haymarket and Edinburgh Park stations to Borders Railway stations, so there are clearly more passengers using the Borders Railway than the 1,306,750 total presented here.