Campaign for railway link from Capital to Borders far from over

Published on Wednesday 19 March 2008 09:25

Promise to reinstate Waverley line must be kept, maintains Jeremy Purvis.

THE North British Railway Company opened a line from Edinburgh to Hawick 156 years ago. The Waverley route, as it became known when it was extended to Carlisle, was closed in 1969.

Since then, people living in the Borders, in my constituency, have contributed to the public subsidy of our rail services in Scotland without having a rail service into the heart of their community.

The Borders is the largest landmass in Britain not connected by rail. Scotland has 340 passenger stations. Glasgow has 59, the Highlands have 58 and Fife has 19. The Borders and Midlothian have none. There are no rail services into the heart of the Borders through Midlothian.

I was heavily involved in the campaign for the Waverley Railway Bill in the second session of the Scottish Parliament. I worked with local campaigners and ministers in the Liberal Democrat coalition administration to ensure this Bill passed through the Scottish Parliament. I remember celebrating with cross-party MSPs from the South of Scotland on the afternoon the Bill was passed.

Sadly, those celebrations have been short-lived. Since taking office, various SNP ministers have dodged my questions, motions and letters calling for clarity about the future of the Borders railway. Many people in the Borders have contacted me with concerns that the route would be severely delayed, as the SNP has already delayed other key transport projects passed by the previous administration.

My concerns were confirmed when the Transport Minister's statement to parliament about the railway raised more questions than it answered.

Funding for this key project has yet to be finalised. Ministers will not decide funding arrangements until after a consultation, which has no start or end date. The only detail the Transport Minister was clear about was that the SNP is moving away from the previous capital grant model of funding and no government investment in the project will be forthcoming.

The SNP intends to finance the project through borrowing. I am certain many who were set to benefit from the Borders Railway will be shocked at the giant question mark now hanging over the project.

The Transport Minister also failed to give a date for work to start, only managing a woolly statement that work will start "within the life of this parliament".

I am confident local campaigners will continue their fight for a railway line to Edinburgh and I intend to continue my campaign for a proper commitment to the Borders Railway.

The current situation is not good enough for me and it's certainly not good enough for people living in the Borders. Regrettably, therefore, the campaigning is not over.

&#149 Jeremy Purvis is Liberal Democrat MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale