Should rail extension hit the buffers?

I recall a conversation a I had a few years ago with Rhona Brankin, the MSP for Midlothian, who agreed there was no economic case to extend the line beyond Dalkeith or Gorebridge, but that Labour had agreed to this extension as to get the Liberal Democrats on board as part of the Scottish Executive coalition deal.

That agreement was made in a time of plenty. There is now no money to implement such an uneconomic project.

In any event, the construction of a rail line is primarily to move people, in large numbers, from where they live to where they work. There are a lot of people, who live in Midlothian and work in Edinburgh, but an insignificant number of people live in Galashiels and commute daily to Edinburgh.

As far as tourism is concerned, anybody holidaying in the Borders requires a car to enjoy the area, so they are not going to catch the train from Edinburgh and hire a car in Galashiels; they will hire a car in Edinburgh. As for housebuilding, a large transport hub at Gorebridge would be just as effective as a rail line to Galashiels.

The line will have few stops, so people in outlying areas would have to drive quite a distance to a station, by which time they could have driven halfway to Edinburgh.

In the times of austerity in which we are living, the Lib Dems in Scotland must recognise that there is no way that this unsustainable project can continue to sap the resources of Scotland and raise the unrealistic expectations of the Borders folk.

In totally rejecting the idea of an extension down to Galashiels, I do accept that there is a good case for developing a branch line into Midlothian, to Newbattle/Gorebridge, and there, or wherever, a transport hub is created, with a substantial bus station, and a massive car parking facility, possibly incorporating a small retail mall. Then having created a new rail line from Gorebridge into Edinburgh, if there is shown to be a huge demand in the future, the line could be extended, like the new Bathgate line of the 1980s is being extended to Glasgow, but, in the meantime any resources for extending the line should be redirected into other transport projects, either in the Borders or to projects such as the new Forth crossing.

Finally, I have found a general coolness to the whole project from the people that I have met in the Borders and with the prospect of elections in less than a year, Lamont, who only narrowly won his seat from the Lib Dems, would not be articulating his views so publicly if he did not think that they reflected the views of the overwhelming majority of his constituents.

KENNETH G FERGUSON

Stoneheap Farm House Stoneyburn, Edinburgh

What a bizarre argument the Conservative MSP's argument against the reinstatement of the Borders line is.

He objects because it is only going as far as Galashiels, and not all the way to Carlisle.

Does he really think that cancelling the current project will make a line to Carlisle or even just to Hawick more likely to happen? Surely building a line to Galashiels will make it easier to extend it to Hawick and Cumbria in time, just as re-opening the line to Alloa has strengthened the case for extending it to Kincardine and Dunfermline?

There is surely no reason why the new Galashiels service should not be just as successful as all the other re-openings, such as Bathgate, Alloa and Prestwick Airport, all enjoying much more patronage than was predicted.

As such it will bolster the case for reconnecting communities such as St Andrews, one of only five university towns in Britain without a station and whose lack of a rail service will be most keenly felt during The Open Championship.

JANE ANN LISTON

Convenor - STARLINK (St Andrews Rail Link) campaign St Andrews, Fifez