The slow train chugs on from Beeching cuts to revival plans

THE Waverley route through the Borders between Edinburgh and Carlisle saw its first steam train in 1849, with the last service running 120 years later when the route closed as one of the highest profile victims of the Beeching cuts in 1969.

Years of campaigning led to a series of feasibility studies into reopening the line, and ultimately a parliamentary bill to approve it, which was passed by MSPs five years ago.

The act conferred powers to rebuild the railway from Newcraighall, on Edinburgh's south-eastern outskirts, via Midlothian to Tweedbank, south of Galashiels.

Scottish Borders Council, which originally led the project, hailed the vote as "the single most important economic and social decision to impact on the Borders and Midlothian communities for decades". A last-minute attempt by Labour to have the line built in stages was rejected, with concerns about its possible truncation at Gorebridge in Midlothian because of feared low passenger numbers leading to a "Mastermind" clause being inserted in the Act.

Like the quizmaster's famous line from the TV show - "I've started so I'll finish" - this meant that the entire line had be completed once work started.

The clause was triggered last year by preliminary work to move underground pipes and cables from the route in Gala-shiels.

Performing the ceremony, the then SNP transport minister Stewart Stevenson said the start of utility diversion work made completing the railway an "inescapable commitment", and predicted its major success.

He said: "It's not just a shovel in the earth; it's a legal and enduring commitment by the Scottish Government. In ten years, we will wonder how we did without it (the railway], and it will be a resounding success, just like every other reopened route."

MSPs also added a seventh station to the line, at Stow in the Borders.

Trains will run every half-hour and take up to 55 minutes. Some could run on beyond Edinburgh to Fife and Aberdeen.