Massive rise in Borders rail passenger numbers

EXCLUSIVE by LESTER CROSS

Campaigners for an extension of the Borders Railway beyond the Tweedbank terminus will have welcomed newly published figures which show numbers of travellers increased by more than 30 per cent at some stations during 2023/24.

Following confirmation of the strong sets of data for stations in her constituency, Borders MSP Christine Grahame told us she would use the figures to put pressure on the UK Treasury to release cash for a long-awaited investigation into the case for reinstating the rest of the former Waverley route.

While nationally, Scotland enjoyed a 16% uplift in passenger journeys, local figures for stations on the southern section of the Borders line exceeded that impressive rise by a considerable margin.

Estimated passenger entries and exits by station, based on ticket sales, revealed the following statistics for four of the stations along the route:

Tweedbank - 399,460, a 32.4% increase on the 2022/23 figure of 301,528; Galashiels - 320,406, up by 19.2% on the previous year's total of 268,720; Stow - 75,818, 26.7% above the 2022/23 number of 59,806; and Gorebridge - 122,968, 32.9% more than the previous year's estimate of 92,486.

According to the publication which covers every railway station in the UK, some ticket sales and ticketless travel are not included, which may mean that usage at some stations is underestimated.

A £10 million feasibility study to see whether an extension of the railway through the Borders to Carlisle would be financially viable remains on hold after the UK Government 'paused' its commitment of £5 million following this year's General Election.

Christine Grahame, the SNP MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, told us: "These figures prove what myself and all those campaigners always knew, that the railway would be a success. 

“This demonstrates the potential for the Borders people and the Borders economy with an extension through to Carlisle.

“ The Scottish government remains committed to its £5 million contribution to that feasibility study for the extension, but the UK government has not committed to its £5 million contribution and as of September 2024 has put this “on hold”

Ms Grahame, who was at the forefront of efforts to have the Edinburgh-Tweedbank line rebuilt and brought back into service in 2015 added: “£5 million is a drop in a bucket in the UK finances and I am writing to the UK Treasury to request this small sum in the light of these figures, be reinstated so the first steps to the extension and growing the Borders economy, can begin."

The study forms part of the multi-million pounds Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. But Labour politicians have rubbished claims that the previous Tory administration had allocated funds for the study, and allege such claims were 'a work of fiction'.

Earlier this year, Scottish Borders Council agreed to proceed with the appointment of a senior project manager to oversee the various stages of the study. 

Councillors who approved the appointment were told the role will cover a three-year period at a cost of £220,000, funded 50/50 by the Scottish and UK Governments. The procurement of the Senior Project Manager would progress using the £110,000 available to draw down from Scottish Government until the full allocation was confirmed by the UK Government.

A report to council stated: "It is expected that the next step following the appointment of the Senior Project Manager will be the establishment of a dedicated Project Support Team, cash flowed upfront by the Council and the costs fully recovered from the £10m funding provided by UK and Scottish Governments via the Borderlands Deal."

The Campaign for Borders Rail, which backs efforts for a better service on the existing Borders Railway as well as pushing for the extension to Carlisle was approached for comment on the new passenger figures.

Meanwhile, there was an equally healthy increase in usage of the recently reopened Reston station on the east coast main line in Berwickshire. Numbers there rose from 13,190 in 2022/23 to 21,130 last year, an increase of more than 60%.