Tam's Tall Tales
- Single to Tweedbank, Please
Borders Railway Map
Single to Tweedbank, Please
The closure of the Borders railway line in 1963 was a bitter blow for the area. But a new Borders line was formally opened by the Queen on 5 September and hopefully it will provide a good boost for much of the area which takes in Melrose and Galashiels.
The Borders Rail project is the longest new domestic railway line to be built in the UK for over a century. The new service is expected to carry almost 650,000 passengers a year and hopefully will deliver new jobs and new opportunities for economic growth across Midlothian and the Borders. The new rail line will serve a large new housing development in the Borders. Graphic of Borders railway train via Wikimedia Commons )
The £294m line - funded by Transport Scotland/Scottish Government and constructed by Network Rail - consists of seven new stations joined together by thirty miles of new track. At its peak over 1,100 people were working on the project, refurbishing or building 137 bridges, laying over 1000 rails across almost 100,000 sleepers.
The new service currently seems to be a victim of its own success and is often 'standing room only.' The rail company has promised to add extra carriages to the trains and demand should fall a bit once the tourist season is over.
It takes about 55 minutes to get from Edinburgh to Tweedbank station which is 1.8 miles from Melrose. Abbotsford, the home built by Sir Walter Scott and a popular tourist attraction is within walking distance of the new rail terminus.
Please give me whatever feedback comes to mind via tamfromrampant@gmail.com.
Tam O'Ranter
May 2014Return to Tam O'Ranter Index
