Borders Railway#Edinburgh Crossrail

{{main|Waverley Route|Beeching Report}}

In 1849, the North British Railway opened a line from Edinburgh through Midlothian as far as Hawick in the Scottish Borders; a further extension in 1862 brought the line to Carlisle in England.{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/g/galashiels/ |title=Disused stations: Galashiels |last=Catford |first=Nick |work=Disused stations |date=13 September 2014 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=23 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423000503/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/g/galashiels/ |url-status=live }} The line, known as the Waverley Route after the novels of the same name by Sir Walter Scott whose stories were set in the surrounding countryside,{{cite web |url=http://www.bigissue.com/features/columnists/4877/vicky-carroll-people-power-has-put-the-waverley-route-back-on-track |title=People power has put the Waverley Route back on track |last=Carroll |first=Vicky |publisher=Big Issue |date=16 February 2015 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=11 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611034306/http://www.bigissue.com/features/columnists/4877/vicky-carroll-people-power-has-put-the-waverley-route-back-on-track |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/news/from-the-archive-waverley-revival |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720132322/http://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/news/from-the-archive-waverley-revival |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 July 2011 |title=From the archive: Waverley revival |last=Cross |first=Derek |work=Heritage Railway |date=21 February 2011 |access-date=31 March 2015 }}{{cite magazine|title=Rebirth of the Waverley Route|magazine=The Railway Magazine|date=January 2014|page=15|first1=Ashley|last1=Butlin}} was controversially closed in January 1969 following the recommendation for its closure in the 1963 Beeching Report as an unremunerative line.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=28}}{{cite news |last=Howie |first=Robin |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/outdoors/walk-of-the-week-hawick-and-the-waverley-line-1-3613486 |title=Walk of the week: Hawick and the Waverley Line |work=The Scotsman |date=23 November 2014 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=11 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611032110/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/outdoors/walk-of-the-week-hawick-and-the-waverley-line-1-3613486 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BRB_Beech001a.pdf|last=Beeching|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Beeching|title=The Reshaping of British Railways|publisher=HMSO|year=1963|at=p. 102|access-date=2 April 2015|archive-date=3 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103141813/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BRB_Beech001a.pdf|url-status=live}} According to information released by the Ministry of Transport, the potential savings to British Railways from the line's closure were at least £536,000. In addition, an estimated grant of £700,000 would have been required to maintain a full service on the line.{{cite book |last1=Joy |first1=Stewart |title=The train that ran away |location=Shepperton |publisher=Ian Allan |year=1973 |page=122 |isbn=0-7110-0428-5 }} The last passenger train over the Waverley Route was the Edinburgh-{{rws|St Pancras}} sleeper on 5 January 1969 worked by Class 45 D60 Lytham St Anne's which arrived two hours late into Carlisle due to anti-closure protesters blocking the line.{{harvnb|Butlin|2014|pp=15–16}}

File:Bowshank Tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 192533.jpg

In 1992, Borders architect Simon Longland conducted a motorbike survey of the route which led him to set up the company Borders Transport Futures (BTF) to evaluate the possibility of reopening.{{Cite book|last=Spaven|first=David|title=Waverley Route: The battle for the Borders Railway|date=2015|orig-year=2012|publisher=Argyll|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-1-908931-82-5|pages=158, 163}} Having carried out feasibility work,{{cite magazine|title=Report says that Waverley route could pay its way|magazine=RAIL|issue=267|date=6–19 December 1995|page=9|first1=Howard|last1=Johnston}}{{cite magazine|title=We are very serious|magazine=RAIL|issue=276|date=10–23 April 1996|page=69|first1=Howard|last1=Johnston}} in 1997 the company came close to lodging Parliamentary plans for what would effectively be a long siding for timber traffic from the West Coast Main Line at Gretna to {{rws|Longtown}} and {{rws|Riccarton Junction}} where the line would branch off along the former Border Counties Railway to Kielder Forest.{{cite magazine|title=£25m plans to rebuild Waverley Route delayed by landowners|magazine=RAIL|issue=332|date=3-16 June 1998|page=12|editor=Harris, Nigel}} This scheme, known as the South Borders Railway, was one of two projects promoted by BTF, the other being the North Borders Railway – a commuter line from Edinburgh to Galashiels.{{cite magazine|title=Will the Waverley Route rise again?|magazine=RAIL|issue=347|date=30 December 1998 – 12 January 1999|page=22|first1=Howard|last1=Johnston}} There were no plans to link the two lines.{{cite magazine|title=New 32-mile Waverley freight line could be built within four years|magazine=RAIL|issue=308|date=2–15 July 1997|page=8|first1=Howard|last1=Johnston}} The South Borders Railway ran into difficulties as a result of the unwillingness of landowners to sell land.

Based on the BTF's groundwork, the Campaign for Borders Rail, founded in 1999, was able to advance a project to reopen a section between Galashiels and Tweedbank to passengers.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=174}} The first moves came in 1999 when the Scottish Parliament supported a motion by Christine Grahame MSP which called for the reinstatement of the line as a means of reversing the economic decline of the Borders region.{{cite web |url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=1999-11-10.480.0 |title=Borders Rail Link |author=Scottish Parliament |author-link=Scottish Parliament |publisher=TheyWorkForYou |date=10 November 1999 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415200741/https://www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=1999-11-10.480.0 |url-status=live }} This was followed by a £400,000 feasibility study conducted by Scott Wilson and commissioned by the Scottish Office which reported in February 2000 that there were "no insurmountable planning or environmental constraints" to reinstatement as much of the original line could be reused, although several major obstacles would need to be overcome which would entail substantial costs.{{cite magazine|title=The railway arriving in 2015|magazine=RAIL|issue=739|date=8–21 January 2014|page=26|first1=Robert|last1=Drysdale}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/643925.stm |title=Report signals rail link viability |work=BBC News |date=15 February 2000 |access-date=2 April 2015 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306215026/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/643925.stm |url-status=live }}{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=176}}

A number of blockages were identified in the {{convert|12|mi|km|adj=on}} section between Edinburgh and Gorebridge. The first was the breach of the former line by the Edinburgh City Bypass which intersected the trackbed at a shallow angle resulting in more than {{convert|200|m|yd|order=flip}} of the alignment being buried. When the bypass was designed, local councils had requested that provision be made for the railway but they were overruled by the Department of Transport which insisted that the trackbed should be cut "on the level".{{cite magazine|title=A new wave of hope for the Waverley Route|magazine=RAIL|issue=388|date=26 July – 8 August 2000|page=31|first1=Philip|last1=Haigh}} Two further breaches were reported as a result of improvements to the A7 road between Eskbank and Gorebridge. A small housing estate had been built on the line in Gorebridge.{{harvnb|Drysdale|2014|p=28}} Even more encroachments were found on the line south of Tweedbank which would take infrastructure costs over £100 million.{{cite web |url=http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1253 |title=Scottish Parliament: Research Briefings: RN 00-39 Borders Rail Link |author=Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body |author-link=Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body |publisher=Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech |date=31 May 2000 |access-date=2 April 2015 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095523/http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1253 |url-status=live }} The Scott Wilson report also indicated that patronage projections for a new line were not encouraging, with none of the route options examined producing a positive cost-benefit value.{{harvnb|Drysdale|2014|pp=26–28}} The option which came closest to a neutral cost-benefit assessment was a reopening only as far as Gorebridge. Nevertheless, Scott Wilson did indicate that the reopening of the line would benefit the Borders region by providing better links with Edinburgh and creating up to 900 new jobs. Scott Wilson also suggested that part of the Border Counties Railway as far as Kielder Forest could be reinstated at a cost of £26 million to allow timber traffic to be carried on the southern part of the new Borders line. Furthermore, line speeds of 70–90 mph could be achieved on a single line, resulting in a journey time from the Borders to Edinburgh of 45 minutes compared to 55 minutes by car.

File:The Waverly Line - geograph.org.uk - 608219.jpg

Despite the recommendations in the Scott Wilson report, political pressure on the Scottish Government to reconnect the Borders region eventually resulted in it giving support to the extension of the Edinburgh commuter network by {{convert|30|mi|km}} as far as the Galashiels area.

Pressure came in particular from the Campaign for Borders Rail on behalf of which Petra Biberbach in February 2000 presented a petition with 17,261 signatures to the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament.{{cite web |url=http://www.campaignforbordersrail.org/about.html |title=About CBR |publisher=Campaign for Borders Rail |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204215957/http://campaignforbordersrail.org/about.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://archive.scottish.parliament.uk/business/petitions/docs/PE113.htm |title=Petition 113 |author=Scottish Parliament |author-link=Scottish Parliament |date=21 April 2005 |access-date=2 April 2015 |archive-date=12 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212232813/http://archive.scottish.parliament.uk//business/petitions/docs/PE113.htm |url-status=live }} The petition received the unanimous support of the Parliament's Rural Affairs Committee which submitted it to the Parliamentary Chamber for debate.{{cite web |url=http://archive.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/historic/x-rural/or-00/ra00-1402.htm |title=Scottish Parliament: Rural Affairs Committee |publisher=Scottish Parliament |date=23 May 2000 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-date=12 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212185718/http://archive.scottish.parliament.uk//business/committees/historic/x-rural/or-00/ra00-1402.htm |url-status=live }} At its debate on 1 June, the Parliament passed unopposed motion SIM-922 according to which it "recognises and endorses the case for establishment of a railway linking the Scottish Borders to the national network at Edinburgh and Carlisle and urges the Scottish Executive to consult with the Strategic Rail Authority and others to facilitate its establishment".{{cite magazine|title=We want the whole route - and nothing but the route|magazine=RAIL|issue=390|date=23 August - 5 September 2000|page=27|first1=Robert|last1=Drysdale}} The Scottish Borders Council, Midlothian Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Enterprise Borders, Borders Transport Futures, Railtrack and ScotRail bid for £1.9 million from the Scottish Executive's Public Transport Fund to allow a Parliamentary Order for reopening as far as Tweedbank to be taken forward.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=178}} Once funding had been obtained, the three local authorities created the Waverley Railway Joint Committee to promote the scheme;{{harvnb|Butlin|2014|p=16}} consultant Turner & Townsend was appointed to carry out the necessary studies for a Transport and Works Act application.{{cite magazine|title=Waverley route plan takes a step closer|magazine=RAIL|issue=411|date=13–26 June 2001|page=12|first=Ben|last=Jones}}

{{Edinburgh Crossrail|collapse=F}}

While the proposed Borders Railway was undergoing a lengthy period of consultation, passenger services were reintroduced on the surviving freight-only section of the Waverley Route between Portobello Junction and Millerhill. Brunstane and Newcraighall stations opened on 3 June 2002, the latter being {{convert|4+3⁄4|mi|km}} from Edinburgh, providing a park-and-ride service to the city.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=183}} The scheme cost £10 million to build two basic stations and upgrade {{convert|1.1|mi|km}} of track for frequent passenger services.{{cite magazine|title=Waverley route trains return as £10m Crossrail opens|magazine=RAIL|issue=437|date=12–25 June 2002|page=10|first1=Philip|last1=Haigh}} According to ScotRail, it was the first "proper heavy rail reopening" with stations since privatisation and the first permanent service to stations in the east of Edinburgh since {{rws|Abbeyhill}}, {{rws|Piershill}}, Portobello and {{rws|Joppa}} closed in September 1964. Plans for a station at Portobello were abandoned amid concerns that trains using it would hold up GNER services.{{cite magazine|title=Waverley route reopening to passengers begins|magazine=RAIL|issue=353|date=24 March – 6 April 1999|page=14|editor=Harris, Nigel}}

A half-hourly service was launched using Class 158s running alternately to {{rws|Dunblane}} and Bathgate. This service, termed Edinburgh Crossrail, extended from Newcraighall through to Edinburgh Waverley, and continued either onto the North Clyde Line or the Fife Circle Line. The service from Newcraighall through to the North Clyde Line was later electrified as a byproduct of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link, leaving that from Newcraighall to Dalmeny and through to the Fife Circle Line with diesel trains.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.scot/News/Releases/2001/12/729 |title=Edinburgh CrossRail project |author= |date=4 December 2001 |publisher=The Scottish Government |access-date=16 November 2015 |archive-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015222213/http://www.gov.scot/News/Releases/2001/12/729 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/scotland/consultation%20responses/e/edinburgh%20city%20council.pdf |title=Scotland Route Utilisation Strategy |author= |date=8 February 2007 |publisher=Network Rail |access-date=16 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025726/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/scotland/consultation%20responses/e/edinburgh%20city%20council.pdf |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=dead }} Crossrail was a success, and provided forward momentum for the Borders Railway project.

The full business case for the line was published in mid-2004, showing a modest benefit to cost ratio of 1.01 to 1.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=185}} The case was in some part built on projected housing developments – 700 in the Borders and 1,100 in Midlothian – that led to an anti-rail backlash in local elections with the success of the Borders Party.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|pp=186–187}} Representing the party, Councillor Nicholas Watson described the scheme as "a colossal waste of money" and called for the funds to be used instead on the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=211}} The Campaign for Borders Rail indicated that the low ratio followed from the choice to build a single-track line for half-hourly commuter services with no capacity for freight or specials. A revised benefit-cost ratio of 1.32 was announced in March 2008 despite costs of construction having risen to between £235 million and £295 million.{{cite magazine|title=Costs up but Borders Rail is to go ahead, MSPs told|magazine=RAIL|issue=588|date=26 March – 8 April 2008|page=10|first1=Steve|last1=Broadbent}}

In February 2013, the final business case was released by the Scottish Government, which showed a benefit-cost ratio of just 0.5:1.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=221}} This led the journal Local Transport Today to comment that the line was "one of the worst-performing major transport projects to be funded in recent times." The Campaign for Borders Rail responded stating that the ratio was based on modelling that underestimated the route's potential patronage, predicting only 23,431 yearly return trips from Galashiels equivalent to only 70 passengers a day or three per train, which would be less than the number using the existing bus service.

File:Footbridge in Galashiels over the former Waverley railway line - geograph.org.uk - 205137.jpg

In July 2005, the Waverley Railway Bill Committee came out in support of reopening as far as Galashiels.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4706301.stm |title=Green light for Borders rail link |work=BBC News |date=22 July 2005 |access-date=2 April 2015 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117095328/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4706301.stm |url-status=live }}{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=194}} The bill was debated in September 2005 and a motion supporting it was passed with 102 in favour, none against and one abstention. On 9 May 2006, the bill committee published its final report supporting the project with two recommendations: a station had to be provided at Stow and the line had to be completed to its full extent, i.e. as far as Tweedbank.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=197}} These recommendations were accepted by the Scottish Parliament in the final debate on the bill on 14 June 2006. The bill was carried by 114 votes to one.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/5077960.stm |title=Borders railway link bill passed |work=BBC News |date=14 June 2006 |access-date=2 April 2015 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626223854/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/5077960.stm |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine|title=Waverley route re-opening plan reaches major landmark|magazine=RAIL|issue=543|date=5–18 July 2006|page=16|first1=Ben|last1=Jones}} The Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 24 June 2006 and sanctioned the construction of around {{convert|30|mi|km}} of new railway as far as Tweedbank with seven new stations.{{cite web |url=http://www.networkrailconsulting.co.uk/our-projects/borders-railway/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150404115243/http://www.networkrailconsulting.co.uk/our-projects/borders-railway/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 April 2015 |title=Borders Railway |work=Network Rail |access-date=2 April 2015 }} In total, the Act had taken three full Parliamentary years to be passed, with 29 committee meetings, 108 witnesses and a quantity of paper {{convert|4|ft|m}} in height.

The line is the longest stretch of railway to be reopened in modern British history,{{cite news |first=David |last=Spaven |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/david-spaven-on-track-for-the-rebirth-of-waverley-line-from-borders-to-city-1-2860101 |title=On track for the rebirth of Waverley Line from Borders to city |work=The Scotsman |date=27 March 2013 |access-date=2 April 2015 |archive-date=21 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021211115/http://www.scotsman.com/news/david-spaven-on-track-for-the-rebirth-of-waverley-line-from-borders-to-city-1-2860101 |url-status=live }} {{convert|2|mi|km}} longer than the Robin Hood Line project, as well as the longest line in Scotland since the opening of the West Highland Line in 1901.{{cite magazine|title=Borders Rail link construction phase officially begins|magazine=RAIL|issue=709|date=14–27 November 2012|pages=14–15|first1=Paul|last1=Prentice}} On 6 August 2008, the Waverley Railway project was renamed the Borders Railway project and put under the control of Transport Scotland as statutory undertaker.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|pp=207–208}}

In October 2009, the launch of a call for tenders stalled following discussions between the Scottish Government and HM Treasury over new regulations that required public–private partnerships to be recorded as public expenditure.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=207}} A project timetable was announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney on 4 November 2009, whereby he stated that construction of the line would not begin prior to the 2011 elections to the Scottish Parliament. The tendering process finally began on 16 December 2009, when a contract notice was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Transport Scotland announced in June 2010 that three consortiums that had submitted expressions of interest in the project were to be invited to participate in a competitive dialogue; these were BAM UK, IMCD (Sir Robert McAlpine, Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras and Carillion) and New Borders Railway (Fluor, Miller and Uberior Infrastructure Investments). In mid-November 2010, the withdrawal of Fluor resulted in the third consortium pulling out of the bidding process.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=214}} The second consortium withdrew in June 2011 following the decision by Carillion not to continue.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=216}} This led to the cancellation of the tender procedure by Scottish transport minister Keith Brown.{{harvnb|Butlin|2014|pp=16–17}} Network Rail was chosen by Transport Scotland to undertake the project and, following months of negotiations, a Transfer of Responsibility was signed at a ceremony held on 6 November 2012 at the Scottish Mining Museum in Newtongrange.{{cite magazine|title=Network Rail takes on Borders Rail|magazine=RAIL|issue=681|date=19 October – 1 November 2011|page=21|editor=Harris, Nigel}}{{harvnb|Butlin|2014|p=17}} Network Rail agreed to build the line by mid-2015 for £294 million, an increase on the estimated £230 million that the line was expected to cost and the £100 million that it was originally costed at in 2000.{{cite web |url=http://www.bordersrailway.co.uk/project/overview.aspx |title=Borders Railway Project |year=2015 |website=bordersrailway.co.uk |publisher=Borders Railway Project |access-date=2015-03-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317012752/http://www.bordersrailway.co.uk/project/overview.aspx |archive-date=17 March 2015 |df=dmy-all }} This figure is also substantially more than the £189 million which Network Rail Chief Executive Iain Coucher agreed to build the line in late 2007 or early 2008.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=213}}

In December 2012, Network Rail appointed BAM Nuttall as its main contractor. The Network Rail team which worked on the line was essentially the same as the one which delivered the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link in 2009. A Network Rail spokesman confirmed that lessons learned from the previous project had been applied to the Borders project, such as better coordination between the different teams by having them together in one office in Newtongrange. In June 2013, the design contract for the line was awarded to URS which agreed to design new bridges, stations and roads, as well as the refurbishment of existing bridges and the provision of engineering support, for £3.5 million.{{cite magazine|title=£3.5m Borders Railway design contract awarded|magazine=RAIL|issue=723|date=29 May – 11 June 2013|page=22|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick}}

File:Train at Hardengreen (geograph 4213911).jpg

The line comprises {{convert|65|km|mi|order=flip}} of single-line track over a distance of {{convert|31|mi|km}}, plus 42 new bridges, 95 refurbished bridges and two refurbished tunnels, and required 1.5 million tonnes of earth to be moved.{{harvnb|Butlin|2014|p=18}} Stations are provided at {{rws|Shawfair}}, {{rws|Eskbank}}, {{rws|Newtongrange}}, {{rws|Gorebridge}}, {{rws|Stow}}, {{rws|Galashiels}}, and {{rws|Tweedbank}}. According to Network Rail, the line was not suitable for double track and, in any event, there was no business case for doubling the line from the outset. As a result, {{convert|21+1⁄4|mi|km}} of the line are single-track with three "dynamic" passing loops providing {{convert|9+1⁄2|mi|km}} of double-track to allow for half-hourly services. The route is not electrified but provision has been made to install overhead line if required as bridges have been built to W12 gauge.{{cite magazine|title=October start date for track laying on Borders Railway|magazine=RAIL|issue=751|date=25 June – 8 July 2014|page=8|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick}}{{harvnb|Drysdale|2014|p=32}} Although certain sections of the line are designed for speeds of up to {{convert|90|mph|km/h}}, average speeds over the whole line are in the region of {{convert|35|-|39|mph|km/h}}.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=240}}

Amongst the line's 27 substantial structures, the greatest engineering challenge was posed by the point where the track met the Edinburgh City Bypass. At that point, a tunnel had to be constructed under the A720 road while it had been temporarily diverted; in total, the project incorporated five new associated road schemes.{{cite magazine|title=Major progress on Borders Railway infrastructure|magazine=RAIL|issue=737|date=11–24 December 2013|pages=14–15|first1=Paul|last1=Prentice}} Major challenges were also posed by abandoned mine shafts to the north of the route, some of which dated to the 16th century and had not been mapped. More than 200 bridges were involved in the scheme, as the route crosses the Gala Water and River Tweed nineteen times. One of the most vital bridges on the line carries the track over Hardengreen roundabout on the A7, and required extensive works throughout 2013.{{harvnb|Butlin|2014|pp=17–18}} Other works included digging out an infilled cutting on the outskirts of Galashiels and reconstructing a nearby bridge to allow the line to pass under power lines.

The first sod was turned at Galashiels on 3 March 2010, when Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson attended a ceremony in the presence of campaigner Madge Elliot.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=210}}{{cite magazine|title=Scottish Borders rail link is finally under way|magazine=RAIL|issue=639|date=10–23 March 2010|page=17|editor=Harris, Nigel}} This triggered a clause in the 2006 Waverley Railway Act, which committed the Scottish Government to complete the line to Tweedbank once works had been commenced.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|pp=210–211}}

Construction began in earnest on 18 April 2013 after completion of remedial and preparatory works such as land acquisition, removal of vegetation, demolition of certain structures and remedial works on old mines in Midlothian, for which over £54 million was spent by Network Rail.{{cite magazine|title=Main construction work gets underway on £294m Borders Railway|magazine=RAIL|issue=721|date=1–14 May 2013|page=21|editor=Harris, Nigel}} The first task was the excavation of the track alignment through Monktonhall and the clearing of the site for Shawfair station. Construction of the line's first bridge, Rye Haugh Bridge at Millerhall, were underway on 6 August 2013 as part of works to deviate the line out of Edinburgh from Newcraighall before it returns to the original alignment.{{cite magazine|title=Work accelerates as Borders Railway takes shape|magazine=RAIL|issue=729|date=21 August – 3 September 2013|pages=16–17|first1=Michael|last1=Williams}} The 23-arch Newbattle Viaduct (or Lothianbridge Viaduct) was used by lorries removing spoil from the construction site which eased traffic on local roads.

File:The Borders Railway works at Bowshank (geograph 4264592).jpg

The first track was laid in the Bowshank Tunnel on 4 April 2014.{{cite magazine|title=Borders Railway revived|magazine=RAIL|issue=770|date=18–31 March 2015|pages=56–61|first1=Stefanie|last1=Browne|location=Peterborough |publisher=Bauer Consumer Media}} On 30 September 2014, the first train on the Waverley Route for 45 years – a works train – ran to Newcraighall. Tracklaying began in earnest on 6 October 2014, although preliminary works had resulted in a section of slab track laid through Bowshank Tunnel, south of Stow, as well as ballasting along large sections of the route and pre-cast switch and crossing units for the passing loops.{{cite magazine|title=Borders Railway budget 'on target' as track laying starts|magazine=RAIL|issue=758|date=1–14 October 2014|page=21|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick}} The first part of the route to be ballasted was the section through Lothianbridge Viaduct to which structural repairs had to be carried out. By the end of October, more than {{convert|11|mi|km}} of track had been laid as far as Tynehead and the double-track on the Shawfair loop had been completed plus {{convert|2|mi|km}} of the second track on the Borthwick loop.{{cite magazine|title=More track laid as Borders work progresses rapidly|magazine=RAIL|issue=761|date=12–25 November 2014|pages=14–15|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick}} Work was halted in late November 2014 after a contractor working for BAM Nuttall in the Gala area was injured when a sleeper came loose when being lifted into position and landed on his leg.{{cite magazine|title=Borders work restarted after accident halts progress|magazine=RAIL|issue=766|date=21 January – 3 February 2015|page=12|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick}} Work restarted on 12 January 2015 following a review by BAM of their track installation methodology. By 3 February, the track was complete through Galashiels and hundreds of spectators turned out to welcome the first train into the station since 1969, which was hauled by GBRf Class 66761 and 66741.{{cite magazine|title=First Borders Rail train in 46 years arrives at Galashiels|magazine=RAIL|issue=768|date=18 February – 3 March 2015|page=8|editor=Harris, Nigel}}

File:Royal opening of the Borders Railway, 9 September 2015.jpg

On 5 February 2015, Network Rail's tracklaying machine reached the end of the line at Tweedbank station where a large crowd had gathered.{{cite magazine|title=Borders Line tracklaying completed|magazine=The Railway Magazine|date=March 2015|page=9|first1=Ashley|last1=Butlin}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-31413672 |title=Borders Railway track laying complete |work=BBC News |date=12 February 2015 |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-date=26 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726061831/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-31413672 |url-status=live }} As there was not enough track for the train to complete tracklaying into the second platform, it had to return the next day. The formal completion took place on 12 February when Keith Brown clipped the final length of rail into place.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=233}} During the period of construction, more than 1,000 rails were laid across 100,000 sleepers. With the infrastructure complete, attention was turned to the installation of signalling and communications equipment as well as finalising the stations.{{cite magazine|title=Borders Rail focus now shifts to signalling systems|magazine=RAIL|issue=769|date=4–17 March 2015|pages=24–25|first1=James|last1=Johnson}} A GSM-R system controlled from the IECC next to Edinburgh Waverley was in place by April 2015.

On 13 May 2015, the first test train, DRS Class 37 604 with DBSO 9702, worked the 1Q13 Tweedbank-Millerhill.{{cite news |url=http://www.itv.com/news/border/2015-05-12/full-steam-ahead-first-test-train-on-borders-railway/ |title=Full steam ahead: first test train on Borders Railway |work=ITV News |date=12 May 2015 |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-date=5 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605104444/http://www.itv.com/news/border/2015-05-12/full-steam-ahead-first-test-train-on-borders-railway/ |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine|title=First Network Rail test train on Borders Rail|magazine=RAIL|issue=775|date=27 May – 9 June 2015|page=18|editor=Harris, Nigel}} On 4 June 2015, a ceremony was held at Edinburgh Waverley to mark the final stages of the completion of works during which Madge Elliot, a veteran campaigner and founder member of the Campaign for Borders Rail, had Class 66 528 renamed in her honour.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-32995577 |title=Train is named after rail campaigner Madge Elliot |work=BBC News |date=4 June 2015 |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-date=18 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818212026/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-32995577 |url-status=live }} Official completion and handover of the line to the ScotRail Alliance, a group formed by Network Rail and Abellio ScotRail, took place on 14 June 2015.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-33113123 |title=Borders Railway is handed over to Scotrail Alliance |work=BBC News |date=12 June 2015 |access-date=14 June 2015 |archive-date=8 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708212817/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-33113123 |url-status=live }} A 12-week period of driver training for 64 drivers and 64 guards began on 7 June 2015,{{cite magazine|title=Driver training begins as Borders re-opening looms|magazine=RAIL|issue=777|date=24 June – 7 July 2015|pages=20–21|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick}}{{harvnb|Drysdale|2014|p=31}}{{cite web |url=http://www.europeanrailwayreview.com/24064/rail-industry-news/scotrail-border-railway-project-launches-driver-and-conductor-training/ |title=ScotRail Borders Railway project launches driver and conductor training |last=Sadler |first=Katie |publisher=European Railway Review |date=12 June 2015 |access-date=17 June 2015 |archive-date=17 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617221142/http://www.europeanrailwayreview.com/24064/rail-industry-news/scotrail-border-railway-project-launches-driver-and-conductor-training/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/main-line/driver-training-underway-on-borders-railway.html |title=Driver training underway on Borders Railway |last=Barrow |first=Keith |publisher=International Railway Journal |date=9 June 2015 |access-date=17 June 2015 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113235/http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/main-line/driver-training-underway-on-borders-railway.html |url-status=live }} with Abellio ScotRail Class 170 170414 in livery promoting the new line undertaking a proving run to measure stepping distances from platforms to trains.{{cite magazine|title=Crew-training and proving runs begin on Borders Line|magazine=The Railway Magazine|date=July 2015|pages=6–7|first1=Ashley|last1=Butlin}} The train, which carried a large number of Network Rail staff, stopped at all stations from Newcraighall to Tweedbank in the presence of large crowds of spectators. The following day Class 158 158741 was used for the first driver-training runs. On 26 July 2015, a driver-training train carried Borders rail campaigner Madge Elliot.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-33668904 |title=Borders rail campaigner Madge Elliot takes front seat |work=BBC News |date=27 July 2015 |access-date=28 July 2015 |archive-date=29 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729183338/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-33668904 |url-status=live }} The Borders Railway was named the Scottish infrastructure project of 2016 by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.{{cite magazine|title=Award for Borders line|editor-last=Harris|editor-first=Nigel|magazine=RAIL|issue=799|date=27 April – 10 May 2016|page=10}}

The final cost of the project was £353 million, of which £295 million was construction costs (in 2012 prices).{{Cite web|title=Railfuture - Borders Railway Reopening|url=https://www.railfuturescotland.org.uk/bordersrailway.php|access-date=2020-07-01|website=www.railfuturescotland.org.uk|archive-date=3 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703173410/https://www.railfuturescotland.org.uk/bordersrailway.php|url-status=live}}

Regular passenger services began on 6 September 2015 when the 08:45 Tweedbank - Edinburgh Waverley departed formed of two-car ScotRail Class 158s led by 158701.{{cite magazine|title=The long wait is finally over as £296m Borders Railway opens|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick|magazine=RAIL|issue=783|date=16–29 September 2015|pages=6–7}} On the first day more than 2,500 journeys were made. A special VIP press trip had run on 4 September which left Edinburgh Waverley at 10:20 for Tweedbank.{{cite magazine|title=Borders Railway: a game-changing project|editor-first=Nigel|editor-last=Harris|series=Scotland Special Supplement|magazine=RAIL|issue=783|date=16–29 September 2015|pages=4–9}}

The railway was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 September 2015 - the day on which she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-34108746|website=BBC News|date=6 September 2015|title=Borders to Edinburgh railway opens as longest line in UK in a century|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=5 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205031646/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-34108746|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Speechesandarticles/2015/TheQueensspeechattheBordersRailwayinScotlan.aspx |title=The Queen's speech at the Borders Railway in Scotland |author= |date=2015-09-09 |website=The official site of The British Monarchy |publisher=The Royal Household |access-date=2015-09-09 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911223257/http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Speechesandarticles/2015/TheQueensspeechattheBordersRailwayinScotlan.aspx |url-status=live }} Her Majesty travelled with the Duke of Edinburgh and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa where they were met with children singing the National Anthem.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA17CsRffXI |title=Nicola Sturgeon sings God Save the Queen |date=9 September 2015 |publisher=The Spectator |via=YouTube|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420225716/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA17CsRffXI |archive-date=20 April 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|title=Borders Railway gets royal opening|magazine=The Railway Magazine|date=October 2015|pages=9–10|editor-first=Nick|editor-last=Pigott|editor-link=Nick Pigott}} The locomotive hauled a rake of Mark 1s provided by the SRPS as well as Pullman car No. 310 Pegasus. Due to bad weather, the Queen's helicopter journey from Balmoral was delayed which resulted in the late departure of the train and a delay at Newcraighall while a ScotRail service cleared the single-line section to the south. Her Majesty alighted at Newtongrange to unveil a plaque marking the opening of the railway; a second plaque was unveiled at Tweedbank. The following day the LNER Class A4 commenced a six-week programme of Borders steam specials promoted by ScotRail which saw services run to Tweedbank for three days each week.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-33658814 |title=Steam trains will run along the new Borders Railway |work=BBC News |date=25 July 2015 |access-date=28 July 2015 |archive-date=28 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728005322/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-33658814 |url-status=live }} Around 6,200 passengers were carried on the 17 fully booked services.{{cite magazine|title=Regional News|first1=Howard|last1=Johnson|magazine=RAIL|issue=791|date=6–19 January 2016|page=13}}

During its first month of operations, 125,971 passengers travelled on the Borders Railway.{{cite magazine|title=One month on...Borders Railway is booming|magazine=The Railway Magazine|date=November 2015|page=9|editor-first=Nick|editor-last=Pigott|editor-link=Nick Pigott}} Demand was far in excess of what ScotRail had expected, with the line carrying 19.4% of its predicted annual patronage of 650,000 in one month. The unexpected level of patronage resulted in overcrowding on services and passengers unable to board at intermediate stations, leading ScotRail to run four or six carriages with morning and peak trains. ScotRail also leased additional parking space near Tweedbank station as the 235-space car park provided was generally full before 9am. The National Mining Museum near Newtongrange station reported a hike in visitor numbers, while the nearby towns of Melrose and St Boswells confirmed a rise in business and tourism.

File:Lothianbridge viaduct01 2000-05-28.jpg prior to refurbishment, May 2000]]

The line begins at Newcraighall South Junction where the track veers off the former Waverley Route to a parallel alignment just to the west which crosses over the former Monktonhall Colliery, part of the Midlothian Coalfield.{{cite magazine|title=Borders regained|magazine=The Railway Magazine|date=January 2016|page=15|first1=Keith|last1=Farr}} The first of three double-track dynamic loops begins here and continues for {{convert|2.1|mi|km|abbr=on}} to King's Gate Junction just beyond the Edinburgh Bypass.{{harvnb|Farr|2016|p=15}} The new alignment - some {{convert|600|m|yd|order=flip}} to the south-west of the original route - avoids new roads and mining subsidence on the Waverley Route trackbed through Millerhill, whilst also serving new housing at Shawfair. There is a maximum speed limit on the Shawfair loop of {{convert|60|mph|km/h}}, with restrictions of {{convert|40|mph|km/h}} at the northern entrance to the loop and {{convert|55|mph|km/h}} at King's Gate. A new bridge carries the Edinburgh bypass across the double-track. The Waverley Route is rejoined at King's Gate where it becomes single-track for {{convert|5+1⁄2|mi|km}} through Eskbank, Newtongrange and Gorebridge.

Immediately after Eskbank, Hardengreen viaduct, an {{convert|80|m|yd|adj=on|order=flip}} concrete span bridge, carries the line over the A7 road at Hardenbridge, thereby correcting the damage caused by the Dalkeith Western Bypass. Thereafter Glenesk viaduct crosses the River North Esk, a single-arch span built for the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway between 1829 and 1831, which is one of Scotland's oldest railway bridges.{{harvnb|Drysdale|2014|p=29}} This is soon followed by the 23-arch Newbattle Viaduct between Eskbank and Newtongrange, where the single-track runs down the centre of the structure as is the case for the Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle Line. The second double-track section begins at Fushiebridge Junction and continues for {{convert|3.8|mi|km}} to just beyond the site of Tynehead station.{{harvnb|Drysdale|2014|p=30}} A {{convert|10|mi|km|adj=on}} single-track section then extends as far as Falahill where a {{convert|100|m|yd|adj=on|order=flip}} reinforced concrete box takes the line under the A7, the original alignment having been lost to allow the road to be straightened across the trackbed.{{harvnb|Drysdale|2014|pp=31–32}} The realignment at Falahill as well as the installation of single-track on a wider double-track alignment has allowed higher line speeds to be reached here than was possible on the Waverley Route; whereas the curvature of old alignment limited the line speed to {{convert|60|mph|km/h}}, the new line has seen units reach {{convert|86|mph|km/h}}.{{harvnb|Farr|2016|p=16}} The speed limit for the next {{convert|7|mi|km}} to Galabank Junction is {{convert|85|mph|km/h}} with a {{convert|60|mph|km/h}} restriction at the halfway point. The limit is raised to {{convert|90|mph|km/h}} for {{convert|1+3⁄4|mi|km}} south of Tynehead, although this speed is unlikely to be reached in practice due to the gradient and the short distance involved.

File:170414 at Tweedbank.jpg at Tweedbank, June 2015]]

The final section of double-track begins at Galabank Junction on the approach to Scottish Borders Council that he expected the railway to benefit the Scottish economy by millions of pounds and that a feasibility study would be conducted to identify ways in which the line could boost tourism in the Borders region.

Research by the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development has shown that visitor numbers for Midlothian and Borders tourist attractions increased by 4% and 6.9% respectively during the first seven months of 2016, while Abbotsford House, Sir Walter Scott's former home near Galashiels, saw a significant revival in its fortunes as it reported a 12% rise in visits during 2016.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-34899285 |title=Langholm station considered in Borders Railway extension study |work=BBC News |date=23 November 2015 |access-date=21 September 2016 |archive-date=6 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306075446/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-34899285 |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine|title=Regional News|first1=Howard|last1=Johnson|magazine=RAIL|issue=812|date=26 October – 8 November 2016|page=25}}

A study released on 15 June 2017 and commissioned by Transport Scotland and Borders Railway Blueprint Group showed that 50% of the line's users had moved to the region and that more than 80% of those who had changed jobs cited the railway as a factor in their decision.{{cite magazine|title=Borders Railway boosting whole region, study claims|first1=Richard|last1=Clinnick|magazine=RAIL|issue=830|date=5–18 July 2017|page=26}} The study estimated that 40,000 car journeys had been saved per year as well as 22,000 fewer bus journeys. The report also indicated that 23% of visitors to the area would not have done so without the railway.

File:Galabank Junction.jpg entering the passing loop at Galabank Junction]]

The line's construction has been described as resembling a "basic railway" built to a tight budget and incorporating cost-saving features, such as using elderly two-carriage diesel trains and running the line as single track. This is in contrast to the reopened Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link, which was built as a double-track electrified railway from the outset. The difference between the two lines has been claimed by commentators to reflect scepticism toward the Borders Railway, which has existed since proposals were first made in the 1990s, as well as a reluctance to allow the project to become too ambitious. In particular, a 2011 cost-cutting exercise by Transport Scotland resulted in a new project specification which reduced the dynamic passing loops from their planned total length of {{convert|16|mi|km}}, and failed to future-proof the line by providing for all eight road bridges to be built to single-track width only, including the five bridges on the section between Tynehead and Stow where there were otherwise no other obstacles to doubling of the line.{{harvnb|Spaven|2015|p=222}}

Similarly, key underbridges on the section as far as

Category:2015 establishments in Scotland

Category:Railway lines in Scotland

Category:Standard gauge railways in Scotland

Category:Transport in Edinburgh

Category:Transport in Midlothian

Category:Transport in the Scottish Borders

Category:Community railway lines in the United Kingdom