We want our railway back! Hawick councillor makes renewed plea …

SBC convener Watson McAteer, pictured on the left, with members of the Campaign for Borders Rail, and their supporters – including local MP John Lamont, and MSP Rachael Hamilton.
Author: Ally McGilvrayPublished 2 hours agoLast updated 1 hour ago

“We had a railway, it was taken away, and now we want it back.”

Those are the words of Hawick councillor Watson McAteer – speaking to us following the Campaign for Borders Rail’s AGM.

The local authority convener’s welcoming the setting up of a new cross-party group to drive forward the restoration of the line between Tweedbank and Carlisle.

He says money shouldn’t be an obstacle to the project, which it’s estimated could cost as much as one billion pounds.

“The reality is we’ve seen really tough times since the railway’s gone,” Councillor McAteer told Greatest Hits Radio ^[1]. “Our industries have struggled, our ability to commute – and for young people be able to travel to university – has all been constrained.”

But he added: “This is opening a door; it’s creating opportunity that doesn’t exist, so we can’t let go of this, we absolutely need a railway.”

The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal signed in 2021 pledged £10m – £5m each from the UK and Scottish governments – for the development of proposals for the extension of the rail route.

When members of Scottish Borders Council met last month, they were informed that some of the funding would be used to appoint a senior project manager, at a cost of £200k, to lead the bid.

Councillor McAteer said: “That working group is replicating the very first process we had when we had the line built from Edinburgh to Tweedbank; so we’re replicating that for the completion of the line. That, for me, is tremendous news. It’s getting the wheel turning, and we’ll start to gather momentum on the back of that.

“We’re facing a climate challenge, things are changing; we’ve got to help decarbonise and a railway will do that for us, get cars off the road, support the buses and make a real contribution to the whole country. So it’s an absolute no-brainer, this railway just needs to be returned.”

The meeting heard the public transport network in the Borders at present is “woeful” – highlighted by the fact ScotRail’s representative, who had travelled by car from Edinburgh, arrived late – and tourism in the region won’t grow unless it improves.

Councillor McAteer revealed it had been “a nightmare” trying to get a focus group together to push the project forward. But he added: “I hope that what we’re seeing is actually real steps now.

“I hope to see that business case done – they said two to three years… well, I would like that shortened. But, if we can get that done quickly, then we can start laying down times for completing this bit of work.”

The man who oversaw the rebuilding of the Borders Railway – between Tweedbank and Edinburgh – says he was “always confident it would be a success”.

And former project director Hugh Wark, who was in the audience at the Campaign for Borders Rail’s AGM in Hawick High School, says he hopes the line can now be extended further south sooner rather than later.

“I remember after it opened getting some feedback from local businesses – Abbotsford (House), and some of the local cafes and pubs in Galashiels – that they had actually seen their income increasing,” he recalled.

“I was always sorry it never got to Hawick, but hopefully with the great work going on here with the Campaign for Borders Rail we will eventually see that; and hopefully sooner rather than later.

“I’ve always seen the case for taking the railway on to Hawick.” But he added: “Beyond Hawick I do believe it’s more difficult, simply because of the vast extent of the length of it, and the fact that it’s a low population area.”

For more stories from the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland, bookmark our new home page – https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/^[5]

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References

^{^} Greatest Hits Radio (ghr.listennow.link)
^{^} Locals react to discovery of £500k cannabis farm in Galashiels (planetradio.co.uk)
^{^} Double death prompts renewed drive for more safety measures on A7 (planetradio.co.uk)
^{^} Hawick rugby club pays tribute to player following fatal crash (planetradio.co.uk)
^{^} https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/ (planetradio.co.uk)
^{^} Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Greatest Hits Radio app. (ghr.listennow.link)