An inevitable barrier to any Borders extension

I enjoyed reading the article on the possible Waverley Route reopening from Tweedbank to Longtown ( RAIL 904).

While I was pleased to see and read Dr John McCormick’s support and thoughts on reopening the line, I think his view that Scotland leaving the UK would have no impact on cross-border travel is unlikely.

One only has to look at the problems encountered by the UK leaving the EU to see the issues thrown up around freedom of movement.

People in our area who travel regularly over the border may need passports or work visas. While there would certainly be inter-city trains, it would throw up a barrier to commuting over the border. The hassle wouldn’t be worth it, especially if there were different currencies. These would be the majority of journeys which would most benefit the Borders.

One thing is certain, however: leaving the UK would kill reinstatement of the Waverley Route south of Hawick stone dead. Given that nearly all the benefits accrue to the Borders, why would the UK Government want to spend millions of pounds building 20 miles of track to the border to help a country who had just voted to leave it?

It’s not like Scotland would be flush with money either, with an opening budget deficit of around £8 billion per annum. With so much competition for funding against the inevitable belt tightening, it would be a challenge to keep the current rail network running at current levels, let alone building new lines to neighbouring countries.

It’s worth pointing out that it is only through the UK Government’s Borderlands Growth deal that we are even getting a proper study into this, as the Scottish Government has turned its attention to other matters.

Just imagine what we could do if the constitutional uncertainty could be left behind and we could focus instead on getting a proper, integrated transport system for the Borders, Dumfriesshire, Cumbria and Northumberland.