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Borders Railway - Now Open

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FTS 2012-2013

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Thanks for your information, but I tend not to even log onto anything connected with Facebook or Twitter as I do not wish to find my computer details suddenly hijacked by organisations who have ill intents and have been known to attack sites such as these.

This is why both my good lady wife and I will have no truck with internet banking.


lol and you think that wouldn't happen on a forum ? get a grip .....
 
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jopsuk

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Thanks for your information, but I tend not to even log onto anything connected with Facebook or Twitter as I do not wish to find my computer details suddenly hijacked by organisations who have ill intents and have been known to attack sites such as these.

This is why both my good lady wife and I will have no truck with internet banking.

Yet you're on LinkedIn and Google+?
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Yet you're on LinkedIn and Google+?

Are they both not somewhat different in their very being to those to which I so alluded ? Incidentally, A nephew of mine who is a high-flyer in the computer industrey with the same first name is also on LinkedIn...are you confusing him with me, as my entry on there is just a confirmation that I am now retired, containing no relevant information. You should have seen it when I was at the consultancy.. :D

At this very point of time, now being 69 years of age, I do not feel that my career is now in any need of enhancement, having retired in 2010 and now enjoying the rural life of one of the Cheshire East gentry and being a personage who would fit in well as a member of the cast of "The Archers", but hopefully having no connection to Linda Snell.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

lol and you think that wouldn't happen on a forum ? get a grip .....

I still maintain that there have been cases where financial loss has occurred in the final matter that I have stated. I just do not want to give some any unscrupulous individuals or organisations that opportunity.

I often feel that some scrawny necks so exist in order to "get a grip"...:D
 
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Xenophon PCDGS

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Considering that my LinkedIn page now only confirms my retired situation since 2010, I will only be worried if some scurrilous individual decides to re-vamp my profile by stating on there that I am currently a visiting professor in Applied Thermodynamics and now running a cosmetic surgery clinic in my capacity of Consultant Enhancement Surgeon...:D:D
 

onyxcrowle

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Getting back on topic. Any news on the project is there any news on progress toward track laying ?.
What about the city bypass . Isn't that meant to be completed by April? .
The bridge at Harden green seems like it needs additional beams to connect it to the network as it looks like a sheer end at each end. How will it be joined up.
When will we start to see stations appear and signals.
By this Time on Airdrie to Bathgate things started to happen.
I would be greatful if any of you guys on here have any pictures over and above what's on rail brit. If you'd be willing to mail me some please pm me.
Best regards and wishes to you all.
Jon
 
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Photohunter71

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I recently paid a visit to Millerhill (Sunday afternoon) parked up where I used to back in the late 90's and had a good look.There seems to be a very large vase/skip shaped hole of around 5m deep filled with water just to the right of the trackside. Any idea what on earth is happening there? Also there seems to be some drilling (archimedes type drill) further down the construction zone,is this the proposed EMU/DMU depot?
 

railjock

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Article from Today's Scotsman. I doubt it would have been [politically acceptable to build in more future proofing.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/borders-railway-cuts-could-hold-back-development-1-3392993

NETWORK Rail warned Transport Scotland that cuts to the Borders Railway project could hold back its future development, The Scotsman has learned.

The news comes as campaigners today criticised the Scottish Government agency for failing to “future proof” the mainly single-track line by building new road bridges which will hamper the later addition of a second track for more trains.

The Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR) also fears knock-on delays to passengers will be caused by the shortening of passing loops on the 30-mile line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, near Galashiels, which is due to open in September next year.

The Scotsman has been told that Network Rail officials raised concerns about the failure to “optimise” the project to accommodate future growth.

This is understood to have happened before Network Rail agreed in 2012 to construct the line, following a failed attempt by ministers to have it built and maintained by the private sector.

Scottish train travel has doubled in the last two decades, reaching nearly 90 million journeys in 2012-13, with transport minister Keith Brown referring to a new “golden age” for rail.

First Minister Alex Salmond said last week he expected the Borders Railway would be “one of the most enormous tourist line successes we have ever seen”, and held out the possibility of the entire former Waverley line being re-opened to Carlisle.

Eight bridges have been built over the Edinburgh-Tweedbank section, which campaigners claim would have to be remodelled at ten times their original cost for a second track to be laid.

The line’s three passing loops have also been reduced from a total of 16 miles to 9.5 miles.

Rail consultant David Spaven, the author of Waverley Route: the life, death and rebirth of the Borders Railway, said while the project was being cut back, the roads element of it was being “gold-plated”.

He said: “By contrast to the skimping on rail infrastructure, the new road overbridges are being built to the highest standards, often becoming the widest section of a local road – and all paid for by the rail project.

“Even more perversely, for the Edinburgh City Bypass, a longer rail tunnel than required is being constructed under the bypass – to cater for possible future extra road lanes to accommodate growth.”

CBR chairman Simon Walton said: “With shorter double track stretches for trains to pass in, even a few minutes’ lateness would cause knock-on delays to trains travelling in the opposite direction.”

Mr Walton also called for the upgrading of existing tracks into Edinburgh which the new line will join at Newcraighall, such as a 15mph speed limit at a junction in Portobello.

He said: “These upgrades could also be the key to delivering greater reliability and may partially compensate for the reduced capacity on the newly re-built Borders Railway itself.”

Network Rail said it had discussed the scope of the project with Transport Scotland at various points and had highlighted things for consideration.

Its spokesman said: “The new Borders Railway has been robustly designed and engineered and we are confident the line will deliver an excellent service for passengers for years to come.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “Transport Scotland and Network Rail are working together to bring rail services back to the people of the Scottish Borders and Midlothian for the first time in almost half a century.

“Construction of this new, £353 million, 30 mile and seven station strong railway was agreed by Transport Scotland and Network Rail and is well underway all along the route.”
 

w0033944

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I would have thought doubling the track initially would be good practice and common sense,but this is Britain,we don't do common sense!

Had we done so, the Waverley Route might never have been closed in the first place. I'm afraid, though, that this sort of thing seems to be typical of the current Scottish Parliament administration in general and Salmond in particular - long on rhetoric but short on delivery.:-x
 

tbtc

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I would have thought doubling the track initially would be good practice and common sense,but this is Britain,we don't do common sense!

Had we done so, the Waverley Route might never have been closed in the first place. I'm afraid, though, that this sort of thing seems to be typical of the current Scottish Parliament administration in general and Salmond in particular - long on rhetoric but short on delivery.:-x

It's a £350m+ line through a relatively rural part of the country...

...the combined population of Galashiels plus Melrose is probably under 15,000 - there are a lot of bigger places in Scotland without a railway ("Greater Methil" has twice as many people as "Greater Tweedbank")...

...it's more about the politics of a region not being on the rail map than an analytical cost/benefit analysis (especially as it was agreed to when costs were under half what they have escalated to - would it have had the green light if we know it'd be over £350m?)...

...I reckon that Midlothian stations should do very well - it's well established commuter territory for Edinburgh - Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, and Gorebridge ought to be busy...

...stations south of Gorebridge are going to take a longer time to develop, as travel patterns catch up with "supply".

I know that its tempting to demand that every new line is fully double track, but then it's also fashionable to criticise Network Rail for making everything much more expensive than it needs to be.

The proposed infrastructure should be enough to sustain a half hourly service - I really doubt that Tweedbank is going to need capacity for twelve coaches on a regular basis - I can't buy into the argument that we should be spending even more money on enhancing the infrastructure beyond what will be more than enough to sustain a half hourly service (which, let's face it, is as good a service as places like Dundee, Dunfermline and Stirling justify to Edinburgh, so ought to be plenty for the 15,000ish living near Tweedbank).
 

NotATrainspott

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The route was designed with passive provision for 4tph to Gorebridge and 2tph to Tweedbank which is reasonable frequency for most regional double-track lines, let alone the glorified branch line that the Borders Railway really is.

To make a Hawick extension work, the journey time needs to be as short as possible and the one-hour mark is the standard for large numbers of commuter journeys outside of London, so it is likely that the extra 2tph would be stopping to Gorebridge and the Hawick 2tph would skip out some of the suburban stations.

If it will reopen to Carlisle I cannot see there ever being demand for more than 1tph past Hawick because there are so few people and it would be too far to realistically commute to Edinburgh. As a result, the route to Carlisle would be closer to an RETB line than the heavy rail infrastructure that the rest of the route comprises of, possibly even including Conon Bridge-sized stations to reduce cost.

In the timescale of reopening to Carlisle there would also be a high-speed route running from Edinburgh to Carlisle that could make it faster for people in much of the borders to travel north, change to an HS service to Carlisle and then change to a northbound service back up to the borders than it would be to just get the one train for the whole distance. That HS line would also release the WCML as an electrified double-track W10-gauge freight line with direct connections to the freight demand locations in the Central Belt, so there won't be a great deal of freight heading along the Borders line at all.
 

Altnabreac

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The route was designed with passive provision for 4tph to Gorebridge and 2tph to Tweedbank which is reasonable frequency for most regional double-track lines, let alone the glorified branch line that the Borders Railway really is.

To make a Hawick extension work, the journey time needs to be as short as possible and the one-hour mark is the standard for large numbers of commuter journeys outside of London, so it is likely that the extra 2tph would be stopping to Gorebridge and the Hawick 2tph would skip out some of the suburban stations.

Agreed, this is the important passive provision. There will never be more than 2tph south of Gorebridge but if the infrastructure is capable of taking 4tph north of Gorebridge and running a skip stop service from the Borders then it is suitable for at least the next 30 years of demand.

The scheme has always had a marginal BCR south of Gorebridge so it makes sense to get it built without gold plating at present but with passive provision for the only service level that might realistically be upgraded.
 

PaulLothian

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Article from Today's Scotsman...
Rail consultant David Spaven, the author of Waverley Route: the life, death and rebirth of the Borders Railway, said while the project was being cut back, the roads element of it was being “gold-plated”.

He said: “By contrast to the skimping on rail infrastructure, the new road overbridges are being built to the highest standards, often becoming the widest section of a local road – and all paid for by the rail project.

“Even more perversely, for the Edinburgh City Bypass, a longer rail tunnel than required is being constructed under the bypass – to cater for possible future extra road lanes to accommodate growth.”

My understanding of the length of the Sheriffhall rail bridge is that it is allowing for the probable need at some point to make a split-level junction at the Sheriffhall Roundabout - one of the most notorious bottlenecks in south-east Scotland. While this option was discounted at the time the bypass was opened, on the grounds of the cost of remedial work to secure mine workings, it remains an ambition for Transport Scotland, which started a feasibility study last year.

Quite frankly, this would be a development that would benefit the journey times of many times more travellers than are likely to use the Borders line, and would almost certainly show a substantial cost-benefits saving!
 

snowball

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That's my understanding too. Sheriffhall roundabout is the only flat junction on the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass and there have been campaigns to get the junction grade-separated for years, but I think the site has both mine workings and geological faults. The new rail bridge, though on less difficult geology, is so close to the roundabout that the future slip roads to/from the roundabout would still be partially separate from the main carriageways where they go over the bridge.
 
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PaulLothian

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One last thought on Sheriffhall roundabout - Transport Scotland reckon it is used by 70,000 vehicles a day. If you assume an average car occupancy of 1.59 (Scottish Government figures), and that freight vehicles and buses cancel each other out, the number of people passing through the junction daily is almost exactly the same as the entire population of the Scottish Borders Council area!

Well, you have to think of something while you fall asleep!
 

HowardGWR

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One last thought on Sheriffhall roundabout - Transport Scotland reckon it is used by 70,000 vehicles a day. If you assume an average car occupancy of 1.59 (Scottish Government figures), and that freight vehicles and buses cancel each other out, the number of people passing through the junction daily is almost exactly the same as the entire population of the Scottish Borders Council area!

Well, you have to think of something while you fall asleep!

Nearly all of the trips will be return ones (what goes up goes down) so that conjecture is probably way off, I suspect.
 

PaulLothian

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Nearly all of the trips will be return ones (what goes up goes down) so that conjecture is probably way off, I suspect.

I clearly need to be more precise - the stats relate to passenger journeys through the junction, not counting individuals who have done so in one day. Many of them may have been so fed up with the delays on the morning run that they go home another way... :)
 

HowardGWR

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Another home grown Borders railway progress video this one feature Ryehaugh to Ferniehirst just to the north of Galashiels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2gOdZ8ux14

Do keep filming, thank you. From your video, it seems to me that the song and dance in MR this issue about the single bits may be more than slightly exaggerated. Your video shews the formation being double width and where there are crossings, they are either adapted to remain double (hogs back bridge being an example) or made with a concrete box that would be simple to replace or duplicate alongside the singled one.

Do you have a view yourself (or indeed anyone) about this?
 

fegguk

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Do keep filming, thank you. From your video, it seems to me that the song and dance in MR this issue about the single bits may be more than slightly exaggerated. Your video shews the formation being double width and where there are crossings, they are either adapted to remain double (hogs back bridge being an example) or made with a concrete box that would be simple to replace or duplicate alongside the singled one.

Do you have a view yourself (or indeed anyone) about this?

The formation on part of the last video will be double track from the point just south of the Bowshank tunnel to Galabank. The later location featuring in the next video which includes Stow station site see below.

http://youtu.be/kPrIX2Fct64

The following video will feature Galabank to Fountainhall and will show the single track nature of at least one key structure the new over bridge at Fountainhall that along with those near heriot would be expensive to double them.

My own view is that some additional expenditure might have been justified to make these double track, however if the extra cost tipped the balance toward giving the Scottish Government an excuse to abandon the project south of Gorebridge then it was not worth while.

Thanks for watching
 
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railjock

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Nearly half way there.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/350m-borders-railway-nearly-half-complete-1-3411103



by ALASTAIR DALTON

Published on the 14 May
2014
15:51

4 comments
Print this

THE Borders Railway is weeks away from being half complete, builders Network Rail announced today.

A total of 44 per cent of work on the 30-mile line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, south of Galashiels, has been finished.

Network Rail said it expected to pass the half way stage by the end of the month.

Trains are due to run again in September next year for the first time in 46 years since the closure of the Waverley line to Carlisle.

Construction of the £350 million scheme, which started a year ago, is due to be finished next summer, which will be followed by line testing and driver training.

Network Rail, which is responsible for the £294m construction contract, said 866 staff had clocked up 2.1 million hours on the project so far.

More than 230 workers from supply firms have also been involved and caterers have supplied 25,000 bacon rolls to construction crews.

Construction started in April last year at Shawfair in Midlothian, and has included stabilising old mines, restoration of the Lothianbridge viaduct and two tunnels, and re-routing a section of the Edinburgh City Bypass during the building of a bridge to carry it over the line.

The work has also involved installing 16 miles of drainage, refurbishing other 104 bridges and moving 804,000 tonnes of earth - enough to fill at least five Olympic size swimming pools.

Transport Minister Keith Brown, who had hoped the project would be finished this year following significant delays and cost increases, said: “Network Rail and [principal contractor] BAM should be applauded for the progress they have made to get us to this stage.

“That we will soon see this service re-introduced is a huge achievement for all the partners involved.

“It is an extremely exciting prospect for those people living all up and down the route who will feel the benefits in terms of their increased access to jobs and social opportunities, as well as the boost to tourism and investment and likely regeneration in these areas.”

Network Rail project director Hugh Wark said: “The entire team has done a fantastic job in getting to this stage. By the end of this summer, the bulk of the structures and earthworks will be complete, and we’ll be looking forward to laying the railway track along the route.”

David Spaven, rail consultant and author of Waverley Route - The Life, Death and Rebirth of the Borders Railway, said

“It’s great to see the engineers making such good progress, but tragic that Transport Scotland have cut back the specification, with 40 per cent less double track than promised four years ago, and no ‘future-proofing’ of the structures south of Gorebridge to allow cost-effective double tracking of the single-track sections.

“This is a penny-wise pound-foolish approach to what should be a strategic addition to Scotland’s rail network.”
 

Zoidberg

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fegguk

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Here are the last 4 videos in the series that some of you may be following

Watching all 9 parts takes about 2 hours, twice the time the train will take.

I have quite enjoyed making them and may revisit the sites the later in the summer.

Thanks for watching and the supportive comments

Part 6A Heriot to Gorebridge http://youtu.be/HdKbOfbJ8cg

Part 6B Gore bridge to Newtongrange http://youtu.be/lAD0SgfOqm8

Part 7 Newtongrange to Glen Esk http://youtu.be/lAD0SgfOqm8

Part 8 The Citybypass to New craighall http://youtu.be/HrzZJagU_Kg
 

MussyCommuter

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Hi everyone :)

Long time lurker here!

My other half lives in Selkirk so I love following the building progress when I'm on my way down the A7.

I was curious to know what platforms at Waverley the Borders trains would be terminating at? I was thinking they might share 3 and 4 with the North Berwick trains. Are there any plans to reinstate some old platforms at the east end of Waverley? I notice some have been filled in.

Thanks in advance.
 

reb0118

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Are there any plans to reinstate some old platforms at the east end of Waverley? I notice some have been filled in.

There are firm rumours that the current motorail sidings will become platforms 5 & 6 to be used by North Berwicks, Berwicks, & the Borders Line services.
 
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