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Borders Railway - Now Open

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onyxcrowle

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Does anyone on here have photos of this project that they would be please willing to.share?.
Rail Brit is great but ypu can't zoom the pic by right click n save
How is Es bank looking? .
It was said that soon eg maybe April they might start track laying on sections of the route and through tunnels?
Can't wait
 

PG

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at the end of the high and low roads
Ten drivers selected from over two thousand applicants! :o
Is it always that hard to get such a post or was that ratio unique to Borders Railway?

If anything that ratio's a bit on the low side though that is probably due to the location. Look at this thread and within the first ten posts you'll find info on the likely number of applicants for any driving post.
 

charlee

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Is the building at gorebridge station site remaining? I'm suprised to see all the windows boarded up.
 

PaxVobiscum

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Latest episode of 'Borders Railway - from start to finish' now available. Some interesting insight into the construction.
I wish the broadcast telly was always as good as this series has been.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Or making sure the project remained feasible? If that is idiotic then carry on my friend.

There is no realistic prospect of the whole route needing to be 2 track any time soon.

One might draw a comparison with the line to Blackpool South from Kirkham and Wesham when the time matter of any future double-tracking is being a matter of discussion.
 

PaxVobiscum

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Given what is known about the design of the currently incomplete Hardengreen Bridge, any civil engineers on here care to comment on what would have to be done if (and that's a big "if" :D) it needs to be doubled some time in the future?

For example, would it be easier just to build another bridge alongside, or would the (almost) existing structure have to be widened at both sides?
 

YorkshireBear

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Can someone link me to some pictures please? I cant seem to find on thread of the bridge?
 

YorkshireBear

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My two pence worth on this bridge.

They certainly are not idiots, looking at the very tight areas they have got available to work in with bridge abutments and piers i would say a double track bridge here would have been significantly more expensive, as well as more disruptive to the road. How important is this particular roundabout? it looks fairly major.

Doubling up in the future? Doubt it will be done, and i also doubt it will ever need to be done therefore, there was no point going to the extra trouble and expense. It also looks like it has saved money on the earthworks either side.

If 75% of the route is doubled you could easily achieve the desired frequencies even with large growth so double other parts of the route not this one.
 

snowball

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Can someone link me to some pictures please? I cant seem to find on thread of the bridge?

Two videos on this page:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/38527-borders-railway-progress/page-16

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

How important is this particular roundabout? it looks fairly major.

One of the roads is the A7, one of the major roads south out of Edinburgh. The other is a suburban B road.
 
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kylemore

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My two pence worth on this bridge.

They certainly are not idiots, looking at the very tight areas they have got available to work in with bridge abutments and piers i would say a double track bridge here would have been significantly more expensive, as well as more disruptive to the road. How important is this particular roundabout? it looks fairly major.

Doubling up in the future? Doubt it will be done, and i also doubt it will ever need to be done therefore, there was no point going to the extra trouble and expense. It also looks like it has saved money on the earthworks either side.

If 75% of the route is doubled you could easily achieve the desired frequencies even with large growth so double other parts of the route not this one.

I daresay if the ECML linking Aberdeen and the North East to the rest of the country can get by with a single track bridge at Montrose (altho this may change soon) the reopened Borders line would mange OK for the forseeable future with single track at Hardengreen.
 

PaxVobiscum

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-26627023

Borders to Edinburgh railway: Falahill bridge works pledge

Network Rail says traffic should be able to "flow freely" during the building of a final bridge over the A7 as part of the Borders Railway works.

Work at Falahill in the Borders will get under way next week.

Residents have voiced concerns about the project but Network Rail said it believed it had now come up with the "best solution".

However, it added that it was a major project which was likely to take a "number of months" to complete.

Revised designs for the scheme were approved by Scottish Borders Council in November.

They were aimed at giving more room between the road and cottages in the area.

They will also see a new bridge built to the south of the properties, carrying the road over the railway.

The bridge is the third and final A7 crossing to start work as part of the multi-million pound project to see trains run between Edinburgh and Tweedbank by 2015.

Network Rail's project director Hugh Wark said it was pleased to get construction work under way at Falahill.

"There's been a huge amount of work behind the scenes to get the design right and we believe that we now have the best solution for the location," he said.

"Our delivery strategy for the A7 bridge over the railway in this location mirrors our approach to delivering the City Bypass bridge, only on a smaller scale.

"The temporary two-lane stretch of road will mean that road traffic can flow freely while we deliver this crucial element of the project."

The work is being carried out by SBC Contracts, on behalf of main contractors BAM.

I'm sure we can look forward to the anti-rail lobby stirring up mischief however well this work goes.
 

HowardGWR

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PaxVobiscum

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Looking at the plans on the web site, it still shews the roundabouts at the northern end of the hamlet. I thought the design of the road and rail bypasses had been changed. Is that right, and is the web site now out of date?

I think this is the latest one, but I can't get the map to load properly on an iPad.

EDIT: I think this plan shows what will be done now.
 
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HowardGWR

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I think this is the latest one, but I can't get the map to load properly on an iPad.

EDIT: I think this plan shows what will be done now.

Thanks very much. The two documents from the p.a. that are the most helpful for an overview are:

http://eplanning.scotborders.gov.uk...64/pdf/13_00913_FUL-LOCATION_PLAN-2547252.pdf

which gives a plan view and

http://eplanning.scotborders.gov.uk...3_00913_FUL-ARTISTS_3D_IMPRESSION-2547246.pdf

which gives an artist 3D impression.

Is it not sloppy that the Borders Railway web site still carries the old plan? Doing away with the roundabouts is visually better, but I note that a reverse curve is imposed on the line. It doesn't look too sharp though. Any views on the development? The cottages will be still marooned. Would it have been kinder to the environment to have bought them, as it is a remote location and not sustainably located?
 

fegguk

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Would it have been kinder to the environment to have bought them, as it is a remote location and not sustainably located?

I think transport Scotland has offered to buy the houses if the residents want to move. I doubt they are worth the extra cost of the double roundabout, though cost was not the main reason for the change of plan.

Should transport Scotland have to buy them they will still have some resale value once the railway is complete. I am not sure if having excellent views of every train that passes will add much to the property values though it may suit some buyers.
 

MK Tom

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