Was Reston the wrong location for a station, why not Grantshouse?

[Aictos]

Following on from the Reston construction thread, I feel that the new station at Reston is sited in the wrong location.

By this I mean, that the the infrastructure at Grantshouse is already set up on the Up to provide terminating facilities from Edinburgh with main line aspect signalling in place.

Also if a mere extension of the Edinburgh to Dunbar service is warranted then surely a single platform serving the Up Loop at Grantshouse would be more beneficial as it would mean the Scotrail Edinburgh to Dunbar turning back at Grantshouse which means either more long distance services able to call at Dunbar or a increase of North Berwick services.

At Grantshouse, you only require a single platform which would be sited on the Up as it would be primarily serving the Edinburgh to Dunbar market as cross border services would not be timetabled to call as Dunbar would remain the interchange station between long distance services operated by LNER and Cross Country, Regional services operated by TPE and Local services operated by Scotrail.

The only infrastructure that would be needed would be upgrading of the OHL power supply, potentially upgrading the Up Loop to passenger standard and building a new single platform station serving the Up Loop which would be renamed the Up Platform Loop, the station works alone would be a lot cheaper then the works at Reston and makes more sense as it would be primarily the local stoppers using it not cross border services.

Reston not being served by local stopping services and only by cross border services means that Reston is a white elephant and a waste of the taxpayers money when a more simpier design is available at Grantshouse for a fraction of the cost.

 

[30907]

Reston is hardly a shining example of planning, but at least it has a catchment population of 4k+ (Eyemouth plus a few villages). Grantshouse has a population of 100, and Duns - 9m away - is significantly smaller than Eyemouth, so where are the passengers going to come from?
And when they arrive, how will they access this platform - as far as I can work out, you are proposing to build it next to the A1 in open country, a good way from the old station site and (presumably) the potential car park.
Cheaper, yes, but that's all.

 

[mcmad]

Grantshouse adjacent to the railway is basically a bog so not ideal for building on. Reston isn't a great idea but politically driven.

 

[och aye]

Are there any housebuilders/developers planning on building a lot of new housing in the area?

 

[option]

There's 2 bus routes through Reston

 

[AC47461]

I would have thought a station at Burnmouth was far better for serving Eyemouth, much nearer by road at only 2.5-3miles as opposed to Reston which is 6 miles, although both are fairly straightforward routes. Or even Ayton nearby which is a little bigger than Burnmouth too. I guess, other than all the political reasons in various threads, siting might be an issue at Burnmouth as the old station is on a curve, and Ayton is down a small lane, but somewhere in between, say next to where the A1 crosses the line between Ayton and Burnmouth might have worked. The only good thing I can see with Reston is it is on a long section of fairly straight track. These are only observations and I'm sure others can give more informed comment.

 

[zwk500]

I would have thought a station at Burnmouth was far better for serving Eyemouth, much nearer by road at only 2.5-3miles as opposed to Reston which is 6 miles, although both are fairly straightforward routes. Or even Ayton nearby which is a little bigger than Burnmouth too. I guess, other than all the political reasons in various threads, siting might be an issue at Burnmouth as the old station is on a curve, and Ayton is down a small lane, but somewhere in between, say next to where the A1 crosses the line between Ayton and Burnmouth might have worked. The only good thing I can see with Reston is it is on a long section of fairly straight track. These are only observations and I'm sure others can give more informed comment.

The line at Ayton is a fair way further out of the settlement than Reston or Burnmouth, and the houses at Burnmouth are tight up against the line. Dead straight track is a massive plus point, as it means there's much smaller gaps between train and platform. Building a station between all of them would have been the worst of all worlds.

 

[AC47461]

The line at Ayton is a fair way further out of the settlement than Reston or Burnmouth, and the houses at Burnmouth are tight up against the line. Dead straight track is a massive plus point, as it means there's much smaller gaps between train and platform. Building a station between all of them would have been the worst of all worlds.

Yes, Ayton isn't greatly sited, and curves both there and at Burnmouth don't help, which makes me think Reston was better because of the available space and straightness of the line there.

My point for suggesting where the line crosses the A1 between Ayton and Burnmouth was two fold, namely it's straight (although with a bend immediately to the NE), and if the principal reasoning behind a re-opening was to try and serve Eyemouth then it's a better site, being less than half a mile from the end of the main road from Eyemouth itself. But I do agree, the issue is that in essence it serves no one.

I suppose Reston is the best place to try and serve both Eyemouth and Coldingham, whilst also being a settlement itself (albeit a small one).

I wonder if all the land at Reston bordered by the Main St, the Railway and the two minor roads that cross the railway might be earmarked for housing.

 

[zwk500]

Yes, Ayton isn't greatly sited, and curves both there and at Burnmouth don't help, which makes me think Reston was better because of the available space and straightness of the line there.

My point for suggesting where the line crosses the A1 between Ayton and Burnmouth was two fold, namely it's straight (although with a bend immediately to the NE), and if the principal reasoning behind a re-opening was to try and serve Eyemouth then it's a better site, being less than half a mile from the end of the main road from Eyemouth itself. But I do agree, the issue is that in essence it serves no one.

There may well have been concerns about the impact on the A1 (or need to build additional local roads) if you increased the traffic doing short hops from Eyemouth to the station. Mad as it sounds, having the longer distance between turning on and turning off the A1 could be better for traffic flow and safety. However I'm not a traffic engineer so can't say for sure why they did what the did.

I suppose Reston is the best place to try and serve both Eyemouth and Coldingham, whilst also being a settlement itself (albeit a small one).

I wonder if all the land at Reston bordered by the Main St, the Railway and the two minor roads that cross the railway might be earmarked for housing.

I doubt Coldingham was a major concern. Reston was most likely chosen because it had previously been a station, already had a vehicle access point, was dead straight and on an easy gradient. I would imagine the land has been earmarked, although unless they can sort out how to serve the station I doubt many developers will be jumping at the chance.