Campaigners from Scotland, Cumbria and further afield gathered in Carlisle for the annual campaign for Borders Rail conference.

The group, which was set up 25 years ago, campaigns for the full reopening of the Waverley line from Carlisle to Edinburgh which closed during the infamous Beeching cuts in 1969.

The line has partially reopened with a terminus at Tweedbank and the campaign wants to see the line extended down to Carlisle, via stations such as Longtown, Hawick and St Boswells.

A recent report from the Borderlands Partnership, which is made up of the local authorities from across the region, said that extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle would be the ‘best solution’ to help solve the area’s notorious transport connection difficulties.

The next step in extended the line is a feasibility study to determine the best route for the line to take.

A total of £10million was allocated in April 2023 for a feasibility study into extending the Borders Railway - half pledged by the then-Conservative UK government, half by the Scottish government - but Labour has since put the study on hold whilst they undertake their ‘capital investment review’.

Labour have put the brakes on a number of large-scale transport infrastructure projects since winning the election in July which the party says will help fix the ‘dire’ state of the public finances left by the Conservatives.

The chair of the Campaign for Border Rail said that the line would provide a ‘better quality of life’ for people living in North Cumbria and the Scottish Borders.

“We are frustrated,” said Marion Short.

“The reliance on personal car transport is very heavy in the region. I came down to Carlisle myself on the X95 bus.

“It's a three hourly bus service so, again I either have to bring the car or I have to sit around for three hours and wait on another bus.

“It's the connectivity between communities that is so important and vital for economic growth in the area.

“One argument people say is that we don’t need the railway because there's not a population demand but yes, there is a demand.

“We need to provide a better quality of life for these people so that they can travel to Carlisle, change train and access the national network – the line will open up the whole area.

“The line is not for people particularly of my age, this is for future generations, to allow people access to further education and well-paid jobs.

“We want to retain young people in the area for employment, because at the moment everybody is deserting us. 

“When I first moved to Hawick in the 1970s, there was a population of around 18, 000 – that has now dropped to 14,000.

“People are moving out because there's no employment, so, I see housing, employment and tourism being the biggest benefits of the line.”

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The government’s capital investment review will continue until 2025.

Transport secretary Louise Haigh MP said: “Communities up and down the country have been given hope for new transport infrastructure, with no plans or funds to deliver them.

“This government will not make that mistake.

“This government will rebuild our economic foundations while restoring transparency and public trust.”