New report details benefits of Borders Railway extension

A new report detailing the advantages of extending the Borders Railway route has been published by a group of campaigners.

Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR) say suggestions in the report, called the Summary Case for a New Cross-Border Rail Link, could improve the service, operating in Galashiels and Tweedbank.

They say a route extension to Carlisle, through Hawick, would provide a strategic new link to the national network.

The report will be made available to parliamentary candidates ahead of the snap general election on the 8th of June.

The original Borders Railway route ran from Carlisle to Edinburgh, connecting a number of places on the Waverley Route in 1969.

The existing line covers the northern end of the Waverley Route from Edinburgh, through Midlothian and into the central area of the Scottish Borders.

The railway was reopened on 9 September 2015.

Campaigners say an extension of the railway would address economic and social problems widely face in the Scottish Borders.

The 20-page report lists benefits to passengers and potential stakeholders of the railway.

The Campaign for Borders Rail chairman, Allan McLean, presented the first copy of the report to Scotland's Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf MSP at a meeting at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.