THE 2013 Annual General Meeting of the Campaign for Borders Rail on 27 November will hear renewed calls for the Borders Railway to be extended 17 miles from its planned terminus at Tweedbank through Melrose and St Boswells to Hawick.
A year after Transport Minister gave the green light for 30½ miles of new railway from Newcraighall in South-east Edinburgh through Midlothian and Galashiels to Tweedbank, campaigners will argue that Hawick suffered more than any other town in the Borders from the loss of its railway in 1969 and needs a return of trains to reverse decades of economic difficulties and population decline.
Speaking ahead of the AGM and public meeting in Hawick, CBR chair, Simon Walton, said: “The Borders Railway project will give the region a tremendous boost, but for the Borders’ economy to realise its full potential the line needs to extend to Hawick, and then on to Carlisle.
“We want the Scottish Government, together with Scottish Borders Council and local authorities from Carlisle and Cumbria to commission a new and broad-based feasibility study, properly taking account of both the strategic and local benefits that reinstatement would bring.”
Starting at 18.30, official business at the AGM – entitled ‘Onwards to Hawick’ – will be followed at 19.00 by a series of short presentations from speakers representing business, tourism, political and campaigning interests, with a particular focus on bringing the railway back to Hawick.
A Question & Answer session will follow before the meeting votes on a closing resolution at 20.00. Both the AGM and following public meeting are open to CBR members and the general public.
Further information: Simon Walton, CBR chair on 01578 760686 / 07540 313018 or chairman.bordersrail@uwclub.net
Notes for editors:
AGM location:
Tower Mill at Heart of Hawick
Kirkstile, Hawick TD9 0AE
http://www.heartofhawick.co.uk/towermill/
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=td9+0ae&ie=UTF-8&ei=ZuRNUvafLeGT0AWhwYCQCw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg
Campaign for Borders Rail
The Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR), launched in 1999, is one of Britain’s most successful grassroots rail campaigns. CBR’s key aim was realised on 6 November 2012 when the Scottish Government’s Transport Minister Keith Brown announced that Transport Scotland and Network Rail had concluded a deal to construct the new Borders Railway – bringing trains back in 2015 after an absence of more than 45 years.
CBR lobbying was also crucial to securing key enhancements to the original official railway specification – (i) inclusion of a station at Stow, and (ii) redesign of Tweedbank station to accommodate long tourist charter trains, bringing in visitors from across Britain.
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Contact: Simon Walton
Phone: 01578760686
Email: waltonsg@uwclub.net
Website: http://www.campaignforbordersrail.org
