The Anonymous Widower

Thoughts On The Borders Railway

I’ve been looking at a page, which describes progress on the Borders Railway.

To my untrained eye, progress appears slow, but as I can’t find anybody saying it is on the Internet, I suspect I’m wide of the mark.

I did find some commentators sceptical about the railway, but unless someone drops a complete haggis, I suspect that the railway will be a success.

Just look what happened with the London Overground, which wasn’t a new railway, but the rebuilding of a zombie line, where the trains smelt like travelling urinals.

Near me, Transport for London took the old East London Railway, which had been part of the old Metropolitan Line and extended it with some new infrastructure to create the East London Line we have today.

They made two miscalculations with the East London Line and its cousin; the North London Line.

In the first place, they underestimated the passenger demand and they have been playing catch-up ever since, my lengthening trains and platforms.

And then, I don’t think they realised how much property prices would rise along the updated lines.

I also think that no-one has found a way to properly model, the novelty factor, which often gets someone to use a new railway or road in the first place.

I know the Scots are canny people and don’t exaggerate, but I would be very surprised if the costs and predictions for the Borders Railway weren’t very conservative, as they had to satisfy so many different politicians, companies and agencies.

East Londoners immediately liked the London Overground and used it, as they’d never seen anything like it. Clean smart trains running to time, even if some of  the stations weren’t up to the standard of the trains, got them excited and they recommended it to their friends. Young people got a new way to get to that decent job a couple of boroughs away. New trains were so much more cool than red buses.

I have a feeling that the people of the Borders will embrace their new railway in the same way and in a year or two’s time, they will be clamouring for more trains and extension of the railway all the way to Carlisle.

So at a time when Scotland is probably getting more independence, the railways seem to be getting joined up again!

One final thought concerns the affect a successful Borders Railway may have on England. Will it give further impetus to the reopening of long-closed rail lines?

October 4, 2014 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Borders Railway, Scotland, Trains