The final five-mile stretch of tracklaying has begun on the Borders Railway project following the Christmas break.
The 30-mile railway will call at seven new stations – Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank – reopening part of the Waverley route, which closed in 1969.
Tracklaying is expected to finish at Tweedbank in early February. BAM has completed 34 miles of the track infrastructure so far, including three double-track sections.
Hugh Wark, project director, Network Rail, said: “This final phase of the rail installation works will see the final five miles of the route completed between Ferniehurst and Tweedbank.
“Once the rail is fully installed much of the construction support deliveries will be able to be taken off the roads and delivered directly down the route by rail. This means that residents and road users should see the number of Heavy Goods Vehicles and plant machinery on the roads reduced in the coming months.”
He added: “We still have a lot of work to carry out ahead of the project’s summer completion date but we are at a very exciting point in the project, with only eight months to go until the line is fully operational.”
