12.02.15
Borders Railway track laying complete
Scottish infrastructure secretary Keith Brown is to clip the final section of track into place on the £294m Borders Railway project.
The ceremony at the end of the 30-mile route at Tweedbank station, south of Galashiels, follows the completion of track laying last Friday.
As well as clipping the final section of track into place, Brown also became the first passenger to travel the length of the route by train for the occasion.
He said: “It is a huge honour to put the final piece of track in place and travel on the first train to run into the Borders in almost half a century.”
On 6 October, BAM Nuttall started laying track on the Borders Railway project – the longest new domestic railway to be constructed in Britain for over 100 years.
The project, which has largely gone to plan since it started in 2013, has, however, been criticised for delays and cost increases.
It was also revealed that part of the track laying work, which involved laying 1,300 linear metres of rail every day, was halted for the best part of a week after a worker suffered a serious injury.
Hugh Wark, Network Rail programme director, said: “While we still have a significant amount of infrastructure to complete along the route – from installing signalling to completing the stations – we’re confident that this much-anticipated addition to Scotland’s railway will be delivered on schedule.”
The Borders Railway line is due to open to passenger trains on 6 September, with remaining work including spreading ballast under the track and track welding.
RTM’s recent interview with the engineers and project leaders on Borders Railway is here.
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