THE wait goes on for the UK Government to fully commit to its share of £10 million in funding towards a feasibility study over the extension of a Scottish railway.
The study is needed to put on track the proposed extension of the Borders Railway to Hawick, Newcastleton and on to Carlisle.
The Scottish Borders Council recently agreed the three-year appointment, at the cost of £220,000, of a project manager to push ahead with the proposed railway line extension from Tweedbank to Carlisle.
The project manager will lead the delivery of the business case and feasibility work associated with the extension.
At a meeting of Scottish Border Council’s executive committee on Tuesday, it was confirmed that the Scottish Government has committed to its £5m towards the feasibility study.
But, as of yet, the other £5m from the UK Government has not been definitively allocated, although finance chiefs are “optimistic” that will happen soon.
Sam Smith, chief officer for economic development at Scottish Borders Council, said: “We have been reassured through the Budget announcement that the UK Government has reconfirmed its commitment to all growth deals in the UK.
“The £10m is split 50/50 between a £5m commitment from Scottish Government and £5m from the UK, direct from the Treasury.
“That has been confirmed at the high level, in terms of the Borderlands Growth Deal and that deal was a legal agreement, and on the face of it that included the £10m commitment.
“What we are working on, and it is being escalated continuously, is that we still need the Department of Transport [DoT] to confirm the draw-down and the process for that.
“We need the DoT to confirm to us they have that budget in their department, so it’s slightly complex.
“We’re very pleased though that the position with Scottish Government is very clear. They have confirmed their £5m and the draw-down process.
“We’re still optimistic that will be resolved relatively quickly.”
The original 98-mile (158km) Waverley Route between Edinburgh and Carlisle closed in 1969 as part of the Beeching cuts to the UK rail network.
A 30-mile (48km) section, between Edinburgh Waverley and Tweedbank, reopened in September 2015, at a cost of £294m.
