THE lack of loos at the new rail terminus in the Borders is causing a local council chief some consternation.

Scottish Borders Council leader David Parker revealed he has been inundated with complaints about the lack of facilities at the station in Tweedbank.

However, he explained a meeting is now planned with ScotRail early in the new year to discuss how they can be improved.

Councillor Parker, who represents the village on the council, said: “I have received a lot of comments about toilets, or the lack of them; coffee provision; ticket machines; car parking, and; various other matters.

“On all of these issues, it has been agreed that SBC will sit down with ScotRail early in the new year to look at these matters and to determine how best to resolve them.

"It is important to allow a period of time for the railway to settle down, but don’t think that the facilities available available at Tweedbank station at the moment are not capable of improvement."

"Already a number of issues have been flagged up with ScotRail that will be addressed.”

The Melrose and Leaderdale councillor revealed he has also been involved in “grumpy exchanges” with rail contractors BAM over their failure to address problems of flooding on the new footpath, which runs alongside the new line, on the Red Bridge, linking Tweedbank and Langlee.

However, he pointed out that the company which constructed the line between Edinburgh and the Borders have promised a solution by the end of the year.

Work is continuing on a new railway path, along the route of the former Black Path, and is due to be completed in the new year. Meanwhile, new lighting has also been installed between Tweedbank and Lowood to improve safety in the area.

And, as previously reported, an electronic tourist information point is to be installed at the station and will provide information about the Borders and other parts of Scotland.

Councillor Parker added: “The line has been an enormous success and passenger numbers have set a new bench mark for railway patronage.

“Even when the novelty factor wears off, the regular fare paying daily passengers will well exceed the original projections. The railway’s success has not been without its own problems, but these are nice problems to have.”