CELEBRATIONS to mark the Borders Railway were used by Transport Minister Humza Yousaf to announce a package of measures to improve the service.

Despite the line being hailed a huge success regarding passenger numbers, it has been fraught with failures, cancellations, delays and overcrowding.

As the Transport Minister blew out the first candle at Waverley Station on Friday he unveiled a ScotRal Alliance £14 million improvement plan, which will include the replacement of the unreliable Class 158 diesel trains and work on the unreliable signalling system.

Mr Yousaf said: "Not only has the railway linked communities in the Borders and Midlothian with the wider Scottish rail network for the first time in 46 years, but the increased accessibility has breathed new life into the region, boosting tourism and employment opportunities.

"Performance on this line in my view has not been acceptable.

"I am pleased the ScotRail Alliance has put together an improvement plan.

"I will push them to do that as quickly as possible, and expect reliability to be significantly improved.

Last week on the Borders Railway, of the 132 scheduled trains, six were cancelled and 90 were late - only 36 arrived at Tweedbank on time.

The line has never provided right-time arrivals higher than 70 per cent across any one week since last October.

And has recently dipped below 30 per cent.

Railway campaigner and author David Spaven is pleased with the announcement.

But he also warned not to expect a quick fix. He told us: "It is encouraging that the Transport Minister has now acknowledged the scale of the reliability problem on the Borders Railway, and hopefully the ScotRail Alliance improvement plan will be able to deliver some worthwhile enhancement of performance.

"But sadly, due to Transport Scotland’s lack of strategic vision over the last five years, there are underlying problems with the line’s largely single-track infrastructure and its Class 158 trains that cannot be fully resolved by any quick fix."

Despite the problems over the past 12 months there was still a mood of celebration at Waverley on Friday.

And ScotRail Alliance managing director Phil Verster was delighted that well over one million passenger journeys had been made since the opening last year.

He said: "We are very proud of the popularity of the new line, are striving to continually improve the service we offer on in it, and look forward to welcoming even more passengers aboard Borders services in the years ahead.”

More seats will be introduced on peak services next year along with plans to introduce longer trains on more services from 2018 – providing longer term increases in capacity.

Significant investment in the rolling stock will also deliver enhancements worth over £14 million to the trains over the next two years.

These improvements include fitting power sockets, flooring, lighting, painting, re-livery and creating spaces for wheelchairs.

Managing Director of operators Abellio UK, Dominic Booth, added: “As with anything new of this scale, we know there is room to strengthen and grow.

"We are excited about what lies ahead for the Borders line and are proud to be celebrating the first year, with a positive outlook of improvements and developments to come."