THE bill for the Borders Railway is, according to last year’s estimate from Transport Scotland, due to top £353million when trains finally start running next September.

And although construction work is half completed, Scottish Borders Council has so far not paid a penny towards the cost of the project.

That surprising revelation has come in a response to a Freedom of Information enquiry which asks simply: “How much has the council spent on the Borders Railway project to date?” The terse reply states: “SBC has not spent any money on the railway; the project to date has been grant funded by Transport Scotland.” Back in 2004, the council agreed to commit £7.4million over the first 30 years of the project, the cash to be raised from “developer contributions” levied against successful planning applications for new houses which would benefit from the railway.

Last December, the council sanctioned the use of £250,000 towards the design of new stations.

And as recently as last month, the council agreed to spend £190,000 over two years on the appointment of two new officials to manage “benefits realisation work” linked to the railway’s delivery.

Seeking clarification of when these moneys will be spent, the Border Telegraph has discovered that, so far, just £810,000 has been raised in railway-related developer contributions.

And the council’s phased funding commitment to the project’s construction has risen to £8.7million.

Levied originally in the Central Borders Housing Market Area (HMA), developer contributions were extended to the North Ettrick and Lauderdale HMA in 2006 when the railway legislation confirmed the inclusion of a station at Stow.

The current contribution per new residential property in these areas has been set at £1,734 per unit.

A council spokesperson told us: “The costs of the initial enabling works and project development costs have been funded in full by Transport Scotland.

“As part of the future funding package, SBC, along with Midlothian and the City of Edinburgh councils, is due to pass developer contributions to Network Rail to part-fund the costs of the railway.

“SBC contributions total £8.7million over the next 30 years. The first payment of contributions totalling £1million is due one year after the first train runs and the council has already collected the majority [81 per cent] of the sum due.

“The remaining contributions will be collected and passed to Network Rail based on an annual payment schedule which can be flexed if there are any delays or accelerations in the collection of developer contributions.

“Last year elected members approved a range of projects including expenditure of up to £250,000 - funded by the return of surplus police and fire reserves from the former Lothian and Borders joint boards - to deliver a range of enhancements to the fabric of new stations in the Borders.

“So far it has been possible to negotiate these enhancements with Network Rail without drawing on this funding.  In the event that the money is not required to enhance stations, a further report will be submitted to council seeking members’ views on the deployment of these monies to meet priorities.

“A total of £95,000 per annum has been identified by the council for two years to help co-ordinate delivery of the benefits of the Borders Railway.

“The funding will be used to pay for staff time to co-ordinate a range of economic development projects, including railway linked inward investment and the promotion of the region as a place to do business.

“Other activities include visitor marketing, transport linkages and the development of strategic business sites. The funding will ensure over the next two years that the economic benefits of the railway investment are maximised. The additional staff resource will be put in place as soon as possible.” Finally, the Border Telegraph wanted to know who will pay for road, bridge and other infrastructure repairs resulting from the railway’s construction.

The spokesperson told us: “SBC wrote on Jun 17 to [main contractors] BAM Nuttall expressing its concerns over the state of some roads affected by the Borders Railway project and have sought a response from BAM on a joint agreement to remedy this situation as a matter of urgency.

“Both parties will continue to work together constructively to ensure the best possible outcomes.”