IT is the longest new domestic railway to be built in Britain in over a century. And it is costing the public upwards of £300 million.

The new Borders Railway will connect communities from Tweedbank to Edinburgh with the rail network for the first time in almost 50 years when it opens in September.

But, despite years of planning, design flaws have been exposed in its construction.

Galashiels Community Council this week heard many of the bridges over the line are now hazardous to cross after their parapets were raised by more than a metre to allow for future electrification of the line - even though a senior councillor has admitted that may never happen.

Councillor Sandy Aitchison, who represents the area on Scottish Borders Council, revealed rail contractors BAM were forced to install a grit bin on the bridge at Cowbraehill, near Heriot, after a car skidded while trying to get to grips with the steepness of the road, which he claims has been made more “dangerous”, in icy conditions.

And, with limited land to extend the structures, members heard a bridle path at nearby Shoestanes Road is now so high new steps have to be built to allow users to cross safely.

The revelation, which it was noted had caused “disquiet” in the local community, was made after concerns were raised over the new footbridge at Plumtree Brae in Galashiels, which links the A7 with the A72 and has now opened.

Councillor Aitchison, who has raised the concerns with officials from Transport Scotland, the authority with overall responsibility for the project, said: “This is a problem all the way up the line.

“The bridge parapets were raised by a metre-and-a-half in view of future electrification which means gradients are now steeper than planned.

“The road at Cowbraehill is now more dangerous that the track that was there before because the road is too smooth and steep. There has already been an accident on it because of the ice slippage to the extent that BAM have had to put a grit bin on it.” And he added: “The visual aspect of it, the concrete slab structures are objectionable in the landscape.” A footbridge which crosses the line, where the railway crosses the road just south of Newtongrange, was cited as a worse example of poor planning by Councillor Bill White, which he claimed was “unbelievably high”.

Scottish Borders Council’s deputy leader John Mitchell said: “All railways are built now to allow for electrification, although I don’t think we’ll ever see it.” Community councillor Graham Hanson said it was “not acceptable” to create a “new hazard”.

Responding to the claims, Craig Bowman, Senior Communications Manager at Network Rail Scotland, said: "Perhaps Councillor Aitchison would have preferred us to ignore the safety standards set by Office of Rail Regulation, however, that is not an option for Network Rail.

"Further, the Borders Railway Project construction team would face understandable criticism if it were to run over budget. If the project was to have used more expensive materials and non-standard designs for all bridges along the route, that’s exactly what would have happened.

"To date, the Borders Railway Project has delivered 30 miles of new railway and over 100 bridges within budget. Some of the more prominent structures have been built with aesthetics in mind, others have been built to be safe, practical and cost effective.

"It’s easy to criticise from the sidelines but the project team is tasked with managing the budget efficiently and getting the best value for money - I’m sure we could all think of large infrastructure projects where costs have been less rigorously managed and the resultant impact on the reputation of those projects.

"With regards to the comments about Cowbraehill, we have had no reports of an accident at this location. Contrary to your report, BAM were not forced to place a grit bin at the bridge but did so after a request from a local resident. The bridge is located on a gravel track serving a small rural settlement and is not a public road. The bridge was constructed within the land constraints available to us - our design team does not consider the structure to be unsafe."