Published: Wednesday, 14th October, 2009 10:58am
Postal plot campaign to drop the railway
by David Knox
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ANTI-RAIL campaigner Nicholas Watson has written to all of Scotland's 129 MSPs.
The Borders Party councillor hopes his letter of opposition to the planned Waverley Line - entitled Borders Railway: How to win votes and save £300 - will convince the country's politicians to back his buffer bid.
And he believes enough money could be saved by dropping the Tweedbank tracks to reinstate the recently scrapped Glasgow Airport Rail Link.
Mr Watson claims that if the Waverley route had been included in the Strategic Transport Project Review last year it would have been for the chop before the line to Glasgow Airport in the recent belt-tightening government budget announcement.
He wrote: "Taxpayers and transport buffs alike were reassured by Scotland's first Strategic Transport Projects Review last year. But despite the importance of objectively rating major projects against each other the Borders Railway was not part of that review.
"And although there are glaring differences between the two distinct parts of the project, they have never been separately considered. A line as far as Midlothian, with a good park and ride service, would be far better for the Borders than a line all the way to Galashiels.
"MSPs should understand that most Borderers know a line to Galashiels would be a colossal waste of money and couldn't possibly deliver the sweeping benefits claimed by its backers.
"The Borders Railway should have been dropped long before the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, which has a real business case.
"Please make sure the Borders Railway is properly scrutinised: get Transport Scotland to rate its usefulness against other projects - before yet more public money is thrown at it."
Mr Watson's Borders Party organised a public debate last year in St Boswells - where a vote found 206 against to only 67 for. And he is convinced he is acting on behalf of the majority of Borderers with his campaign of opposition.
The councillor for Leaderdale and Melrose told the Border Telegraph: "I think the vast majority of people want the railway plans to be properly assessed.
"I expect the MSPs will be guarded in their response to my letter but I hope they will understand there is a strong opposition to the plans here in the Borders."
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Email your stories to editorial@bordertelegraph.com
Have your say. .
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Hazelkaye
Unregistered User
Oct 14 09 13:53
Comment: 5729
I don't think Mr Watson is a anti-rail campaigner per se, as he is MOST supportive of the GARL project. His 'anti-rail' stance seems to be in opposing the Borders rail line reinstatement, the dubious closure of which should NEVER have been allowed to occur in 1969!
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danh
Unregistered User
Oct 14 09 14:21
Comment: 5732
"How to win votes and save £300"
If you can build a railway for under a grand I say do it
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David
Unregistered User
Oct 14 09 17:31
Comment: 5739
Nicolas Watson, wants to scrap the Borders Railway and use the money to reinstate the link to Glasgow Airport - is he a Scottish Borders Councillor (allegedly working for the people of the Borders) or is he working for Glasgow Council - I hope the voters in the next election pay heed !
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Jonathan
Unregistered User
Oct 18 09 20:04
Comment: 5815
Having grown up in the Borders and still having family and friends there, I was thrilled with the idea 10 years ago that I could get from London to the Borders by train. I've now realised that I'd probably never us it as I could drive the journey quicker and need a car when I get there.
As time has passed, I've realised how expensive it would be to construct this rail line and have come to the conclusion that the money would be better spent improving the road infrastucture.
As an outsider travelling to Glasgow by air for work on occasion and also travelling to Melrose, I think the rail link is the better investment.
Nice to see a polician taking the bigger view and not just protecting his own back by just trying to please his own constituents.
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Hazelkaye
Unregistered User
Oct 19 09 16:37
Comment: 5824
Are any of the (as yet unnamed and still-to-be- counted) 'decenting' borderers 'railing against' the line's reopening, related to those borerders who, over 40 years ago in January 1969, reeled in shock, horror and dismay when their rail line was ruthlessly, needlessly and 'politically' closed in order to 'permit' the elctrification of the WCML from Carlisle to Glasgow by 1974?
The double pun on the word 'descenting' is totally intended!
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p fox
Unregistered User
Oct 21 09 18:17
Comment: 5857
Mr Watson wants to crawl back under the stone from whcih he came, he isnt even born and bred here, The line is vital to the areas future and growth, if the line was dropped then i fear our area would die. There has been many times when i have thought wouldnt it be great to park the car up and just jump on a train to edinburgh instead of getting stuck in traffic, find parking spaces in edinburgh, roadworks etc.
Borderers please dont take heed of his £300 scam. And what the heck has Glasgow airport got to do with the borders. what planet is he on. Go Away Nicholas Watson and resign!! Fed up of hearing your ridiculous claims and items you are trying to inflict on Borderers!! Your party sucks, what the heck have you doen for us. I may be young but i know you shouldnt be in politics
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p fox
Unregistered User
Oct 21 09 18:32
Comment: 5858
Mr Watson wants to crawl back under the stone from whcih he came, he isnt even born and bred here, The line is vital to the areas future and growth, if the line was dropped then i fear our area would die. There has been many times when i have thought wouldnt it be great to park the car up and just jump on a train to edinburgh instead of getting stuck in traffic, find parking spaces in edinburgh, roadworks etc.
Borderers please dont take heed of his £300 scam. And what the heck has Glasgow airport got to do with the borders. what planet is he on. Go Away Nicholas Watson and resign!! Fed up of hearing your ridiculous claims and items you are trying to inflict on Borderers!! Your party sucks, what the heck have you doen for us. I may be young but i know you shouldnt be in politics
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Rod in Canada
Unregistered User
Oct 22 09 00:03
Comment: 5863
Tough call here, I think. We used to live in Eskbank for a few years around 1960, so I remember (albeit as a child at the time) the Waverley Route, steam trains and all. It would be nice to see it come back. But I wonder if it wouldn't be better to extend it to Gorebridge only, at least to start? That would test the waters for a Midlothian commuter service.
Maybe a further extension south to Galashiels, St. B., etc., via Peebles might be better, I wonder? On the other hand, while there may be doubts about the economic viability of a Tweedbank via Stow route, surely the possibility of eventual extension to Hawick or even Carlisle must be borne in mind. Then the Waverley Route as a whole would likely be viable.
Of course, if Beeching and company hadn't done what they did in the first place, these debates wouldn't even be happening! But that argument has been gone over countless times, of course.
I wonder what has become of the proposals to ship timber by Waverley Route trains south of Hawick? I read of those proposals back in the 90s.
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geoff ruderham
Unregistered User
Oct 22 09 16:22
Comment: 5878
Oh Saint Nick riding to the rescue of G.A.R.L. (Glasgow Arport Rail Link) Well done sir! But your living in the wrong place.
YOU might not want the railway YOUR pals might not want the railway, the rest of the Borders Party might not want the railway, but a railway there will be so there. Now what for the Borders party? Cutting phone links to the outside world , start throwing big rocks at the big silver birds over head?
The borders party, the ONLY party that doesn't want inward investment into a socially deprived area.
Well done son, Un grand fuax pas if ever I saw one.
Come election take up farming or something useful instead of drawing monbey council money under false pretences, Glasgow indeed!!!
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Stephanie
Unregistered User
Nov 25 09 15:32
Comment: 6491
For a government endlessly preaching the end of the world is nigh due to global warming, preferring to spend money on the roads for cars, as opposed to rail lines, smacks of double standards.
I am not allowed to drive (and therefore don't have a choice) and when I want to visit my family in Melrose I HAVE to use the coach, and that is certainly not convenient.
Nicholas Watson SHOULD take into account his constituents and not the Glasgow Council.
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