Borders Rail Completion
The SSDA is partnered with the Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR) in lobbying for the completion of Borders Railway.
In July 2025 the SSDA and the CBR together wrote to the five Holyrood Party Leaders, asking each of the parties to join an all-party agreement in support of a major extension of the Borders Railway, at least to Hawick and ultimately to Carlisle.
This September marks the 10th anniversary of the Borders Railway’s phase one reopening between Edinburgh and Tweedbank — a landmark national achievement. Few infrastructure projects in recent decades have delivered such clear and lasting benefits: economic growth, community regeneration, and a shift to sustainable travel.
The line has done more than reconnect communities: it has symbolised a more ambitious, inclusive and forward-looking Scotland. Now, we believe it’s time to finish what we started.
This anniversary should not just be a celebration of the past — it must also be a catalyst for the future. We are therefore calling on all five Holyrood parties to show bold, cross-party leadership by committing in their May 2026 election manifestos to extending the Borders Railway at least to Hawick and, ultimately, for the completion of the full cross-border rail route to Carlisle.
Just as the first phase of the line happened because of elected representatives choosing to make difficult decisions and bold political choices, completing the line now requires similar courage and far-sighted leadership.
The case for completion has never been stronger:
- The proposed £400 million Center Parcs development near Hawick would create 1,200 permanent jobs and attract over 350,000 visitors annually — doubling the number of overnight visitors to the Borders. We need sustainable infrastructure to support this growth in our visitor economy. Center Parcs is aiming for a “next-generation resort”, with a strong commitment to net-zero: having the rail line underway by the time they hope to open (spring 2029) would help us achieve this
- The South of Scotland’s new Responsible Tourism Strategy, which unites all public agencies as well as hundreds of businesses, has unprecedented ambition: it will increase the annual visitor economy by £1bn and support 20,000 jobs.
- The most recent annual STEAM shows the South of Scotland visitor economy grew by 20% in a single year, an increase of £149 million, with a 14% increase in jobs.
For this positive economic growth to be sustained, it is crucial we invest in our sustainable transport infrastructure now.
We therefore strongly welcome the joint Scottish and UK Government investment in the £10 million Feasibility Study — but we must not treat this as a reason to delay. The study will tell us how to complete the railway; what we need in the meantime is real political leadership committing to why we must do this.
Between now and September, we will be publicly recognising those parties and leaders who step forward in support of this vision.
We will also compile and share details of key organisations which join us in this ask of the five Party Leaders. If you would like to formally add your organisation's support here, please contact davidhj@ssdalliance.com.
Let’s complete the line. Let’s finish what we started.
