Borders Railway Towns to Get Cash Boost

28/09/2016 (Edinburgh Evening News) – Towns and villages along the Borders Railway are set to benefit after council chiefs agreed to pump an extra £450,000 into a string of developments.

Gorebridge town centre improvements are among a dozen projects being considered for investment by Midlothian Council. The new cash comes on top of £300,000 already committed by the council towards Borders Railway promotional activities. Council leader Councillor Catherine Johnstone said:

“More than a million passenger journeys have been made on the line since it opened in September 2015. “That’s a fantastic achievement and we need to make sure we are in as strong a position as possible to make sure Midlothian and the railway corridor are great places in which to live and learn, visit and work. “

A £10 million Scottish Government fund has been set up, managed by our blueprint partners comprising the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, VisitScotland, Abellio ScotRail and the three local authorities, including ourselves. However, to access pockets of that money, we need to match funds.”

Earlier this month, Scottish Government ministers ordered improvements to address the Borders Railway’s “unacceptable” performance. The move came as the first-year passenger journey total for the Edinburgh-Tweedbank route topped 1.4 million – around 20 per cent above target.

Read more at: http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/our-region/railway-towns-to-get-450k-cash-boost-1-4242533