Changes to Borders Railway timetable welcomed

Monday February 7th 2022

Newtongrange Railway Station


Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Luke Jackson

Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale MSP Christine Grahame has welcomed news that ScotRail will be making timetable changes to the Borders Railway from May, which will see two trains per hour during the day operating, rather than just in peak periods.

The change follows a ScotRail public consultation on its services, “Fit for the Future”, which saw 434 responses from customers who travel on services between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. In the consultation ScotRail initially proposed providing two trains per hour between Edinburgh and Tweedbank during peak hours only, with one train per hour for the rest of the day, but has made the change to two per hour throughout the day following public response to this.

The changes will be on a trial basis only to test how quickly off-peak demand recovers and grows beyond pre-pandemic levels.

Ms Grahame, a long time campaigner for re-opening of the Borders Railway, said:

“I know the proposal to only have a train once an hour during the day was concerning too many people and I’m glad ScotRail has listened and agreed to up this to twice hourly to see how demand develops.

“The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way much of society lives and works, with a permanent move to hybrid home/office working for many of us and meetings moving online. This shift means it’s unlikely things will ever simply go back to how they were before the pandemic, but to what extent these changes remain and how passenger journeys change in the long term remains to be seen.

“There is a balance to be struck between ensuring services are fit for purpose for those who still do need or want to travel and not having empty trains running regularly, which is not sustainable from a financial or environmental standpoint.

“We’re in uncharted territory, but I remain a firm believer in the benefits of the Borders Railway and look forward to seeing how it evolves in future.”

ScotRail’s response to consultation on the Borders Railway:

“In the Fit for the Future consultation, ScotRail proposed to continue to provide two trains per hour between Edinburgh and Tweedbank during peak hours with one train per hour for the rest of the day. However, it was proposed that through services between Tweedbank, South Gyle, and Glenrothes with Thornton will all terminate or start at Edinburgh Waverley. The Saturday timetable was proposed to increase to provide two trains per hour during the day.

“ScotRail received 434 responses from customers who travel on services between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. This compares to 74,000 passenger trips per month along the route in 2019. The most frequently mentioned topics were frequency (59 per cent) and capacity (14 per cent). There were specific comments about the time of the first arrival at Edinburgh and the frequency of services at the end of the traditional evening peak period.

“Following the consultation, ScotRail are making a change to Fit for the Future timetable in May 2022 and will operate two trains per hour during the day, rather than just in peak periods. Average seating occupancy on this route on a typical weekday in 2019 was 24 per cent of seat miles provided, and with the same level of demand applied to the May 2022 timetable, that would reduce to 22 per cent. Most services on this route will operate with six carriages during peak periods and three carriages outside these times. The reintroduction of two trains per hour during the day will be on a trial basis only to test how quickly off-peak demand recovers and grows beyond pre-pandemic levels. The time of the first service from Tweedbank to Edinburgh will be reviewed for the December 2022 timetable, however the operation of an additional service is subject to there being sufficient train crew available.”

CLICK HERE to review the Borders Railway draft timetable from May 22nd 2022.

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