The installation of almost 30 miles (48 km) of rail on the new Borders Railway was officially completed. Since track-laying commenced in October last year, over 1000 rails have been laid across more than 90,000 sleepers using a specialist rail installation machine.
The longest new domestic railway built in Britain in over a century, the Scottish Government-funded Borders Railway will re-establish passenger services for the first time in over 40 years from Edinburgh through Midlothian to Tweedbank.
“The completion of rail installation is a major milestone for the project and keeps the line on-track to open for passengers in September. While we still have a significant amount of infrastructure to complete along the route – from installing signalling to completing the stations – we’re confident that this much-anticipated addition to Scotland’s railway will be delivered on schedule,” Hugh Wark, Network Rail’s project director said.
With construction due to complete in the summer and the line to enter service in September 2015, the new railway will offer a fast and efficient alternative to the congested local road network allowing passengers to travel from Tweedbank to Edinburgh in around an hour at peak times.
Photo: Network Rail
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