Interview on Borders TV
On 3rd February 2021 Barrie Forrest BEM, our Chairman, was interviewed for the Borders TV News.
The report can be seen at around 19 minutes into
the video at
https://www.itv.com/news/border/2021-01-28/representing-border-28012021
Planning Approved
On 1st February 2021 members of the Scottish
Borders Council's planning and building standards committee have
approved the planning application for the new station at Reston.
Preliminary site works have already started, but this will allow the
building to proceed.
Our Chairman, Barrie Forrest BEM, says: "RAGES are delighted that
planning has been approved for Reston Station, opening again after 56
years since its closure."
Barrie also thanks our members for their continued support, as well as
the many local councillors and politicians that have been involved in
our campaign since our inauguration in 1999.
RAGES hopes that the station will be opened by the end of 2021.
The Scotland’s Railway website provides the public with information on the Reston station project as it progresses and can be seen at: https://scotlandsrailway.com/projects/reston-station where there is a video of what the station will look like and other links to the planning application etc.
The rail industry is working together to develop a timetable for the East Coast Main Line including the new stations at Reston and East Linton. Bids from operators who wish to serve Reston station need to be submitted to Network Rail by Spring 2021. Transport Scotland is engaged with a number of cross border operators as part of this process. This date could change because of the current pandemic.
Also see more in our Latest News page.
Work has started on creating site access and a vehicle compound.
As with the new platform at Dunbar, our photographer, Tom Dickson, will be visiting the site to record progress as it happens. His photographs will appear on a new web page dedicated to his photographs: New Station at Reston
Story at Reston
In October 2002, RAGES handed over a petition of 1862 signatures to the
Scottish Parliament. The full story is in
The Rages Rag issue 15. The
response from the Petitions Committee, as detailed in
The Rages Rag
issue 16, was a bit disappointing, but they suggested that we developed
links with the Scottish Borders Council with a view to participating in
their conducting a feasibility study into the re-opening of Reston
station.
RAGES has long been pressing for the re-introduction of the local
service from Edinburgh to Berwick with the possible re-opening of
stations at East Linton and Reston.
The main campaign story can be read at this link.
RAGES
met the Minister for Transport on 13 March 2008 as reported in
The Rages
Rag Issue 37 which culminated in a visit by him to the site of a new
Reston station on 5 August 2008.
The Rages Rag Issue 39 has more details of the visit.
RAGES were fortunate to have a meeting with the Minister for Transport, Keith Brown, MSP, in November 2011. This had mixed results, but he has promised to visit East Linton and Reston to see for himself the areas that would be served. The report on the meeting can be seen in The Rages Rag Issue 52.
Since then the Minister visited East Linton, Reston and Eyemouth on 28 February 2012 where he was impressed by what he saw. A full report is in The Rages Rag Issue 53.
MVA Consultancy attended a recent Reston and Auchencrow Community Council meeting to hear first-hand why the local community needed a rail station at Reston. A report can be seen in The Rages Rag Issue 55.
The Scottish Borders Council has now submitted a joint bid for funding of Reston Station from the Scottish Government's Station Investment Fund.
Network Rail's ground work for assessing the cost of the new station here is progressing, as Barrie's photograph shows.
Barrie Forrest, our vice chairman, received the BEM in the New Year's honours list of 2017 for services to the community of Reston and Auchencrow.
Progress on the re-opening of the station is exceedingly slow and progress or not can be found in the main campaign story and latest news pages.
In January 2019, RAGES erected several banners in Reston highlighting the need for the station to be re-opened as soon as possible.
The banner was paraded through Reston on 28th January and was filmed along with interviews by ITV Borders for their main story that evening on Borders News and Lookaround.
Similar banners have been erected at East Linton, the other station which RAGES is campaiging to re-open.
In a member’s debate at the Scottish Parliament at the end of May, Paul Wheelhouse MSP said this in closing the debate.
"On Reston and East Linton, I assure Rachael Hamilton that the commitment made by the Scottish ministers to the delivery of Reston and East Linton stations as early as practicable within control period 6 is unwavering. Detailed design and timetable analysis is on-going. Until both are completed, no firm date for construction or opening can be given. Rachael Hamilton might know that the East Coast Line Capacity Study is due to be published soon; it will inform the construction window that can be used for development of the stations."
In response to the RAGES e-mail of May 2019 to the
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, the
reply came on 27 June 2019 from Mr Lindsay Williamson, Communications and Correspondence
Officer, Rail Projects and Technical Services of Transport Scotland:
"I have discussed the status of the planning application with Network
Rail who are progressing the detailed design for East Linton Station.
Network Rail and Transport Scotland officials have met with officials
from East Lothian Council and Scottish Borders Council separately on
several occasions to progress the detailed design for the new stations
at East Linton and Reston. The land required for the new rail station at
East Linton currently remains under the ownership of East Lothian
Council. Negotiations in respect of the land required for Reston Station
are progressing.
"Network Rail advise that until the detailed designs for each station
are further advanced, a planning application for either station cannot
be submitted as these detailed designs are required to support the
planning applications."
In May 2020, our chairman received the following encouraging
news from Sarah Cooper, Project Sponsor, Rail Technical Services of
Transport Scotland.
"I can confirm that ground investigation work was completed at Reston
and substantially completed at East Linton before the current COVID 19
restrictions were introduced on 23 March 2020. This has allowed Network
Rail’s designers to continue progressing with the design of each
station.
"Network Rail submitted Environmental Impact Assessment screening
documentation to both Councils earlier this year formally starting the
planning process for both stations. In response both Councils have
advised that both stations do not require to undertake an Environmental
Impact Assessment.
"Network Rail is currently reporting that the ‘Proposal of Application
Notice’ for Reston Station will be submitted by the end of May 2020.
Network Rail is developing plans to ensure local communities have the
opportunity to provide comments, in line with the revised Scottish
Government Guidance on public consultation associated with planning
applications which was published on 23 April.
Reston and Auchencrow Community Council organised a
meeting with Network Rail to discuss the station at Reston on 23 July
2020. Barrie Forrest BEM, our chairman, also represented RAGES.
The following was discussed.
It is proposed to have the design submitted to Scottish Borders Council
Planning for mid-August 2020, with a 16-week consultation period.
Presently two studies are awaited before the planning submission, an
Ecology Study on Bats and a Flood Risk Study. Once these have been
completed Network Rail will submit the planning application.
A proposed completion date for the construction is December 2021, but
may go into 2022.
Previous designs for the car park was to have a capacity of 200 cars,
but the new design will be in the region of 70 vehicles. However, there
is sufficient land being purchased to incorporate the 200 capacity as
originally intended should the need arise.
In line with government policy, electric charging points will be
installed.
There are no plans to install toilets at the station, as Network Rail
see this is as an unmanned station and it is not policy for toilets to
be installed.
Ingress and egress points to the station are a major concern as Reston
Main Street is linear in design and has historically suffered from
traffic flow due to the bottleneck near to the local shop. With the
envisaged increase in traffic flow, the proposed station access from the
B6438 will exacerbated the traffic problem further.
A proposed roundabout is to be included in the design for access to the
station car park which will be near to the existing access road to The
Orchard road. This road will be closed off from its existing access
point and access to The Orchard will be via a new road running parallel
to it.
It was also stated that the underpass was not used as this was not
suitable due to safety concerns primarily because of the existing farm
vehicle traffic and present pedestrian use.
So two lifts are to be installed, which are to be the first ones of a
new design in the UK, at Reston and East Linton stations. They will be
more suitable for disabled users.
On 1st November, Reston Community Hall was the venue where the Community Council held a public information event for the new station.