Letters to the Editor - Waverley Line

I have recently had a letter about the delays in the re-opening of the Waverley Line published by three newspapers, which are:

The Scotsman
Edinburgh Evening News
The Southern Reporter

Below is a copy of the letter submitted to the papers, which was slightly editted by them for publication. The letter was sent to them on 12 October 2009.

"Dear Editor

I am concerned in the delays in the reconstruction of the Waverley Line and feel more pressure should be put on the Scottish Government to provide us with a starting date for work to commence from both ends of the line which should commence simultaneously at both Edinburgh and Carlisle.

Your readers may be interested to known of two groups on ww.facebook.com which are
“The Waverley Line + Borders Rail Link Edinburgh Galashiels Carlisle” and “Get the Scottish Borders Linked by Rail to Edinburgh”

These groups support the re-opening of rail links between Edinburgh and Carlisle and I would encourage your readers to join in the campaign to ensure that more people know of the need for this link.


Yours sincerely

Alex Scott MBE"

Following the publication of the letter the number of people signed up to the Facebook groups mentioned has increased greatly.

There has also been some increase in the interest in the subject and other people have responded with their opinions in later editions of newspapers.

East Coast Mainline - High Speed Rail Link - Edinburgh to London

I believe that there should be a high speed rail link on the East Coast Mainline route connecting London-Leeds-Newcastle-Edinburgh and Glasgow with improvements in the lines to Inverness, Aberdeen and other Scottish towns with more dual tracking and extended electrification which should be started within the next five years.

This high-speed link, along with the other improvements would, bring many advantages for businesses, users and the environment by encouraging traffic from the roads. the time taken from the centre of Edinburgh to the centre of London using the high-speed link would be much less than travelling from the centre of Edinburgh to the airport and then flying to London and then onwards into the city centre.
I think this would save time, stress and damage to the environment. You just have to look at the system that they use in France, for example the TGV rail system from Paris to Lyon.

From now on all rail lines ie the tracks and rolling-stock should be built and developed within the UK in order to preserve and create jobs for British workers.

All the stations and trains should be made accessible by having a universal information system which can be used by blind and disabled people. All trains should have a standard layout for buttons.

This would give us an intergrated transport system which would be accessible to all and fit for the 21st century.