ALMOST 695,000 trips were made on the new Borders Railway in its first six months of operation – 22 per cent more than the anticipated number.
While travel chiefs had forecast 568,023 journeys on the new line, a total of 694,373 trips were made between September 6 last year and March 6 this year, according to Transport Scotland.
The Queen officially the re-opened the line, which runs from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, on the day she became Britain’s longest-serving monarch.
She and the Duke of Edinburgh were accompanied by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on a steam train journey along the £294 million line.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf and Phil Verster, managing director of train operators ScotRail Alliance, teamed up to announce the usage figures at the capital’s Waverley Station
Yousaf said: “These figures are fantastic news for the region, further justifying the decision to bring a railway line back to the Borders for the first time in more than 40 years.
“The reintroduction of a rail service to the Borders is opening up communities in the south-east of Scotland as new places to live, work and visit.
“Far from resting on our laurels, the Scottish Government is now continuing our work with stakeholders, through the Borders Blueprint, to ensure we build upon this positive start to support new opportunities, such as housing, commercial and leisure development along the Borders Railway corridor.”
Verster added: “We are incredibly proud to operate services on the Borders railway – a route which, as the numbers show, is hugely popular with our customers.
“The extremely positive first six months is a wonderful start and gives us a solid foundation on which to continue to attract new visitors to and from the Borders.”
The project involved 30 miles of new track being built, along with seven new stations.
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