High-speed Borders link

Regarding the extended Borders Link ( RAIL 828): a far better service for the Border towns would be obtained by routeing Scotland’s high-speed link through the region - Newcastle outskirts to Edinburgh western fringe stations, via Jedburgh, Selkirk, Peebles and Penicuik (120 miles), then onto a regional rail hub sited to the west of Glasgow.

A hub (or series of them) in the Coatbridge area would allow connections to local services, northern and southern suburbs, and northbound inter-city services, without the time-consuming journey into the heart of Glasgow, traipsing between termini, and then back out.

Hawick is at present 39 minutes by bus from Galashiels station, which is around the time it takes to travel by bus into a city from its outer suburbs, and less than that of its dormitory villages.

The big problem is that Galashiels is not an inter-city station on an inter-city railway. A high-speed Borders interchange near Denholme or Selkirk would give significantly better travelling options.

There must be better ways of spending £644 million. There are at least 40 conurbations greater in size than Hawick that have no rail services. And surprisingly (considering the complaints from the North) a large percentage are in the South, often where there is also an inferior motorway network, so surely this must be a low priority.

Only a brief look at a ‘UK at night’ from space is needed to see that a good case can be made for routeing Scottish services via a Tyneside high-speed arm, rather than one via Carlisle. M.Leach, Pontycymer