NETWORK Rail and BAM Nuttall have completed the £20 million construction of Reston Station in the Scottish Borders.
Services are set to call at the station from May 23, with it boasting 270m platforms which cater for ten carriage trains and allow for step-free access from ground level onto platform 1 and across the railway via a footbridge with lifts.
The station footbridge at Reston is the first structure of its type to be installed on the UK rail network. Spanning 16 metres across the railway, Network Rail said the ‘ribbon’ footbridge design will improve both the passenger experience and the aesthetic quality of station structures.
Network Rail added that the station’s 70-space car park widens its appeal ‘beyond the village itself’, with it including provision for blue-badge parking and electric charging points. It also offers a bus stop with shelter and a designated drop-off area creating the new transport inter-change.
Works at the station first got underway in March 2021 following a period of advance works to divert a water main which crossed the site. As well as construction of the station, work included upgrades to the electrification and signalling equipment through the area.
Network Rail said the new station will deliver ‘significant’ benefits through the enhancement of the public transport network, improving active travel networks, and developing economic, leisure, and tourism potential.
It will serve the village and wider Berwickshire area and will enable ‘easy access’ to Edinburgh and Newcastle and onwards across the national rail network. As well as improving transport connectivity, Network Rail said it will also help ‘transform’ the economic outlook of the area it will serve.
Huw Jones, BAM Nuttall MD, said, “In the last ten years, BAM Nuttall has been involved in the building or reopening of 27 stations across the UK but it always brings me the most satisfaction to deliver brand new stations like this, seeing a community connected to the rail network for the first time in half a century.
“I would like to thank the BAM and Network Rail teams along with our supply partners who have worked so hard to deliver this project in a very concentrated period of time.”
Jenny Gilruth, Scottish Government minister for transport, added, “I am delighted that work to construct the new Reston station is now complete ahead of services calling at the station for the first time. The £20 million investment provided by the Scottish Government for Reston station and investment in other new stations is one way to make travelling by rail an easier option and enable more people to choose the sustainable transport option as an alternative to using the car.
“The new Reston station will provide a step-change in provision of public transport in the area and will help transform Reston and the surrounding communities that will benefit from the transport interchange and the improved connectivity it delivers.”
Alex Hynes, MD of Scotland’s Railway, commented, “It is part of our commitment, alongside the Scottish Government, to expand the rail network and connect Scotland’s railway to new communities. The opening of the station at Reston is an exciting development that has the potential to transform life for local people and the communities it will serve.
“This station will create new social and economic opportunities for people in the Village and in the surrounding area and we look forward to welcoming services back to Reston – and to seeing the positive impact the railway will have in years to come.”
