A crowd of almost 4,000 witnessed Her Majesty The Queen officially open the new Borders Railway at Tweedbank on the same day she became Britain’s longest serving monarch.
The Queen was joined by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and 150 other guests on Wednesday 9 September, who left Edinburgh Waverley Station on steam train Union of South Africa, and made their way to Tweedbank Station.
Her Majesty thanked the Tweedbank audience for their warm welcome and said the Borders Railway “Brings so much promise for sharing and invigorating this beautiful countryside as a place to work, live and enjoy”, before unveiling a plaque to mark the opening of the new line.
Scottish Borders Council Leader, Councillor David Parker said: “The opening of the Borders Railway is a triumph of a community working together to ensure that a dream which many thought was impossible could become a reality, and that a railway could once again return to our region after 46 years.
“The railway will ensure our numerous world class attractions are even more accessible than ever before to visitors and it was a tremendous honour for our area that Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Her Majesty The Queen, formally opened the line.”
SBC Convener, Councillor Graham Garvie, added: “The Borders Railway is the most significant project for generations in our region and I am thrilled the people of the Borders turned out in their numbers to welcome The Queen to Tweedbank.”
The voice of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Alasdair Hutton, acted as host for the Tweedbank ceremony, with bands – including Galashiels Ex-Service Pipe Band and Innerleithen’s St Ronan’s Silver Band – entertaining the crowd in the run up The Queen’s arrival.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
