Borders Railway Baseline Study - Final Report

1 Introduction

Overview

1.1 Peter Brett Associates LLP (PBA), together with Streetwise Services, was commissioned by Transport Scotland (TS) to develop a baseline of the situation prior to the reopening of the Borders Railway in September 2015.

1.2 The research was designed to provide an overall assessment of travel behaviour patterns and the socio economic characteristics of the area prior to the reopening of the line and included a primary data collection exercise consisting of a number of surveys as well as the collation of secondary data sources. It is anticipated that the information collected via these exercises will then be used to inform the counterfactual for the future evaluation of the new railway.

1.3 The purpose of this report is to set out the overall findings from the study. The document includes a detailed discussion of the research approach as well as a breakdown of the results from each survey. A separate report which includes details of potential secondary data sources for use in the evaluation has also been produced.

Report Structure

1.4 The report is structured as follows:

Chapter 2: provides a brief overview of the Borders Railway and the Study Area;
Chapter 3: discusses the research methodology and approach, including limitations;
Chapter 4: discusses the results of the survey of households and particularly their use of transport ahead of the new rail service;
Chapter 5: provides a summary of the results of the household survey in the control areas which it is intended will be used to assist in isolating the impact of the railway in the evaluation;
Chapter 6: provides a summary of the results of the survey of Midlothian and Scottish Borders businesses and how the reopening of the rail line will impact on them; and
Chapter 7: discusses the results of the panel survey undertaken to assess how those outside of Midlothian and Scottish Borders would use the service to access the area.