Introduction

Jacobs was commissioned by Transport Scotland (TS) to undertake a Stage 1 Evaluation of the reopening of Reston Railway Station. In line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) guidance, this evaluation provides assessment of whether the intervention is performing as intended and remains on track to deliver its investment objectives.

The evaluation draws on primary and secondary data to assess emerging impacts relative to the pre‑intervention baseline, with a focus on early outcomes rather than fully realised benefits. The findings provide an initial indication of impact direction, support assessment against the original business case rationale, and establish a robust evidence base for subsequent stages of post‑scheme appraisal.

Scheme Background

Reston is a small rural village in East Berwickshire within the Scottish Borders, located approximately 10 miles north of Berwick-upon-Tweed and around 46 miles south‑east of Edinburgh, on the East Coast Main Line (ECML). The village was historically served by a railway station as part of the North British Railway’s main line between Edinburgh and Berwick‑upon‑Tweed. Despite its strategic position on the ECML, Reston Railway Station was closed to passenger services in the 1960s as part of the national rail rationalisation programme. The closure removed direct rail access from much of East Berwickshire.

From the late 1990s onwards, the reinstatement of Reston Railway Station became the focus of sustained community campaigning, supported by local authorities and regional transport bodies. A series of feasibility studies and appraisal exercises were undertaken to examine options for restoring rail access to Reston, often in parallel with proposals for a new station at East Linton in neighbouring East Lothian. The most significant of these was the 2013 Strategic Business Case, which concluded that reopening both stations, supported by enhanced local rail services between Edinburgh and Berwick‑upon‑Tweed, would deliver strong accessibility, economic and social benefits for the wider region.

Following this work, the project secured Scottish Government support through the Scottish Stations Fund, with detailed design and delivery led by Network Rail in partnership with Scottish Borders Council, East Lothian Council and South East of Scotland Regional Transport Partnership (SEStran). Construction commenced in 2021, and Reston Railway Station formally reopened to passengers in 2022, marking a significant milestone in reconnecting East Berwickshire to the national rail network. The reopened station is served by ECML operators, providing direct links to Edinburgh, Berwick‑upon‑Tweed, Newcastle and beyond, and represents a key element of wider efforts to support sustainable transport, regional regeneration and inclusive economic growth in the Scottish Borders.

The geographical context of the scheme is shown in Figure 1, which illustrates the position of Reston Railway Station on the East Coast Main Line in relation to nearby stations and its connections to key settlements across the Scottish Borders and East Lothian.

Scheme Objectives

The Transport Planning Objectives (TPOs) of the scheme were as follows:

At Full Business Case (FBC) stage it was concluded that the scheme enhances rail accessibility from East Berwickshire and eastern East Lothian to the key economic centres of Edinburgh and Newcastle, addressing existing issues of geographic remoteness and limited public transport provision. The intervention delivers significantly improved journey times, with rail travel of under 50 minutes from Reston to both Edinburgh and Newcastle, materially improving access to regional labour markets and services.

By strengthening the connectivity, reliability and attractiveness of public transport, the scheme supports access to employment, education and leisure opportunities, while enabling tourism growth and facilitating business investment within the corridor. In doing so, the scheme aligns with the National Transport Strategy by reducing transport‑related inequality, encouraging mode shift towards more sustainable travel, and supporting inclusive economic growth.

Purpose of the Stage 1 Evaluation

The Stage 1 Evaluation provides an assessment of how Reston Railway Station is performing following its reopening. Conducted four years after opening, it offers a high‑level review of emerging outcomes to determine whether the station is progressing toward its intended Transport Planning Objectives and wider policy ambitions. Rather than measuring long‑term impacts, the evaluation focuses on trends and evidence that indicate whether the intervention is functioning as expected at this stage.

Drawing on a structured set of data sources, the Stage 1 Evaluation establishes an evidence base that supports informed judgement on the station’s initial performance. This enables Transport Scotland to identify any emerging issues that may warrant attention and ensures that evaluation is built on consistent, credible and comparable information.

Evaluation Questions

Consistent with the Stage 1 purpose of providing an indication of progress, the evaluation is structured around two central questions:

• Does the scheme improve access to public transport in the East Berwickshire area and support economic growth in the area?
• Does the scheme achieve modal shift to more sustainable modes and contribute to delivering the National Transport Strategy vision and priorities?

These questions collectively frame the initial assessment of whether the station is beginning to deliver the anticipated outcomes and whether indicators suggest that the scheme remains on track to meet its longer‑term objectives.

Scope of the Stage 1 Evaluation

The Stage 1 Evaluation examines evidence of the station’s performance during the initial years of operation, drawing on predicted (Full Business Case - FBC) baseline data to assess emerging change. The scope includes:

• Review of post‑opening evidence, focusing on initial travel behaviour, usage patterns and accessibility outcomes.
• Use of established baseline datasets to ensure comparability between pre‑ and post‑opening conditions.
• Primary research through resident, business and visitor surveys to capture behavioural and attitudinal responses to the station’s reopening.
• Secondary data analysis, including patronage data, service performance, socio‑economic indicators and planning information.
• Counterfactual analysis to distinguish scheme‑specific effects from wider background trends.
• Accessibility and journey time assessment to evaluate whether conditions reflect anticipated improvements.
• Review of economic indicators to identify any emerging changes in local activity or labour‑market conditions.
• A proportionate Value for Money assessment, drawing on observed changes in usage and accessibility to provide an initial indication of whether the intervention is performing in line with expectations.

Together, these elements form a coherent and proportionate evidence base that enables Transport Scotland to assess progress toward the scheme’s objectives and to determine whether the intervention remains on track to deliver its anticipated long‑term outcomes.

Data Sources

The Stage 1 Evaluation draws on a wide-ranging set of data sources to provide a robust assessment of the station’s performance relative to predicted (FBC) conditions. These sources support the identification of emerging usage patterns, accessibility changes, travel behaviour responses and socio‑economic trends.

Primary Data Sources

The primary data sources summarised in Table 1 provide first‑hand evidence on behavioural, attitudinal and user‑experience changes following the station’s reopening. These datasets offer direct insight into how residents, businesses and visitors are responding to the improved accessibility and travel options.

Table 1. Primary Data Sources

Source	Description	Purpose in Evaluation
Residential Survey	Structured telephone interviews with households in the Reston catchment.	Capture evidence of behavioural change among local residents by examining shifts in travel choices, frequency of rail use, and perceptions of journey times and service quality.
Business Survey	Interviews with local employers and organisations.	Understand economic responses to the station opening, including whether businesses perceive improvements in access for staff, customers and suppliers.
Visitor Survey	Online panel survey of visitors and non visitors across relevant local authority areas.	Assess whether the new station has influenced visitor numbers, trip purposes, travel modes and motivations for visiting the area.

Secondary Data Sources

The secondary data summarised in Table 2 encompasses a range of datasets that enable the evaluation to track emerging patterns in usage, accessibility, service performance and socio‑economic trends. These datasets ensure comparability with the baseline and strengthen the robustness of findings at this stage.

Table 2. Secondary Data Sources

Data Type	Specific Dataset/Source	Purpose in Evaluation
Rail Data	Office of Road & Rail (ORR) station patronage; train operator daily patronage; Rail Data Marketplace station‑to‑station flows; ORR punctuality data	Assess station usage, destination patterns, and service reliability to understand whether rail demand is growing as expected.
Public Transport Journey Time Data	Podaris; Google Journey Time Planner; public transport timetables	Measure changes in journey times and overall connectivity to Edinburgh, Newcastle and other key destinations.
Socio‑economic Data	Office of National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey; Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2020; planning applications, approvals and completions	Identify emerging economic, demographic and land‑use changes that may be linked to improved rail access.
Planning Data	Planning applications and completions. Local develop plan proposals.	To assess whether the scheme has contributed to economic growth locally in terms of residential and commercial space.
Bus Data	Bus passenger numbers for key routes	Examine whether passengers are shifting from bus to rail, assess intermodal impacts, and understand how bus demand changes in response to the new station.
Traffic and Active Travel Data	Local traffic counts; walking and cycling data.	Provide supplementary evidence on modal shift by identifying changes in car usage and active travel levels, helping to understand wider behavioural responses to the station opening.

Counterfactual Data Sources

To differentiate between station‑specific effects and broader background trends, Table 3 outlines the counterfactual data sources used in the evaluation. These datasets help determine the extent to which observed changes can credibly be attributed to the reopening of Reston Railway Station.

Table 3. Counterfactual Data Sources

Source	Description	Purpose in Evaluation
Comparator Settlement Surveys	Structured telephone surveys conducted in the identified counterfactual location (Ancrum), using the same methodology, catchment approach and sample size as the baseline and Reston resident surveys.	Provide a critical benchmark for distinguishing the effects of the new Reston Railway Station from broader external influences such as economic trends, demographic change or shifts in travel behaviour unrelated to the scheme.
Secondary Data for Comparator Area	Socio‑economic indicators, transport datasets, and other relevant statistics for the comparator settlement, covering the same time periods as the Reston datasets.	Secondary data for the comparator area helps control for wider external trends, such as national employment shifts, regional transport changes, or macro‑economic conditions, that might otherwise be mistaken for project impacts.

In combination, these datasets enable a robust assessment of trends in demand, accessibility, travel behaviour and economic activity. They ensure comparability with predicted (FBC) baseline conditions and provide the evidence needed to form an initial view on whether the station is beginning to deliver its intended outcomes.

Logic Diagram

Figure 2 summarises the strategic rationale and benefits of the scheme, linking objectives to outputs, outcomes, and long-term impacts. The outputs and outcomes contribute to wider impacts such as lower emissions, improved productivity, reduced deprivation, and inward investment. The diagram also identifies the primary and secondary data sources used to assess scheme performance, providing a clear and structured framework for evaluating delivery and benefits.

Report Structure

The remainder of this report is organised into the following sections:

• Operation of the Reston Railway Station - Provides an overview of station operations since reopening, including service provision, patronage levels, travel patterns and journey time performance.
• Primary Data Analysis - Summarises the findings from the resident, business and visitor surveys, highlighting emerging behavioural, attitudinal and accessibility‑related changes.
• Secondary Data Analysis - Reviews rail patronage and performance data, accessibility metrics, socio‑economic indicators, land‑use information and supplementary modal evidence to assess outcomes relative to the predicted (FBC) baseline.
• Counterfactual Analysis - Presents comparative evidence from the designated counterfactual location to help distinguish scheme‑specific changes from wider external trends.
• Performance Against Objectives - Assesses progress toward the scheme’s Transport Planning Objectives. This includes a summary of methods, indicators used, primary and secondary evidence, key findings and initial interpretation for each objective, as well as an assessment of contribution to National Transport Strategy priorities.
• Value for Money Assessment - Provides a proportionate assessment of Value for Money, drawing on observed changes in usage, accessibility and travel behaviour, alongside initial economic indicators and proportional benefit estimates.
• Conclusions - Summarises the key emerging findings of the Stage 1 Evaluation.
• Appendices - Includes supporting materials such as survey questionnaires, additional data tables, mapping, methodological details and Value for Money calculation sheets.

Stage 1 Evaluation Limitations

The following survey limitations have been identified:

• Whilst an ‘impact area’ has been established, within which Residential, Business and Visitors surveys have been focused, there may be impact areas beyond the scope of this study that are either not currently obvious or anticipated. These may go beyond the extent of Reston and East Berwickshire.
• Non-response bias, where individuals contacted for the survey choose not to participate. The opinions or behaviours of these non-respondents may differ in meaningful ways from those who did participate, leading to a bias in the results.
• Social desirability bias, respondents may have answered questions in a way that they believe will be viewed favourably by others.
• Not all secondary data sources have data available for 2026. In these instances, the most recently available data sources have been used.
• Limited information is available to inform the impact on other modes of travel. Bus data and active travel data is sparse with no baseline data available for comparisons.
• Traffic count data is also sparse within close proximity to the scheme, with counts only available on the A1 for comparisons pre and post scheme delivery.
• It is not clear how journey times have been quantified at the business case stage; therefore, journey times reported within the business case have been compared against observed data to interpret performance.
• Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) data is not yet available to demonstrate the post-scheme situation from a deprivation perspective. Data for 2020 is currently available and this is due to be updated towards the end of 2026.
• Planning data has not been forthcoming from Scottish Borders Council meaning a high level assessment based on publicly available data was undertaken, this may omit some planning applications that are not currently in the public domain.
• Rail revenue predictions and assumptions are not clear in the business case. In the absence of actual rail revenue data, due to the commercial nature of this data, estimates have been generated based on observed demand.
• Very limited socio-economic datasets are available to compare pre and post scheme changes. Many datasets are yet to be refreshed to demonstrate the post-scheme position. It is also recognised that many socio-economic metrics are captured for large geographical areas, making it difficult to attribute any improvements to a particular intervention.