The Border Union Railway was a railway line in south of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It was authorised on 21 July 1859 and advertised as the Waverley Route by the promoters - the North British Railway

North British Railway

The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...

. It connected the Edinburgh and Hawick Railway at with .

History

The first section of the route was opened between Carlisle and Scotch Dyke on 12 October 1861, to Newcastleton on 1 March 1862, Riccarton Junction on 2 June 1862 and throughout on 24 June 1862. The railway was built as a double-track main line throughout.

Connections to other lines

• Edinburgh and Hawick Railway at
• Border Counties Railway
  Border Counties Railway
  The Border Counties Railway was a railway line in Northumberland, England, with a small section in Roxburghshire, in the Borders region of Scotland. The railway was incorporated in 1854; and was absorbed by the North British Railway on 13 August 1860...
  
   at
• Caledonian Railway Main Line
  Caledonian Railway Main Line
  The Caledonian Main Line represents most of the original route of the Caledonian Railway: a major Scottish railway company. The company was formed in 1830 and was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways...
  
   at Gretna
  Gretna (Caledonian) railway station
  Gretna railway station was a railway station close to Gretna Green in Scotland. The Caledonian Railway, however, built the station just south of Gretna Junction and the England/Scotland border, in Cumbria.- History :The station opened on 9 September 1847...
  
  
• Maryport and Carlisle Railway
  Maryport and Carlisle Railway
  The Maryport & Carlisle Railway was a small but highly profitable railway formed in 1836 to connect the town of Maryport to the county town of Carlisle and to allow the output of collieries inland of Maryport to be more cheaply transported to Maryport for oward movement by sea. Its headquarters...
  
  , Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
  Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
  The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, occasionally referred to as the Tyne Valley Line, is a railway line in northern England. The line was built in the 1830s, and links the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear with in Cumbria. Formal opening took place on 18 June 1838.The line follows the...
  
  , Midland Railway Settle and Carlisle Line
  Settle-Carlisle Railway
  The Settle–Carlisle Line is a long main railway line in northern England. It is also known as the Settle and Carlisle. It is a part of the National Rail network and was constructed in the 1870s...
  
   and Lancaster and Carlisle Railway
  Lancaster and Carlisle Railway
  The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway was a British railway company authorised on 6 June 1844 to build a line between Lancaster and Carlisle in North-West England...
  
   at Carlisle Citadel
  Carlisle railway station
  Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...
  
  

Current operations

The line was closed to all traffic by British Railways on 5 January 1969. The line was dismantled in 1971.

The Waverley Route Heritage Association are working on reopening a short section at Whitrope

Whitrope

Whitrope is a densely forested area, high in the Southern Upland hills managed by the Forestry Commission in the south central Scottish Borders of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire....

 as a heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

.