Network Rail has completed the construction of Reston station.

The station has been backed by £20m of investment from the Scottish Government. Completion will enable trains to call at the village for the first time since 1964 – with services set to call from Monday 23 May.

The station, which sits on the East Coast Mainline, boasts 270m platforms which cater for 10 carriage trains and is fully accessible with 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, the ‘Ribbon’ footbridge design improves both the passenger experience and the aesthetic quality of station structures.

The 70-space car park, which widens the station’s appeal beyond the village itself, includes 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.

Work at the station 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.

Reston station is an investment in transport but also in our economy, communities and our environment. It will deliver significant benefits by enhancing 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, it will help transform the economic outlook of the area it will serve.

Huw Jones, BAM Nuttall Managing Director, Transport 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.”

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway said, “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.”

Jenny Gilruth, Scottish Government Minister for Transport said, “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.

“Our Programme for Government made a commitment to decarbonising Scotland’s Railway and growth in rail use is an essential part of decarbonising the total transport mix.

“The £20m 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."