[9] The last passenger train over the Waverley Route was the Edinburgh-St Pancras sleeper on 5 January 1969 worked by Class 45 D60 Lytham St Anne's which arrived two hours late into Carlisle due to anti-closure protesters blocking the line.

[12][19] The first moves came in 1999 when the Scottish Parliament supported a motion by Christine Grahame MSP which called for the reinstatement of the line as a means of reversing the economic decline of the Borders region.

[20] This was followed by a £400,000 feasibility study conducted by Scott Wilson and commissioned by the Scottish Office which reported in February 2000 that there were "no insurmountable planning or environmental constraints" to reinstatement as much of the original line could be reused, although several major obstacles would need to be overcome which would entail substantial costs.

[22] Despite the recommendations in the Scott Wilson report, political pressure on the Scottish Government to reconnect the Borders region eventually resulted in it giving support to the extension of the Edinburgh commuter network by 30 miles (48 km) as far as the Galashiels area.

[32] Once funding had been obtained, the three local authorities created the Waverley Railway Joint Committee to promote the scheme;[33] consultant Turner & Townsend was appointed to carry out the necessary studies for a Transport and Works Act application.

While the proposed Borders Railway was undergoing a lengthy period of consultation, passenger services were reintroduced on the surviving freight-only section of the Waverley Route between Portobello Junction and Millerhill.

[41] Representing the party, Councillor Nicholas Watson described the scheme as "a colossal waste of money" and called for the funds to be used instead on the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

[42] The Campaign for Borders Rail indicated that the low ratio followed from the choice to build a single-track line for half-hourly commuter services with no capacity for freight or specials.

"[44] The Campaign for Borders Rail responded stating that the ratio was based on modelling that underestimated the route's potential patronage, predicting only 23,431 yearly return trips from Galashiels equivalent to only 70 passengers a day or three per train, which would be less than the number using the existing bus service.

[46] On 9 May 2006, the bill committee published its final report supporting the project with two recommendations: a station had to be provided at Stow and the line had to be completed to its full extent, i.e. as far as Tweedbank.

[33][53] In October 2009, the launch of a call for tenders stalled following discussions between the Scottish Government and HM Treasury over new regulations that required public–private partnerships to be recorded as public expenditure.

[54] A project timetable was announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney on 4 November 2009, whereby he stated that construction of the line would not begin prior to the 2011 elections to the Scottish Parliament.

[54] Transport Scotland announced in June 2010 that three consortiums that had submitted expressions of interest in the project were to be invited to participate in a competitive dialogue; these were BAM UK, IMCD (Sir Robert McAlpine, Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras and Carillion) and New Borders Railway (Fluor, Miller and Uberior Infrastructure Investments).

[52][57] Network Rail was chosen by Transport Scotland to undertake the project and, following months of negotiations, a Transfer of Responsibility was signed at a ceremony held on 6 November 2012 at the Scottish Mining Museum in Newtongrange.

[97][98][99] Her Majesty travelled with the Duke of Edinburgh and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa where they were met with children singing the National Anthem.

[104] The unexpected level of patronage resulted in overcrowding on services and passengers unable to board at intermediate stations, leading ScotRail to run four or six carriages with morning and peak trains.

[104] The National Mining Museum near Newtongrange station reported a hike in visitor numbers, while the nearby towns of Melrose and St Boswells confirmed a rise in business and tourism.

[104] The line begins at Newcraighall South Junction where the track veers off the former Waverley Route to a parallel alignment just to the west which crosses over the former Monktonhall Colliery, part of the Midlothian Coalfield.

[26] Immediately after Eskbank, Hardengreen viaduct, an 87-yard (80 m) concrete span bridge, carries the line over the A7 road at Hardenbridge, thereby correcting the damage caused by the Dalkeith Western Bypass.

[106][108] A 10-mile (16 km) single-track section then extends as far as Falahill where a 110-yard (100 m) reinforced concrete box takes the line under the A7, the original alignment having been lost to allow the road to be straightened across the trackbed.

[110] The final section of double-track begins at Galabank Junction on the approach to Stow where a 3+1⁄4 mi (5.2 km) loop is entered by a 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) turnout before proceeding through several reverse curves and the 220-yard (200 m) Bowshank Tunnel to reach Bowland Points.

[112] For the final 2 miles (3.2 km) to Tweedbank, the line follows its original alignment over a reconstructed embankment and through an excavated cutting before crossing the River Tweed on the Category B listed Redbridge Viaduct.

[116] The 30-mile (48 km) long route serves Tweedbank, Galashiels, Stow, Gorebridge, Newtongrange, Eskbank, Shawfair, Newcraighall, Brunstane and Edinburgh Waverley stations, with a total running time of 55 minutes for most services.

[120] The Transport Scotland Business Case for Borders Railway, published in November 2012, central patronage forecast estimated that the additional passenger return journeys made for the first year of operation would be 647,136.

[127] The final annual rail passenger usage figures for 2015/16 for each station were as follows: Edinburgh Waverley (21,723,960), Brunstane (165,978), Newcraighall (224,026), Shawfair (13,202), Eskbank (128,298), Newtongrange (86,298), Gorebridge (59,304), Stow (39,656), Galashiels (213,760) and Tweedbank (300,602).

[137] Network Rail indicated that three-car trains run initially, with the possibility of six-car formations using Class 170s cascaded from the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line once that route has been electrified.

[65] Research by the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development has shown that visitor numbers for Midlothian and Borders tourist attractions increased by 4% and 6.9% respectively during the first seven months of 2016, while Abbotsford House, Sir Walter Scott's former home near Galashiels, saw a significant revival in its fortunes as it reported a 12% rise in visits during 2016.

[147] These fears were to prove justified as, during the line's first month of operation, there were well-publicised problems ranging from overcrowding resulting in passengers standing for the whole journey to timekeeping difficulties due to excessive dwell times at stations.

[152][153] Reliability issues with the Class 158s were encountered during hot weather which caused radiators to overheat, particularly on steep gradients with a heavy load, as coolant systems became stressed.

[69] In May 2013, it was reported that Heriot-Watt University had been asked by Midlothian Council to carry out a feasibility study on a 10-mile (16 km) rail link connecting Penicuik with the Borders Railway.