It was built for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway and is still in regular use today, as part of the East Coast Main Line.

While much of the line was completed within two years of this date, work upon several major structures, including the Royal Border Bridge, had barely begun.

In the case of the Royal Border Bridge, it was required to take the line over the River Tweed at a site close to the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland.

In particular, Stephenson typically played a hands-on role in the design of the key bridges along the envisioned route, although some of the detailed work was commonly performed by other figures as well.

The contract for the bridge's construction pertained to a one-mile length of the route; the non-masonry sections consist of earth embankments.

This decision proved beneficial as, while the permanent structure had been intended to be completed in July 1849, it was not ready to carry rail traffic until March 1850.

[2] After having stood for 143 years as a major part of the East Coast Main Line, the Royal Border Bridge underwent significant maintenance for the first time during 1993.

The restoration program, which was largely focused upon repairs to the 15 land based arches, was undertaken as a joint project between the newly founded railway infrastructure maintenance firm Railtrack and English Heritage.

[2] During early 2010, plans were mooted for the installation of a night-time illumination scheme upon the Royal Border Bridge; at the time, this measure was promoted as being a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the death of Robert Stephenson.

[4] Originally meant to be operational by November 2010, weather conditions, particularly ice, damaged underwater cables, delaying the illumination and preventing some lights from functioning.