A Scottish MP has criticised the delay over the plans to extend the Borders Railway to Carlisle.
John Lamont, who is the Conservative Party MP for Berwickshire, Selkirk and Roxburgh raised the issue to the transport minister in the House of Commons.
The Borders Railway was opened in 2015 and runs from the Scottish Capital Edinburgh to Tweedbank, with talks to extend it further through the Scottish Borders into Carlisle to help improve connectivity.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that these talks were underway in April, but no further plans have been submitted.
"Transport officials are delaying and dragging their feet over the next steps to extend the Borders Railway to Hawick, Newcastleton and on to Carlisle," Mr Lamond said.
"The lack of progress is frustrating for me, local campaigners and my local council” he said as he urged the transport minister to “speed up” the process.
READ MORE: Customers consider switching banks as NatWest announces branch closure in Whitehaven
In reply, the transport minister, Kevin Foster, MP for Torquay and Paignton said: "We are currently considering advice regarding next steps for the proposals and, in particular, I am keen to see a feasibility study get under way in terms of restoration of the whole rail route,"
A report last year from the Borderlands Partnership, which is made up of the local authorities for Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Cumbria, Northumberland, and Carlisle, said that extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle would be the ‘best solution’ to help solve the area’s notorious transport connection difficulties.
The report said that many places along the route, including Longtown in Cumbria, had higher car ownership than the national average which they blamed on public transport issues.
Extending the Borders Railway is seen as a potential solution to that, the prospectus said, although project development work would need to start now in order to deliver within the next 10 to 20 years.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here