MORE than 2200 people applied for just 10 trainee driver jobs on the new Borders railway, ScotRail has revealed.
The successful candidates who have been selected include a blacksmith, a welder, an airport postal worker, a mechanic and a former Lance Corporal in the Armed Forces and hail from a variety of Borders towns including Galashiels, Hawick, Melrose and Selkirk.
They will work alongside eight existing ScotRail drivers once the £294 million project is completed in summer 2015.
ScotRail managing director Steve Montgomery said: "We received more than 2200 applications for trainee driver jobs and are confident that the 10 new recruits are of the highest calibre, with the essential mix of experience, good concentration and mature attitude required to be a successful train driver.
"Coming from the Borders themselves they know the positive impact which the return of rail services to the area will have on local communities."
During the year-long driving training programme the trainees will take 16 different modules including 265 hours of train handling with a driver instructor, and will have 12 weeks of route and timetable training before the service gets underway.
The posts will have a starting salary of £23,173, rising to £32, 202 after qualifying. After 12 months' service as a driver the salary rises to £40,772.
Transport minister Keith Brown met the new drivers at the 166-year-old Lothianbridge viaduct in Midlothian. He said that November marked a year since Network Rail took over construction of the Borders railway.
He added: "The people of the Borders are really seeing their railway take shape. I'm delighted to be able to introduce to them the drivers who will take charge of those services carrying them to new jobs, bringing new investment opportunities to their towns and countless other benefits.
"The Scottish Government has a strong record in investing in schemes which deliver crucial social benefits for communities, as well as for the wider economy.
"Borders rail is no different. We recognise infrastructure investment as a vital driver in revitalising communities and providing employment opportunities. By encouraging public transport use we improve our environment and the nation's health too."
He said that people in the Borders and Midlothian, and throughout Scotland, would reap rewards from the project.
He added: "The recruits are undertaking an intensive training regime and I am honoured that they could make the time to come along and help us celebrate the continued progress of this exciting project.
In 1969, the historic Waverley line, which connected the Scottish Borders to the national rail network, was closed as part of a wider series of cuts.
After years of campaigning, its partial restoration was authorised in 2006 after the Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act was passed. The new route will have 10 stops between Edinburgh Waverley and Tweedbank, south of Galashiels, with the total journey time estimated at 55 minutes.
The new candidates were unveiled just as Network Rail released its half-year results, which saw £224m invested in various schemes across Scotland between April and September.
As well as investment in the Borders Railway, funds have also been allocated to the delivery of £10m of signalling enhancements at Stirling and the completion of the new £2.5m station footbridge at Perth.
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