THE return of a railway station to a county village is at last within grasp, according to a local councillor.

East Lothian Council met on Tuesday and agreed to put forward almost £3.5 million towards the cost of a railway station in East Linton.

The station would not be located at the site of the former station, which closed in 1964, due to access issues and problems with the camber.

Instead, an entirely new station, costing more than £11 million, would be created, slightly to the west of the former station.

However, the way the decision was reached was criticised by SNP councillors, who were happy with the idea of a station returning to East Linton but felt East Lothian Council should have dug deeper to match the sum being offered by the Scottish Government towards the station.

The local authority has offered £3.44 million as its contribution to the re-opening of the station, with the Scottish Government contributing £5.57 million.

The offer to the transport minister was unanimously endorsed at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday, with a letter already sent to the Scottish Government outlining the local authority’s intention to ‘cap’ the contribution at £3.44 million.

If an agreement is reached with the Scottish Government, a revised bid would need to be prepared and submitted to the Scottish Stations Fund.

Talks about the reinstatement of a station in the village have been ongoing for several years, with both Scottish Borders Council – which wants to see Reston station re-opened – and East Lothian Council working together.

Two years ago, East Lothian Council offered £1.5 million towards the project, with Scottish Borders offering £1.6 million towards Reston.

Both councils and transport partnership SESTRANS held discussions and all agreed to increase contributions to the project to give it the best chance of being implemented.

Although yet to be finalised, East Lothian Council’s contribution would be made when the scheme was finished.

Councillor Michael Veitch, ward member and spokesman for transport and roads, said: “This is an unprecedented level of contribution from a local authority partner for a project of this kind – which shows just how much value East Lothian Council places on this project.

“A local rail service covering Reston and East Linton and linking these two communities to Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh could be of huge benefit to the local economy in terms of making this area an even more attractive place to live, with great transport links.

“It would also be a boost to local businesses, bringing visitors to these communities from East Lothian and beyond.

“The decision lies with the Scottish Government to give this project the green light, which we obviously hope will happen soon.”

Ward colleague Paul McLennan was similarly happy to see progress being made.

However, he felt East Lothian Council should have gone even further and matched the Scottish Government’s offer of £5.57 million.

He said: “The realisation of a rail station is now very close. If East Lothian Council had matched funding by the Scottish Government, the project could have been delivered today and the people of East Linton would be looking forward to a new station.

“I urge East Lothian Council to match the funding of Scottish Government and make this project happen now.”