If approved by East Lothian Council, the East Linton station on the east coast main line would be a two-platform station that can accommodate six carriage trains, with step-free access via a footbridge with lifts and parking for 126 cars.

The new station will encourage a reduction in road travel, promote greener travel choices and provide additional connectivity to and from Edinburgh.

The application submitted to Scottish Borders Council’s planning team is for a two-platform station at Reston, an initial 70 car parking spaces with sufficient land purchased for a further 40, a new access road, fully accessible lifts and a platform connecting footbridge.

Local residents, and other interested parties, recently had the opportunity to speak directly with the station project team, on a specially developed online consultation platform, ensuring that social distancing requirements didn’t hamper their opportunity to learn more about the project.

Michael Matheson, cabinet secretary for transport,infrastructure and connectivity, said: “The Scottish Government is committed to improving the economic well-being of communities, encouraging the choice of sustainable transport and providing good quality employment opportunities across Scotland as we plan for our post-COVIDrecovery. That is why we have committed funding for this scheme which has real potential to deliver a number of benefits for the communities it would serve.

“I welcome the submission of this planning application which acts as a key milestone in the delivery process and enables us to progress our aspirations for the new station to the next stage.”

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway, said: “We are working hard to improve rail links for communities across Scotland and these new stations will help open up opportunities for new passengers on our network.

“The local communities have been campaigning for new train stations at East Linton and Reston for many years and we are pleased that we have been able to work with local and central government to develop plans for the new facilities.

“We now look forward to hearing people’s thoughts on the proposals and working with them to make the new stations a reality.”

The applications follow the submission of plans for a double platform railway station at Inverness Airport.