Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, has a vital freight route through the leafier parts of the city. The appropriately named South Suburban Line hasn’t had passenger service since 1962. However, a new study has made a fresh proposal to incorporate it into the city’s tram service, making it more connected than ever.
A plan to make the South Sub into Scotland’s first tram-train route has been put forward by a group of young civil engineers, none of whom were born when passengers last used the line that runs through Edinburgh’s southern neighbourhoods. The opportunities for connectivity, if incorporated into Edinburgh’s tram project, give this latest proposal enhanced credibility.
New public transport axis
The South Sub’s value has never been in doubt, albeit for freight operations. Seventy movements a day use the twelve-kilometre route, which avoids the heavily trafficked lines through the city centre stations at Waverley and Haymarket. Freight movements originating far and wide use the line every day.
Excursion trains, stock movements, and some ‘route learning’ workings occasionally run around the ‘Sub.’ However, none have made a revenue-generating stop since 1962. If Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University students succeed in their proposal, that would change. Trams, sharing the tracks with freight trains, would give Edinburgh a new public transport axis, and widen the movement of passengers around the city.
From stadium to seaside
The six-strong team of civil engineers are urging policymakers to integrate Edinburgh’s South Suburban Line into the city’s existing tram network, paving the way for a new transport corridor in the Capital. In addition to a petition, the students carried out a public survey revealing significant support for their proposals from local communities and potential passengers.
The line links the national rugby stadium at Murrayfield in the west of the city with the seaside resort of Portobello on its eastern boundary, passing through the busy neighbourhoods of Craiglockhart, Morningside, Newington, Cameron Toll, Craigmillar, Fort Kinnaird and Brunstane. As reported recently, Network Rail is currently working on a bridge structure at Cameron Toll, emphasising the existing importance of the route.
Practical and cost-effective
Efforts to reopen the Sub have been discussed before. They have always been dismissed due to high costs related to reinstatement and a limited business case. However, with Edinburgh’s population increasing and placing greater demands on existing public transport services, the students believe they have found a ‘practical and cost-effective’ solution.
They have tabled a proposal to introduce Scotland’s first battery-electric tram-train network, following the model adopted in some European cities, and similar to a line between Sheffield and Rotherham in England. Proposals were last tabled before the city’s tram line was commissioned. The campaign group say that the dynamics have changed significantly since then, and they hope that will trigger interest from the Scottish Government, Edinburgh City Council and Network Rail. A public meeting is being held this week.