Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway
Meanwhile, the Caledonian Railway was constructing its line from Edinburgh to Glasgow and Carlisle, running from Lothian Road station, and opening in 1847 - 1848.
In 1865 the E&GR and the NBR amalgamated, keeping the name The North British Railway, and the opening of branch lines had led to substantially heavier traffic.
All the goods and mineral traffic had to pass along the double track route from Portobello to Haymarket through Waverley station, finding a path between the increasingly frequent passenger services.
In 1865 the NBR proposed a line from Haymarket to connect with the former Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway near its terminus on the south side of the city.
[1] Over the following years the congestion and the difficulty of working through Waverley station increased further, and the proposed construction of the Forth Bridge from 1871, promising much more traffic to the NBR at Edinburgh, intensified the perception that a resolution must be implemented.
A parliamentary bill was prepared by the North British Railway, although the line was to be built by a nominally independent company.
The engineer Thomas Bouch was engaged to design a route[note 2] from the complex of lines west of Haymarket to Portobello, and based on his work, an authorising act of Parliament for the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway was given royal assent as the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway Act 1880 (43 & 44 Vict.
[1] However the Tay Bridge disaster of December 1879 fatally undermined confidence in Bouch's work, and the proprietors of the new Company decided to have the engineering design of the line reviewed, and this was done by George Trimble.
[6] A revised bill was submitted to the 1882 session of Parliament and this gained royal assent as the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict.
Although intended primarily for goods and mineral traffic, the topography of the route forced the inclusion of significant gradients, climbing at 1 in 88 westbound and 1 in 60 eastbound to Morningside.
[4] Construction of the suburban line, conducted primarily by contractors John Waddell and Sons, began in August 1881.
Nonetheless the work proceeded satisfactorily, and it was anticipated that the line would be ready for the opening planned for the beginning of July 1884.
Stations at first were provided at Duddingston, Newington, Blackford Hill, Morningside and Gorgie,[note 5] and tickets were available in either direction, that is, intending passengers could catch the first train, whether inner or outer circle.
In accordance with the North British Railway's intention from the outset, the ES&SJR was absorbed by the NBR effectively from 1 May 1885, ratified by Act of Parliament of 22 July 1885.
[3] The primary purpose of building the line had been the provision of a by-pass route for goods and mineral trains, but usage of the circle passenger service developed better than had been expected.
Suburban development was taking place elsewhere, and a curve was installed at Abbeyhill on the fork of the lines to Leith, opening on 1 October 1886.
This enabled the suburban circle passenger trains to divert off the main line and make a station call at Abbeyhill from that date.
The following year saw the establishment of the circle route, which ran via Marchmont and Church Hill to the West End of Princes Street; the fare was one penny, or two pence for a return.
At the end of the independent existence of the North British Railway, twelve passenger trains ran each way on the Suburban Line each weekday.
A marked change in the routing of coal from the Lothian coalfields took place now: instead of running over the Edinburgh Suburban line it ran via Granton and Crewe Junction, a considerable detour.
As well as development of road and air links, the report proposed that a new line by-passing Waverley station should be built by extending from the St Leonards terminus of the original Edinburgh and Dalkeith line, doubling its approach railway, and tunnelling forward under the Meadows to emerge at a new two-level station at Morrison Street near Haymarket.
[11] In 1973, the Cockburn Association organised an excursion by chartered train, carrying 550 passengers, which ran round the suburban line from Waverley and then on to Livingston.
[12] Schemes to restore passenger services were considered by Edinburgh Council in 1984 and by Lothian Regional Transport in 1989, but nothing resulted in either case.
This suggested that trains could run into Waverley from North Berwick and Dunbar, and then on to Haymarket and round the suburban line, terminating at Newcraighall.
[14] In May 2008, the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee of Edinburgh Council reported on a study into the feasibility of reopening the line.
[15] Starting in the mid-2010s, there have been proposals for a hybrid tram-train system, using vehicles capable of running on both traditional heavy rail and on city centre streets.
