European Railroad Discussion > Edinburgh, Scotland local lines (Aug 2026)

The last series in the batch of pics from our UK trip.
1.When we arrived at Edinburgh Haymarket station we transferred to the local Tram (streetcar), which connects the airport with the docks via Downtown.  We rode the Haymarket to Airport segment of the Tram (no pics).
The next day I intended to ride the eastern half of the Tram route; it was not running at the time. The Princes Street portion of the route was temporarily impacted by clean-up efforts after a major building fire.
2. The Edinburgh tourist guide noted that the Borders line was Scotland's newest railway. I rode it out from edinburgh Waverley to the end of the line at Tweedbank (pictured) and return; it connects with rural walking/hiking paths. 
3. This Freightliner Terminal had seen better days

continued 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/26 11:21 by casco17.

---

---

---

4. Back at Edinburgh Waverley station, I selected the 12:58 departure to Dundee (Platform 16). This was a ScotRail shuttle.
5. A 'bucket list' item was to ride over the Firth of Forth bridge; it is barely visible in the mist
6. There were not-yet-in-service catenary poles along part of the route; the poles then continued along the Levenmouth Railway branch.

continued

---

---

---

I think Princess Street was closed then due to an unsafe building, following on from a severe fire. The Scotrail High Speed Trains are well worth riding if you're still there. Chris uk.

7. The track alignment enabled a much better view of the Firth of Tay bridge, seen here.
8. The speed limit signs included a higher limit for the HST (High Speed Train).

Thanks for looking.

---

---

55002 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think Princes Street was closed then due to an
> unsafe building, following on from a severe fire.
> The Scotrail High Speed Trains are well worth
> riding if you're still there. Chris uk.
This was early August when we were there; we're back in the US now. I had debated which route(s) to ride and elected to go with Tweedbank and Dundee.

The UK is one of our favorite (favourite) places to visit so we do expect to go back again at some point over the next few years and check out new routes.
The Edinburgh Airport worked well for us.
 

casco17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------.
> The next day I intended to ride the eastern half
> of the Tram route; no luck due to construction
> work.. 
> 3. This Freightliner Terminal had seen better
> days
>

Not really construction work as such, Princes Street, Edinburgh's prime shopping street, has been closed since early July owing to a major fire in a former department store. The city has been busy making the site safe, it reopened today, August 29th.

The Freightliner terminal has been closed for getting on for 30 years, it amazes me it hasn't been repurposed.

86235 Wrote:

> Not really construction work as such, Princes
> Street, Edinburgh's prime shopping street, has
> been closed since early July owing to a major fire
> in a former department store. The city has been
> busy making the site safe, it reopened today,
> August 29th.
>
Thanks to you and Chris UK for the clarification. I'll correct the initial post.
One of the tourist doubledecker bus routes we rode followed segments of the tramway near the docks near its eastern end point.