Edinburgh Waverley railway station

Edinburgh Waverley
Three First ScotRail trains awaiting departure at Waverley station
Location
Place	Edinburgh
Local authority	City of Edinburgh
Coordinates	55.952089°N 3.189262°W / 55.952089; -3.189262
Grid reference	NT25757386
Operations
Station code	EDB
Managed by	Network Rail
Number of platforms	18
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	14.220 million
2005/06	14.645 million
2006/07	15.286 million
2007/08	16.169 million
2008/09	17.571 million
2009/10	19.312 million
2010/11	19.957 million
2011/12	22.585 million
History
Original company	Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway, Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and North British Railway
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
22 June 1846	North Bridge built by NBR
17 May 1847	General Station built by E&GR
17 May 1847	Canal Street built by EL&NR
April 1866	NBR demolished existing stations and replaced them with Edinburgh Waverley
18 April 1966	Renamed Edinburgh by British Railways
????	Renamed Edinburgh Waverley
National Rail – UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Edinburgh Waverley from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Edinburgh Waverley railway station (referred to by Network Rail simply as Edinburgh but also commonly called Waverley) is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh (there is another within the City Centre called Haymarket). Ticketing generally regards Waverley and Haymarket as interchangeable (subject to operator validity); the choice of name for the new 'Edinburgh Park' station to the west of Haymarket has made the precise definition important, though Edinburgh also has three other Stations within the City - which are all west of Haymarket- South Gyle, Slateford & Wester Hailes. Covering an area of over 25 acres (101,000 m²) in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being London Waterloo; and is both a terminal station and a through station, in contrast to the major London stations.

It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail. It is the northern limit of the East Coast Main Line to Network Rail infrastructure definition, but through-services operate to Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth and Inverness.

There are many local services operated by Scotrail, including the four routes to Glasgow, the Fife Circle, and services to Stirling/Dunblane/Alloa, and the station is the terminus of the Edinburgh leg of the West Coast Main Line served by Virgin and Trans-Pennine.

Waverley is the second-busiest railway station in Scotland, with only Glasgow Central handling more passengers; in terms of passenger entries and exits between April 2010 and March 2011, Waverley is the fifth-busiest station outside London. According to Network Rail, which manages the station, over 19.2 million people use it annually.

Location

View from Scott Monument of Waverley Station roof, between Waverley Bridge (bottom right) and North Bridge, and Arthur's Seat in the background

Waverley station is situated in a steep, narrow valley between the medieval Old Town and the 18th century New Town. Princes Street, the premier shopping street, runs along one side. The valley is bridged by the 1897 North Bridge, a three-span iron and steel bridge, which passes high above the station's eastern section, and Waverley Bridge, which, by means of ramps, affords vehicular access, one of the four pedestrian entrances to the station. The valley was formerly filled by a freshwater loch, the Nor Loch, drained in the early 19th century.

History

Location of Waverley and (former) lines emanating from the station

With the growth of the city and the construction of the "scientifically designed" New Town to the north, the Nor Loch became a fetid open sewer, at odds with the city's modern Scottish Enlightenment aspirations. Works were undertaken to drain the loch and manage the city's sewerage, and by 1820 the loch was largely dry and the land was available for development. Much was used to build Princes' Street Gardens, an extensive landscaped park.

With the explosion of railway travel in Britain, three railway companies built stations in the valley in the course of the 1840s. The collective name "Waverley", after the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott, was used for the three from around 1854 when the through 'Waverley' route to Carlisle opened. The three stations were North Bridge, opened on 22 June 1846 by the North British Railway; General, opened on 17 May 1847 by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway; and Canal Street, opened on 17 May 1847 by the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway, serving Leith and Granton via a long rope-hauled tunnel under the New Town. Canal Street station was also known as Edinburgh Princes Street, not to be confused with the Caledonian Railway station later built (1894) at the West End following termination of the 'joint purse' agreement between Caledonian and Edinburgh&Glasgow railways and absorption of the E&G by the North British. The "Princes' Street" name was resurrected by British Railways for the former LMS Terminus, but the station was known as 'the Caley' until closure.

In 1868 the North British Railway acquired the stations of its rivals, demolished all three, and closed the Scotland Street tunnel to Canal Street. The present Victorian station was built on the site, and extended in the late 19th century. The North British Hotel (now The Balmoral) opened in 1902 as a railway hotel, and was operated as part of the station until the 1980s. Waverley has been in continual use since, under the auspices of the North British, the LNER, British Rail, Railtrack and latterly Network Rail.

From its opening in its current form by the eastward tunnelled extension from Haymarket, Waverley has been the principal railway station in Edinburgh. From 1870 to 1965 the city had a second major station, Princes Street, operated by the rival Caledonian Railway, but this was never as important as Waverley.

Former North British Hotel above the station

As at other large railway stations of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the railway company constructed a grand station hotel beside their station. The North British Hotel, adjacent to the station on Princes Street, opened in 1902. In 1983 British Rail sold it to the Forte hotel group. In 1988 Forte closed the hotel for a year to extensively remodel and update what had become something of a faded jewel. When it reopened it was rechristened The New Balmoral Hotel, maintaining the vNBinitials in what has proved to be an astute marketing move, despite the hotel being 115 miles from Balmoral Castle. Subsequently, "New" was dropped from the name.

British Rail brought railway electrification in 1991 with electric trains on the East Coast Main Line to Glasgow Central and via York to London King's Cross.

It enjoys commanding views over central Edinburgh, being one of very few British major stations literally in the middle of the associated town or city; and is one of the most luxurious (and expensive) hotels in the UK. There is no longer a direct entrance from the station.

The station's large size and the unusual topography of its surroundings mean that it contains a large amount of valuable centrally located land. The station's successive owners, British Rail, Railtrack and its current owner Network Rail have been unfairly criticised for underutilising the valuable city-centre spaces available within, there being a legal covenant preventing any upwards extension, which would obstruct the view of Arthur's Seat from Princes' Street. The elevated walkway linking the Waverley Steps (from Princes' Street to Market Street) has been upgraded with the recommissioning of the suburban platforms (at the south) and provision of additional through platforms to the north to serve the increased proportion of through rail traffic.

Princes Mall (formerly the Waverley Shopping Centre), which occupies a column of space (formerly Waverley Market, a live cattle market) nestling between Waverley Station, Waverley Bridge, and Princes' Street, opened in 1985. This mall has benefited from the installation of escalators on the Waverley Steps to Princes' Street in 2011.

Recent developments

During 2006 and 2007 parts of Waverley were extensively refurbished, including two new through platforms and the electrification of Platforms 12 to 18 in preparation for electric trains from the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link and future lines in Scotland to be electrified by the current (2012) EGIP (Edinburgh/Glasgow Improvement Project).

From 2010, the glazing of the roof of Waverley station is being entirely replaced with new strengthened clear glass panels replacing the old 34,000 m² of cloudy wired glass. Part of a £130 million upgrade, this will increase the amount of natural light in the station. Also included are plans to refurbish the station concourse and main building exterior together with upgrades to the Princes Street and Market Street entrances providing escalator and lift access.

Aberdeen express leaving Edinburgh Waverley in 1957

Services

Trains leave Waverley in two directions:

• Eastbound: following a series of closures culminating in that of the Waverley Route in 1969, the only services departing from the east end of Waverley were East Coast Main Line expresses (primarily to London King's Cross and Birmingham New Street), and local trains to North Berwick and Dunbar. Recently, the Edinburgh Crossrail scheme has seen a short stub of the Waverley Route reopened to Newcraighall, and the forthcoming partial reopening of the Waverley Route proper will see trains running to Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders.

• Westbound: the line passes through Princes Street Gardens to Haymarket station. From here, the line to Carstairs and the West Coast Main Line to Carlisle and the South as well as the Edinburgh-Glasgow via Shotts line to Glasgow Central diverges to the south. The next line to diverge is the line for the Forth Bridge and Fife to the north, with services to Glenrothes, Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness. The Edinburgh-Glasgow via Bathgate line diverges to the south at Newbridge Junction, carrying services for Milngavie and Helensburgh Central via Glasgow Queen Street low level. Finally, at Polmont Junction, the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line splits from the Stirling and Dunblane line. The former is served almost exclusively by ScotRail's main Glasgow service (via Falkirk High) and the latter by services for Dunblane, Alloa and Perth.

• East Coast operate an hourly service to London King's Cross throughout the day with all trains calling at Newcastle and York and various other stations en route. Services to London on average take four and a half hours. The exception to this is the 0540 "Flying Scotsman" service which only calls at Newcastle and completes the journey to London in four hours. In the other direction, through services extend to Aberdeen (4 each way per day) and Inverness (1 per day). Long-distance Glasgow Central have been transferred to the Cross-Country franchise (3 or 4 per day)

Waverley concourse at night, 2011

The booking hall at Waverley station

• CrossCountry operate an hourly service to Plymouth via Leeds and Birmingham. This service is sometimes extended to Penzance in the South or Aberdeen, Glasgow Central or Dundee in the North.

Winter 2007

On 11 December 2007, First TransPennine Express commenced services between Edinburgh Waverley and Manchester Airport.

Winter 2008

On 14 December 2008, Virgin Trains withdrew its Edinburgh Waverley to London Euston service and First ScotRail Newcraighall trains ceased to continue onto the Bathgate Line and were extended to the Fife Circle Line instead, in anticipation of the electrification of the Bathgate services (Airdrie-Bathgate Project, completed 2010) and implementation of the Borders rail project to Tweedbank which will use diesel trains (scheduled operation from 2014).

Routes - past and present

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Dunbar		East Coast East Coast Main Line		Haymarket
Terminus		TransPennine Express (TransPennine North West)		Haymarket
Dunbar		CrossCountry Cross Country Network		Haymarket
Terminus		Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line		Haymarket
Terminus		First ScotRail Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line		Haymarket
Terminus		First ScotRail North Clyde Line		Haymarket
Brunstane		First ScotRail Edinburgh Crossrail		Haymarket
Terminus		First ScotRail Edinburgh to Dunblane Line		Haymarket
Brunstane		First ScotRail Fife Circle Line		Haymarket
Terminus		First ScotRail Shotts Line		Haymarket
Musselburgh		First ScotRail North Berwick Line		Haymarket
Musselburgh		First ScotRail Edinburgh to Dunbar		Terminus
Terminus		First ScotRail Lowland Caledonian Sleeper		Carstairs
Westerton		First ScotRail Highland Caledonian Sleeper (The Deerstalker) Join/alight only for seated passengers to/from Fort William		Preston
	Historical railways
Jocks Lodge		North British Railway NBR Main Line		Terminus
Abbeyhill		North British Railway Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway		Terminus
Scotland Street		North British Railway Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway
Terminus		North British Railway Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway		Haymarket

Layout

A total of 24 platforms have existed at Waverley, but not more than 21 at any one time. Prior to incremental rationalisation of the east end in the 1960s-80s there were 21 platforms. The main station was effectively a large 'island' with through lines on the outside, and terminating platforms at both ends in between. In December 2006 a partial renumbering of platforms took place to reflect the construction of three new platforms.

At the north side of the station is the former Up Main through platforms, a very long platform with the tracks having a crossover to a parallel line in the centre, numbered 19 (west end) and 2 (formerly 1) (east end).

The east end terminating platforms have undergone significant rationalisation. From north to south these comprised:

• former Platforms 2 and 3, which were latterly used for parcels/mail traffic only and were removed in the 1980s when a new Royal Mail facility was built on their site;
• former Platforms 4 and 5 were also retained for parcels/mail traffic until this ceased; Platform 5 was reopened to passengers in 2006 as the new Platform 3;
• former platforms 6 and 7, of which only the latter survives, now numbered 4; and
• former Platforms 8 and 9, which were substantially shortened for use as a Motorail terminus, the infilled area becoming a car park; since the demise of Motorail services these platforms are used only for locomotive stabling, although the numbers 5/6 were reserved for them in the 2006 renumbering.

The former Down Main through Platforms 7 (east end) and 8 (west end) are at the south side of the main station, and comprise a single very long platform with a crossover in the centre. They are numbered 7 (formerly 10, east end) and 11 (west end).

At the west end there has been little change to the terminating platforms, apart from widening them by removing disused centre-road tracks. The platforms comprise (south-north) numbers 12/13, 14/15, 16/17 and bay Platform 18. These were not affected by the 2006 platform renumbering scheme.

The only platforms outwith Waverley's overall roof are the former 'Suburban' Platforms 8 and 9 (formerly 21 and 20), a lengthy island platform. These are on the southern edge of the station, adjacent to the east to the former freight depot (now a car park and offices) and with direct access to Market Street, which runs parallel to the railway to the immediate south.

A need to increase capacity for through and west-end traffic led to three new platforms being built in 2006, on land formerly occupied by disused sidings and bypass lines within the main part of the station. Platform 10 is a through platform at the west end, facing Platform 11. Platforms 1 and 20 are a single long through platform facing Platforms 2 and 19. All are linked by the upgraded north-south overhead walkway linking the Waverley Steps (escalators) to Market Street.

Gallery

• 

  Waverley station viewed from East Princes Street Gardens

• 

  Waverley station viewed from Edinburgh Castle

• 

  An eastbound train enters Waverley station

• 

  Westbound trains waiting at Waverley

• 

  First ScotRail and Virgin Trains services at the western end of the station

• 

  Westward view across the roadway between Platforms 7 and 11 (left) and the main concourse, with the Mezzanine Bridge visible above

• 

  Waverley station concourse

• 

  The elaborate ceiling of the ticket hall, extensively restored in 2003

• 

  Class 158 DMU 158730 at Platform 1

• 

  First ScotRail train after arriving from Glasgow Queen Street station

• 

  Taxi entering the station

References

http://www.bordersrailway.co.uk

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137. 
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.