Support For Edinburgh Tram-Train Scheme
The title of this post, is the title of a third-of-a-page article in the June 2025 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
Final-Year civil engineering undergraduates at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus have received warm support for a study in which they recommend reopening the city’s 7.5 mile South Suburban Railway, used for freight and diversions since 1962, using tram-trains.
It looks like they would start in the West at say Edinburgh Gateway or the Airport and would then turn South at Murrayfield to join the South Suburban Railway at Gorgie.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks to the South of Murrayfield stadium.
Note.
- The more Westerly-oriented orange tracks lead to Glasgow.
- The orange tracks running South-Westerly are the tracks to Carstairs.
- The yellow tracks are the South Suburban Railway.
- Tram-trains could then go all the way to Brunstane on the Borders Railway.
- The blue arrow indicates the tram-stop for Murrayfield.
- I would assume that the connection to the South Suburban Railway, is to the East of this stop.
- Gorgie East, Craiglockhart and Morningside Road were stations on the South Suburban Railway.
This map shows where the South Suburban and Borders Railways meet in a large triangular junction.
Note.
- Newcraighall station on the Borders Railway is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Brunstane station is to its North-West almost halfway up the map.
- The two stations are the North and South points of the triangular junction, where the South Suburban and Borders Railways meet.
- The South Suburban can be seen going West towards Gorgie and Murrayfield.
- Edinburgh’s beach at Portobello is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Between Murrayfield and Brunstane, there would be an appropriate number of tram stops and a tram-train every fifteen minutes.
Optionally, the route can be extended to Leith on a mothballed freight line.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways and tramways of Edinburgh between Brunstane, Edinburgh Waverley and Leith.
Note.
- The orange track running across the bottom of the map is the East Coast Main Line into Edinburgh Waverley station, which is clearly marked.
- The pink track is the Edinburgh tram to Newhaven.
- Brunstane station is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The site of the former Portobello station is marked by the blue arrow.
- The yellow track from Portolbello up the coast is a mothballed freight line to Leith Docks.
The proposal suggests that the tram-train route finishes at Leith Docks. One of the reasons, is that this part of Edinburgh, is not well served by public transport.
I have some extra thoughts.
Changing Between Borders Railway and the Tram-Train At Brunstane Station
Brunstane station, is a two-track station, with only one platform, so there may need to be track modifications.
Do Edinburgh’s Urbos Trams Have A Tram-Train Variant?
They do!
Do Edinburgh’s Urbos Trams Have A Battery Variant?
Battery tram-trains charged at either end of the route will be needed.
A battery-electric Urbos 3 tram, can be seen running through the City of Birmingham in England.
Conclusion
The proposal looks feasible to me. But the devil will be in the detail.
A Day Trip To Leven From London
On Thursday, the 15th of May, I shall be taking a day trip by train from London King’s Cross to Leven in Fife.
I shall be doing it for the following reasons.
- To see the new Levenmouth Rail Link and its two new stations : Cameron Bridge and Leven.
- To prove that it is possible to do trips like these.
- To prove that it is still possible for me to do trips like these.
- To see a couple of old friends, who live North of the Border.
- I shall probably also ride the new section of the Edinburgh Tram.
I shall be leaving London on the Lumo service at 05:48 and returning on the 16:13, which gives me around six hours in Scotland.
Plans To Turn Former Station Waiting Room Into Pub
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Plans to turn a Grade II listed railway station’s former waiting room back into a pub have been submitted.
These are the first three paragraphs of the article.
Network Rail wants to refurbish the room at Carlisle’s station, which is now a storage room and kitchen.
The first class waiting room, which was until recently used as a pub, was built by architect William Tite in 1880 as an extension to his original 1847 neo-Tudor station designs.
The plans are part of the £27m Carlisle Gateway project to turn the city’s station into a “national interchange” transport hub, funded by central government, Cumberland Council and Network Rail.
I very much like this idea.
Carlisle could be turned into a national interchange, that was almost unique in the world.
- Rail services across the Borderlands could be improved, to the cities of Glasgow, Lancaster, Leeds, Newcastle and York.
- Rail services could be developed, so visitors could explore the Lake District by rail.
- The Eden Project at Morecambe would be a rail-accessible attraction, that was just an hour away from Carlisle.
- The Borders Railway from Edinburgh could be extended to Carlisle.
- All services would be zero-carbon, with power coming from either batteries or hydrogen.
- Services would be tourism-friendly, with space for bicycles, large panoramic windows and high-class catering.
Current times between London and Carlisle could be reduced to under three-and-a-half hours, with reductions of up to an hour, as High Speed Two is eventually delivered.
More Than Half Of London-Edinburgh Travellers Now Going By Train Instead Of Plane
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on The Independent.
As Lumo seem to be a success on London and Edinburgh, surely a similar service should run between London and Glasgow.
Grand Union are trying to run a London and Stirling service, but it doesn’t seem to be getting close to starting.
London To Edinburgh On Lumo
Yesterday, I took the 10:45 Lumo service from King’s Cross to Edinburgh.
I took some pictures on the way.
I have split them into sepate topics.
Lumo’s Class 803 Train Arrives
Note.
- The train is in Platform 10 in the old suburban station.
- This has now been reduced to just two platforms.
- In the other platform is a Grand Central service to Bradford Interchange station.
At least it appears, that there could be space to reinstate a third platform, if it should prove necessary.
Seating On Lumo
Note.
- I didn’t get a seat with a proper window.
- The seat-back table is generously-sized.
- There is a light over the table.
- The luggage racks were well used.
- There is more than normal leg-room. My neighbour, who was taller than my 1.70 metres, also liked the leg-room.
Both of us, thought the seats were more comfortable than LNER.
I have a spine that curves outwards at the bottom and it often objects to train and car seats. But after four-and-a-half hours on Lumo, it wasn’t protesting.
York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
When the York To Church Fenton Improvement Scheme and the closely related Huddersfield To Westtown (Dewsbury) Upgrade are completed, the TransPennine route between Huddersfield and York will be fully-electrified.
These pictures show the electrification is underway.
York to Huddersfield will be over forty miles of electrified line, with a remaining gap of just eighteen miles to the electrification being installed between Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria.
Work At Reston Station
Reston station is being built North of Berwick-on-Tweed. I took these pictures as we passed through.
I describe the station in a post called A New Reston Station.
Arrival In Edinburgh
I took these pictures when we arrived in Edinburgh.
Note Edinburgh is not short of platforms that can take five- and ten-car trains.
These are a few other thoughts about the journey.
Non-Stop Between King’s Cross And Newcastle
It seemed to me, that a lot of passengers left the train at Newcastle.
- Times between King’s Cross And Newcastle are comparable betyween LNER and Lumo.
- Lumo is non-stop until Newcastle.
- Lumo is probably more affordable.
I can see Lumo picking up a lot of business on this leg.
Football At Newcastle
I have come across several Newcastle United season ticket holders in London.
Looking at Lumo’s full timetable, there are these two trains on a Saturday.
- A train leaves King’s Cross at 10:25 and arrives in Newcastle at 13:25.
- A train leaves Newcastle at 19:35 and arrives in King’s Cross at 22:29.
These could be ideal to see the match and get back to London.
Food
The full food service isn’t in operation yet, but we the trolley did come through twice.
Passenger Loading
Most seats were taken, as we left King’s Cross, but due to high number, who left at Newcastle, there were a few gaps as we ran between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
But then this is a shorter leg and perhaps travellers are more likely to drive.
I suspect that Lumo can’t wait to build up their service to the full five trains per day, as it does look like the demand is there.
Morpeth Station
There wasn’t many boarders and leavers at Morpeth station, but as services build up and travellers realise the system is there, will business increase?
Conclusion
I shall take another trip in the New Year, when the full service is implemented.
Calcutta Cup By Lumo
According to Scottish Rugby, the Culcutta Cup between Scotland and England next year is at Murrayfield on the 5th of February 2022.
I have just looked up services that day on Lumo’s web site.
- It would be possible to travel North on the 05:45 train, which arrives in Edinburgh at 10:06.
- After the match, there is a train South at 17:56, which arrives back in London at 22:29.
- Tickets are available at £45.50 both ways.
As Lumo could probably run both services with ten-car trains, that hold eight hundred passengers, this could earn ticket revenue for Lumo of £72,800.
An American Take On Lumo
One of my Google Alerts picked up this article on an American site called Travel + Leisure, which is entitled A Brand-New Train Launched In The UK Today — Linking Cities Like Edinburgh And London For As Little As $20.
As I have sat next to American and Canadian couples and families on Anglo-Scottish trains, I hope that Lumo’s website is friendly to those living outside the UK.
Will The Lumo Concept Take Off In The United States?
I’m no expert, but on the right route, I don’t see why not!
After all, easyJet, Go and Ryanair took on the concept of the low-cost airline, which was pioneered by Pacific Southwest Airlines in California.
Would A North-East And South West Sleeper Service Be A Good Idea?
I ask this question as in the October 2021, there is an article entitled A New Sleeper, which has this explanatory sub-title.
Des Bradley describes his concept for a North-East to South-West Overnight Service
Paraphrasing his resume from the article, Des Bradley is probably best described as a rail enthusiast, who has travelled all over Europe by train, especially on sleeper trains. He has also worked recently with ScotRail, where he led their integrated travel activities.
I regularly use the Caledonian Sleeper on my trips to Scotland, often taking a sleeper one way and a day time train the other. Towards the end of next month, I have tickets booked for a low-cost Lumo train to Edinburgh and a sleeper back to London in the evening.
In this blog, I have regularly written about the sleeper trains being introduced across Europe and this summer I had intended to go via Eurostar and NightJet to Vienna. But the pandemic has kept me in England for two years.
An Edinburgh And Plymouth Sleeper
Des Bradley is proposing a sleeper train between Edinburgh and Plymouth.
- A typical daytime trip on this route takes eight hours and forty-five minutes.
- Intermediate stops would be Berwick-upon-Tweed, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham New Street, Cheltenham Spa, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter St. David’s and Newton Abbot.
- Journey time would be just over twelve hours.
- By comparison a sleeper between London and Edinburgh takes about seven hours and thirty minutes.
He calls the service the NESW Sleeper.
I have some thoughts on the proposal.
A Spine Route Between Edinburgh And Penzance
The route is effectively a spine between Edinburgh and Plymouth on which other services can be built.
Unlike the Caledonian Sleeper, Des Bradley doesn’t feel the train should split and join as it travels up and down the country.
But I do think that the NESW Sleeper can be timed to fit in with high-quality connecting services to extend the coverage.
An Innovative Timetable
Des Bradley’s timetable is innovative.
- Trains leave Edinburgh and Plymouth around 21:00.
- Trains arrive at their destination around 09:00.
- Trains stop for about two hours at Derby.
- After resting at Derby, the trains are effectively early morning trains.
Note.
- The wait at Derby, adds extra time, that can be used to make up for engineering diversions, which often happen at night!
- The trains could be used by non-sleeper passengers to get to Plymouth or Edinburgh early.
The consequence of the second point, is that the trains will have to offer some Standard Class seats.
Should The Train Serve Penzance?
The Great Western Railway’s Night Riviera sleeper train calls at Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, St.Austell, Truro, Redruth, Cambourne, Hoyle and St. Erth between Plymouth and Penzance.
According to a proposed NESW timetable, the Night Riviera has long gone, before the NESW Sleeper arrives in Plymouth at 08:58.
But I’m sure Great Western Railway could arrange for a convenient service between Plymouth and Penzance to pick up passengers in the morning and deliver them in the evening. This picture taken at Plymouth, indicates that cross-platform interchange may be possible.
This picture shows a pair of GWR Castles, which regularly work additional services between Plymouth and Penzance.
What About Wales?
I suspect that Cardiff, Swansea and other towns and cities in South Wales, can be served in a similar way, by connecting with GWR services at Bristol Parkway station.
Other Connecting Services
Birmingham New Street, Derby, Leeds and Newcastle are important interchange stations and I can see services being timed to bring passengers to and from the NESW Sleeper.
Rolling Stock
The author offers choices for the trains, based on what is used currently in the UK and adding multiple units. But he is definitely tending towards fixed formations.
I feel that the trains should meet the following criteria.
They should be of similar standard as the Caledonian Sleeper.
They would need an independently-powered capability for sections without electrification.
They should be zero-carbon.
They should offer a range of accommodation including Standard Class seats to cater the early birds and budget travellers.
The possibility to run at 100 mph or faster might be useful to catch up time on some sections of the route.
I think that two trains could be possible.
- A rake of coaches hauled by a hydrogen-electric locomotive.
- A battery-electric Sleeper Multiple-Unit with a range of perhaps eighty miles on batteries.
This is a sentence from the article.
The concept of ‘Sleeper Multiple-Units’ has also emerged in recent years, and this idea could be attractive; although it has some inherent inflexibility, it could in the future allow multi-portion or experimental new routes to be tagged onto the core service.
Sleeper Multiple Units might enable a South Wales and Edinburgh service, that used the same train path between Edinburgh and Bristol Parkway, where the two trains would split and join.
Conclusion
I like this proposal and definitely think it is a good idea.
The London And Edinburgh Travel Market
This paragraph comes from of this article on Railway Gazette.
Lumo is aiming to carry more than 1 million passengers per year. It is particularly targeting people who currently fly between Edinburgh and London; in June it says there were 74 764 air journeys on the route, compared to 82 002 by rail.
Lumo’s million passengers per year, will equate to around 83,300 passengers per month.
What these figures don’t show is the number of rail journeys made to intermediate stations like Newcastle, York, Doncaster and Peterborough.
These are a few thoughts.
Rail Capacity Between London And Edinburgh
Consider.
- LNER is currently the only rail carrier offering a daytime service between London and Edinburgh.
- LNER run approximately 26 trains per day (tpd) in both directions between London and Edinburgh.
- A nine-car Class 801 train can carry 510 Standard Class passengers and 101 First Class passengers.
That means that LNER had a capacity of just over 950,000 seats in June.
It might seem poor to have only sold 82,002 seats in June between London and Edinburgh, which is just 8.6 % of the available seats.
On the other hand, LNER’s two trains per hour (tph) are a lot more than London and Edinburgh trains, as they connect towns and cities all the way up the East Coast Main Line between London and Aberdeen.
Lumo’s capacity of a million seats per year, works out at 83,300 seats per month, which is another 8.7 % of capacity.
- Lumo will sell seats on price initially and I suspect they’ll end up running about 85-95 % full.
- It has been stated that they need to run 80% full to break even.
- I also think, that they would like to have a few seats for late bookers.
But even so, they will surely affect LNER’s bookings.
What Will LNER Do?
Several of the things, that Lumo are doing can be easily copied by LNER.
- Early booking.
- Improve onboard service.
- Better seating.
They could even reduce prices.
I think it is very likely we could end up with a price and service war between LNER and Lumo.
Would The Airlines Be The Losers?
This could be an outcome of competition between LNER and Lumo.
We are now talking about times of around four hours and twenty-five minutes between London and Edinburgh, but there are improvements underway on the East Coast Main Line.
- The remodelling of the approach to Kings Cross station has not been reflected in the timetables.
- The Werrington Dive Under has not been completed yet.
- Digital signalling is being installed South of Doncaster.
- The power supply is being upgraded North of Newcastle.
When these and other improvements are complete, I can see journey times reduced below four hours.
But would that only be for starters?great b
If a 1970s-technology Intercity 225 train, admittedly running as a shortened train formation, could achieve a time of just under three-and-a-half hours for the 393.2 miles between Kings Cross and Edinburgh stations in September 1991, what could a modern Hitachi train do, if all of the improvements had been completed and perhaps half of the route could be run at 140 mph under the watchful eyes of full digital signalling and an experienced driver.
Consider.
- London and York is nearly two hundred miles of fairly straight railway, that is ideal for high speed.
- Current trains run the 393.2 miles in four hours 25 minutes, which is an average speed of 89 mph.
- A train running at 89 mph would take two hours and fifteen minutes to cover 200 miles.
- A train running at 125 mph would take one hour and thirty-six minutes to cover 200 miles.
- A train running at 140 mph would take one hour and twenty-six minutes to cover 200 miles.
When Network Rail, Great British Railways or the Prime Minister renames the East Coast Main Line as High Speed East Coast, I think we can be sure that trains between London and Edinburgh will be able to achieve three-and-a-half hours between the two capitals.
High Speed Two is only promising three hours and forty-eight minutes.
What About LNER’s New Trains?
LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, was written to explore the possibilities suggested by a short article in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways.
There has been no sign of any order being placed, but Hitachi have moved on.
- They are building the prototype of the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery for testing on the Great Western Railway.
- They have completed some of the Class 803 trains for East Coast Trains, which has now been renamed Lumo. These trains have a battery for hotel power in case of catenary failure, but no diesel engines.
- They are building the Class 807 trains for Avanti West Coast, which appear to be designed for high speed and have no batteries or diesel engines.
- The latest versions of the trains will have a reshaped nose. Is it more aerodynamic at high speeds?
It does seem that there is an emphasis on speed, better acceleration and efficiency.
- Could the lessons learned be used to improve the performance of the existing trains?
- Could a small high performance sub-fleet be created to run LNER’s Scottish services?
There are certainly possibilities, that would cut journey times between London and Edinburgh.
Conclusion
I can see the airlines flying between London and Edinburgh suffering a lot of collateral damage, as the two train companies slug it out.
North From Thornton Junction
This Google Map shows how all the railways connect at Thornton junction.
Note.
- The village of Cameron Bridge is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The A 915 running diagonally across the map and to the East of the village of Cameron Bridge.
- In The New Cameron Bridge Station On The Levenmouth Rail Link, I showed how Cameron Bridge station was positioned to the East of the A915 and the village.
- The Levenmouth Rail Link would appear to pass to the South of the village, according to a Network Rail map in the related post.
Thornton junction is a large triangular junction in the South-West corner of the map.
- Thornton North junction is close to Thornton Golf Club, which is shown by the green marker.
- Glenrothes with Thornton station is at the Eastern point of Thornton junction.
- Trains going West from Glenrothes with Thornton station go through Dunfermline and over the Forth bridge to Edinburgh.
- Thornton South junction is South of Thornton Golf Club and leads South through Kirkcaldy station and over the Forth bridge to Edinburgh.
This second Google Map shows the main Edinburgh and Dundee rail line between Thornton Golf Club (Thornton North junction) and Markinch station, which is the next station to the North.
Note.
- The village of Cameron Bridge in the East of the map.
- Markinch station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- Thornton Golf Club (Thornton North junction) is in the South-West corner of the map.
Looking at various maps, Thornton Junction appears very complicated.
- The North-South leg of the junction is at least double-track.
- The North-East leg of the junction appears to be single-track.
- The South-East leg of the junction appears to be single-track.
- The former Levenmouth Rail Link appeared to join the main line at a single-track junction to the North of Thornton North junction
- There is lots of space.
.I’m sure Network Rail can come up with an efficient track layout, that will enable the following.
- Trains can go between Glenrothes with Thornton and Kirkcaldy stations in both directions, as they do now.
- Trains can go between Glenrothes with Thornton and Levenmouth Rail Link in both directions.
- Trains can go between Kirkcaldy station and Levenmouth Rail Link in both directions.
This would enable the service provision, that was specified in Service Provision On The Levenmouth Rail Link.
What Will Be Electrified At Thornton Junction?
This page on the Network Rail web site, says this about the trains that will run the service on the Levenmouth Rail Link.
And while the line will be electrified with overhead wires, services will be operated initially by battery electric units in order to reduce the number of diesels operating on the network as early as possible.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see full electrification between Glenrothes with Thornton and Leven stations, to make sure that the battery-electric trains had full batteries for the run South to Edinburgh.
- The other two legs of Thornton junction would also be fully electrified to give all passing trains a good charge.
- The distance between Kirkcaldy and Markinch stations is 7.3 miles and trains take about ten minutes. I suspect most of this section of the Edinburgh and Dundee line will be electrified. There looks to be about six overbridges that might need raising, but I suspect it would be nothing too terrible, with about the same degree of engineering difficulty as electrifying the Gospel Oak to Barking Line in London.
- I feel with good engineering and guile, enough electrification can be added to the route through Kirkcaldy to get the trains to the South.
- West of Glenrothes with Thornton station, the track looks to be good territory for electrification and enough wires can be added, so that by Cardenden station, there is enough power in the batteries to get the trains to the South.
I have a feeling that by intelligently using the two routes via Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline, Network Rail can increase the frequency of trains over the Forth Bridge.
- This probably partly explains, why trains to Leven go alternatively via Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.
- 100 mph battery-electric trains help too with their sparkling acceleration.
- Who’d have thought, that at the age of one hundred and thirty, the Forth Bridge will be at the heart of an electrified local train network?
And the only new electrification is based on Thornton junction, over twenty miles to the North.
Electrification Between The Forth Bridge And Edinburgh
Without doubt, the electrification to the South of the Firth of Forth must reach as far North as possible.
Dalmeny station is the most Northerly station South of the bridge and I feel that this could be a practical place for the electrification to end.
Distances from Dalmeny to stations further North include.
- Leuchars – 41.4 miles
- Leven – via Dunfermline – 28.2 miles
- Leven – via Kirkcaldy – 27.3 miles
- Dundee – 48.8 miles
- Perth – 47.4 miles
All these destinations would be within range of Hitachi Regional Battery Trains, which are described in this Hitachi infographic.
Note that the range on battery power alone is 90 km or 56 miles.
Given that the battery-electric trains would be able to grab a battery charge as they passed through Thornton junction, I am fairly certain that Hitachi Regional Battery Trains could reach Leuchars, Dundee or Perth.
An Electric Service Between Edinburgh And Dundee
Dundee is a new station and I doubt, that it was rebuilt without provision for full electrification.
It has two through platforms for Aberdeen and Edinburgh services.
There are also two South-facing bay platforms for regional services from the South.
This picture shows the two bay platforms with an Edinburgh-bound train to the left.
Note.
- In the picture the two Class 170 diesel trains will be going to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
- Scotrail’s plans include an hourly train to both of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
If these two bay platforms were electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires, these battery-electric services will be possible.
- Edinburgh and Dundee via Haymarket, Kirkcaldy, Thornton junction and intermediate stations.
- Glasgow Queen Street and Dundee via Stirling, Dunblane, Perth, Gleneagles and intermediate stations.
I suspect other routes battery-electric will be possible.
An Electric Service Between Dundee And Aberdeen
The distance between Dundee and Aberdeen stations is 72 miles.
In Solving The Electrification Conundrum, I described techniques being developed by Hitachi Rail and Hitachi ABB Power Grids to electrify routes like Dundee and Aberdeen.
With Hitachi looking to give battery-electric trains a range of over forty miles, it could be just two hops between Dundee and Aberdeen.
I suspect Montrose could be the charging point, as it is forty miles South of Aberdeen.
Conclusion
It appears that the proposed electrification of Levenmouth Rail Link creates an electrification island at Thornton junction, that enables battery-electric trains to reach Dundee.
Coupled with plans to electrify between Stirling and Perth, this means that both Perth and Dundee will be connected to Scotland’s electrified rail network.
I suspect it is also possible to easily extend battery-electric trains all the way to Aberdeen, with only short sections of carefully positioned overhead wires.
Related Posts
The New Leven Station On The Levenmouth Rail Link
The New Cameron Bridge Station On The Levenmouth Rail Link
Service Provision On The Levenmouth Rail Link
The Anonymous Widower 