The South Sub railway rides again - or does it?
Plus: City is UK's nightlife Capital; hotel for Craigmillar; and Hamnet author to return to the big screen
City hopes to restart passenger services on suburban rail line after 60-plus years
The city council is exploring plans to restart passenger services on the South Sub rail line as part of a future expansion of the Capital’s tram network.
Regular passenger services on the suburban line stopped in 1962 but it is still used today for mainly freight services.
Advances in tram-train technology mean it is now easier than ever to run services which switch seamlessly between traditional railway lines and on-street tram tracks.
That has raised the local authority’s interest in incorporating the old South Sub line in an expanded city-wide tram network.
The idea is gathering growing support, including from Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray and Edinburgh Southern MSP Daniel Johnson, but there are serious doubts about how it fits into the Scottish Government’s transport plans.
What is the South Sub? The Edinburgh South Suburban Railway, affectionately known as the South Sub, runs on a loop linking the south of the Capital with the city centre. Campaigners have been calling for years to restart passenger services to areas such as Gorgie, Morningside, Newington and Portobello. However, despite repeated feasibility studies, notably in the 1980s, the idea has never been adopted.
What’s different now? Improving technology, including the potential of battery-powered trains, make it cheaper and simpler to run passenger services on the line. The latest idea is to link them with an expanded tram network using hybrid tram-trains.
Sounds cool. Yeah, the potential is undoubtedly exciting - with the possibility of service connecting several neighbourhoods with the city’s football grounds, university campuses, shopping centres and the seaside at Porty.
(You can read more from award-winning engineer Corey Boyle on why this could be such a big step forward for the Capital here. Watch out for more from Corey in the Inquirer soon)
So where would it stop? The concept map produced by the council shows stops at Gorgie (for Hearts’ Tynecastle Stadium), Craiglockhart (for Napier University’s campus), Morningside Road, Blackford Hill (for Edinburgh University’s King’s Buildings), Newington, Cameron Toll, Duddingston & Craigmillar, Fort Kinnaird, Brunstane (where it would connect with the Borders Railway) and Portobello. The tram line could then branch off through Meadowbank, with stops at Abbeyhill (for Hibs’ Easter Road Stadium) and on London Road, before linking with the existing Edinburgh Airport-Newhaven line at the top of Leith Walk.
What’s not to like? Well, despite the advantages of using an existing off-road rail line making it cheaper than most comparable schemes, the as-yet-unknown cost would still be huge, probably £1bn-plus. And there is little sign of the Scottish Government queuing up to support the plan any time soon.
What’s the Scottish Government’s beef? The Scottish Government has repeatedly made clear though its Sestransit plans that its priority is developing a mass transit system for the whole of the South-East of Scotland. That could involve trams, train-trams, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with priority lanes and segregated sections, or a mixture of them all. That would likely focus first on the busiest routes, such as into the city from West Lothian and Midlothian, to tackle severe peak-time congestion on A7, A701 and A90. The council has struggled to convince the Scottish Government its £2bn-plus north-south tram extension plan fits well with their priorities. The South Sub appears an even less neat fit, given its focus on getting about within the city, rather than in and out of it.
The city’s transport leader says: Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, the city’s transport and environment convener, told the BBC: “We are the fastest growing city in Scotland, with over 60,000 new residents expected over the next two decades and growing at twice the rate of Glasgow. The Lothians are also the fastest growing region in the country… I’m clear that a multimodal model incorporating bus, heavy rail, trams and potentially tram trains, supported by active travel and shared mobility, is the right approach for Edinburgh.”
What happens next? The proposed £2bn-2.9bn north-south tram extension remains the council’s priority (ahead of its South Sub plans). However, it needs to find a way of persuading the Scottish Government to loosen its purse strings, and that hasn’t proven easy to date. With all the polls currently pointing towards an SNP victory in May’s Scottish Parliament elections, meaning no change at Holyrood, the concern is it remains stuck in the slow lane.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
CRAIGMILLAR HOTEL: The former Drybrough Brewery in Craigmillar is set to be converted into a 24-bedroom hotel. Developer Sebastian Kozlowski, whose plans for the site next to Holyrood Park have been approved by the city council, hopes to go on to regenerate the full site with a micro-brewery, artisan coffee shop, museum and artists’ workshops.
FARES UP: Most bus and tram fares are going up by nearly 10%. Single adult fares on both Lothian Buses and the trams will increase by 20p to £2.40 and adult day tickets will rise by 50p to £6 from 22 February. Several bus services are changing too, with a number of new routes and the axing of one serving the Royal Infirmary.
UP ALL NIGHT: Edinburgh has been named the nightlife Capital of the UK after Uber carried out an analysis of its taxi journey data. People in Edinburgh made the highest proportion of journeys between 10pm and 4am, putting it ahead of Glasgow and London, the second and third busiest for night journeys. The findings cement Edinburgh’s reputation as a thriving hub for pubs, bars and clubs.
MORE MAGGIE: Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell has signed a deal for her next novel Land to be adapted for the big screen. The Edinburgh novelist is renewing her partnership with Hamnet producer Liza Marshall. Land tells the story of a father and son working on the mapping of Ireland in the post-famine 1860s.
FLOATING BUS STOPS: Sight Scotland has called for the introduction of ‘floating bus stops’ to be halted in the Capital until they can be made safe for all. The charity says the floating stops, which have a cycle lane between the stop and the kerb, are a severe danger to people with sight loss. Nine are due to be installed in Fountainbridge and Dundee Street.
BOY FOUND IN BIN: A two-year-old boy who went missing for an hour at nursery was found inside a closed grit bin in the playground. The city council has said urgent changes have been made to prevent any repeat of the incident at Maybury Primary Early Learning and Childcare Centre on Turnhouse Road.
EMU ATTACKS: Volunteers working at the Barnton Bunker have raised concerns to the BBC about health and safety shortcomings at the former Cold War nuclear bunker on Corstorphine Hill. Among the issues they have highlighted are volunteers being attacked by the site’s resident emus. The Barnton Bunker Preservation Society says the allegations are “inaccurate, misleading, historic or lacking wider context”.
NHS CHIEF PAY ROW: Unions have criticised a temporary 10% pay rise awarded to NHS Lothian chief executive Prof Caroline Hiscox. Prof Hiscox, who earns an annual salary of £195,000-200,000, has taken on extra duties leading work on the modernisation of the health service across Scotland. That includes introducing standardised business systems in health boards across the country and measures to tackle long A&E waits. Royal College of Nursing Scotland said the pay rise for work which took her away from her day to day duties would demoralise staff.
ROAD SAFETY WARNING: Parents are calling for further safety measures to be put in place at the junction where Cramond Primary School pupil Thomas Wong was killed in 2024. The 11-year-old was killed after being hit by the driver of a bin lorry at the exit of the Royal Burgess Golfing Society car park on Whitehouse Road. Road markings, signage and pavements have been improved, but parents say they are still concerned about safety there.
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
City glamping pioneers in Irish venture
An Edinburgh-based business is helping glamping businesses get off the ground – with one of their latest ventures being in Northern Ireland. Glampitect is working with the site owners to establish a small site of three glamping pods, with hot tubs and public areas for each, as well as a treehouse.
The business was set up in 2019, and since then has worked with more than 500 clients, delivering 400 planning applications and carrying out 1600 feasibility studies as part of its work to help owners get glamping sites established.
The site in Fermanagh in the south-west corner of Northern Ireland is currently unused but had been given permission for a dwelling previously.
MORE ROOM AT THE INN: The Leonardo Royal Hotel in the Old Town has officially opened its major new extension, which increases the hotel’s capacity by 100 bedrooms to take the room count to 290. The £22.4 million project is part of a wider investment in the site, which includes enhancing the hotel’s food and beverage offering.
COUNCIL BUSINESS: Businesses in Edinburgh are being invited to meet with 30 Council services and business-facing partners face-to-face. Meet the Council will be held tomorrow at the Assembly Rooms on George Street between 10am and 1pm to hear about opportunities for business growth.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
UP ALL NIGHT II: Typewronger books is staying open all night to sell books and “raise funds to pay our bills”. Book lovers will be able to get a stamp to prove they bought their books at the shop on Haddington Place, at the top of Leith Walk, in the wee small hours on 21 February.
SNOWDROP WEEKEND: Celebrate the first signs of spring with a walk through the glorious carpet of snowdrops at Hopetoun House. The house and grounds will open for Snowdrop Weekend on Saturday and Sunday for a rare chance to explore them during winter. Adult tickets from £7.
MANIPULATE MAGIC: An illuminated octopus, a vodka-fuelled concert about death and candyfloss puppets are just some of the highlights of the 19th Manipulate Festival. The fun starts from Wednesday at venues including Edinburgh Filmhouse.
QUICK BITES
CAPITAL TOPS: Six Edinburgh restaurants are amongst the UK’s top 100 for 2026 named by food experts at SquareMeal, the independent guide. A total of 11 Scottish restaurants made the list, with Michelin-starred Lyla, on Royal Terrace in the Capital, highest placed.
CHEERS: Encore Bars Group has announced the opening of a second Irish-American bar in the Capital. The Boston Bar – Old Town is to open on 20 February in the premises formerly operated as the Globe Bar. The new bar will be a “live music and sports-led neighbourhood bar.”