A ScotRail train on Platform 0 at Haymarket
A train derailment in Princes Street Gardens last night shows the need to reduce the pressure on the pinch-point between Waverley and Haymarket stations in Edinburgh.
For those of you who don't know your Edinburgh geography, there is only a mile between the two stations, traversed in 4 minutes at normal line speed. The problem is, Waverley's 20 platforms are pushed into just four running lines through Princes Street Gardens.
In recent months, the two northernmost lines have been electrified to close a historical anomaly that saw electric trains only able to use the two southern lines. This has helped with some of the congestion. Platform 0 has also been retained at Haymarket despite Network Rail wanting to get rid of it. It has proven invaluable during this current "crisis" as trains terminate at Haymarket instead of going onward to Waverley.
I believe that more trains should terminate at Haymarket. There are big plans to turn it into a large "interchange hub" where passengers can catch buses, taxis and trams to other destinations in the city. I see no reaosn why we couldn't have every second train from Fife or Bathgate terminating/starting at Haymarket. In fact, with the plans to increase train frequency between Edinburgh and Glasgow to every ten minutes, why not have every third of those trains terminating/starting at Haymarket?
To my mind, Edinburgh's smaller station is criminally underused and should be utilised to a greater capacity in order to lessen the congestion into, and in, Waverley.
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