Tram Trains for Edinburgh was set up recently to campaign to bring back public transport on the Edinburgh South Suburban line (the ‘South Sub’). This is partly in response to the significant public interest in the proposal to run tram trains on the South Sub, developed by Heriot-Watt students in early 2025.
The route of the South Sub would provide a direct and fast connection between the east & west sides of the city, Fort Kinnaird, Cameron Toll, Morningside, Tynecastle, etc. and including some poorly served residential areas; whilst also providing connections to commercial, employment, medical and leisure destinations beyond the route itself. In addition, encouraging people onto public transport reduces traffic congestion, provides new economic opportunities and helps achieve our sustainability objectives. The proposal is not intended to compete with the City Council’s North-South tram route but rather would be complementary to it.
Over the years there have been various campaigns to re-open the South Sub but these have faltered on the grounds of cost and impracticability – especially a lack of rail capacity through Waverley & Haymarket. The tram-trains proposal is to run trams on the existing South Sub rail infrastructure but connect with the tram line at Murrayfield, enabling access to the city centre, the airport and Leith. Use of cheaper tram train technology, together with the underused Network Rail infrastructure, offers a game-changing option to improve the capital’s public transport.
We are having a public launch meeting to explain the proposal and gather support from both the public and interested organisations
We are grateful to Cllr. Tim Pogson for hosting this event at the Edinburgh City Chambers.
