Wednesday October 8th 2025
Tram Trains for Edinburgh (TTfE) public meeting last night (Tuesday 7 October) at Edinburgh's City Chambers
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Tram-trains for Edinburgh (TTfE) held a public meeting last night (Tuesday 7 October) in Edinburgh’s City Chambers.
The purpose of the meeting was to launch the campaign to bring back passenger services on the Edinburgh South Suburban Railway (South Sub) using tram-trains. The meeting was opened by Councillor Tim Pogson, Ward 15, Southside/Newington, who welcomed around 100 attendees.
The campaign group was founded in August 2025 to ‘promote the construction and use of public transport in Edinburgh by the use of tram-train technology and to integrate such developments with the existing tram and/or rail networks’, launching a new campaign after many years of previous failed attempts.
The meeting last night was hosted by City of Edinburgh Councillor Tim Pogson who explained he had a strong interest in the campaign as the South Suburban Railway, which is now only used for freight, runs through his constituency.
In the meeting he said: “I have a lot of interest in this. Talking to constituents, the southern line was talked about a lot.
“It was something I committed to coming up for election. The fact that we are here, we have an opportunity to make these transport links.
The TTfE campaign group was formed partly in response to the significant public interest in the proposal to run tram-trains on the South Sub developed by Heriot-Watt University students in early 2025.
Treasurer Lawrence Marshall has been involved in campaigning for better rail services in Edinburgh since 1989. He said, “Tram-trains are game-changing because they can run on-street in the city centre and on traditional rail lines, and are what makes the difference from previous ‘South Sub’ reopening proposals. Tram-train services would run westwards from Portobello along the South Sub and connect to the current tram at Murrayfield; they could then continue to both Princes St. and Leith, or Edinburgh Park and the airport.”
Spanning 12.3km, the proposed line links Murrayfield stadium in the west of the city with Portobello on its eastern boundary, passing through the key neighbourhoods of Craiglockhart, Morningside, Newington, Cameron Toll, Craigmillar, Fort Kinnaird and Brunstane, estimated to cost a shockingly low value of around £16 million.
Proposed route map of phase 1 and 2
The project also has potential for an interchange at Cameron Toll that could lead to posible connections to Dalkeith and further Midlothian.
Implementing the old ‘South Sub’ westward from Portobello, it will utilise the previous transport network that closed for public service on the 10th of September 1962. This ‘South Sub’ route was a popular rail service for over 20 years, connecting outer parts of the capital with the city centre, bringing connectivity of communities for work and pleasure which the new TTfE campaign aims to re-introduce.
Re-introducing this exciting rail track into the public eye isn’t the first time a campaign has sparked public attention, with previous studies since 1989 highlighting the positive outcomes of re-introducing the railway network. Since the opening of the Edinburgh Tram network in 2014, the expansion to Leith opening in 2023 and the recent discussions surrounding adding to the network, it has been brought into the public eye by TTfE and the Heriot Watt University study due to the implementation of ‘game-changing’ tram-trains.
With other European cities, such as Sheffield, using tram-train travel, supporters believe this is the perfect way to re-introduce the South Suburban Railway with newer tram and rail travel.
Tram-trains, also known as dual-system trams, is an urban rail transit system designed to both operate as trams on urban street-level networks and as trains on heavy mainline railway tracks.
Speaking at last night’s event, Chair of the group Rob Falkon, expressed TTfE’s interest and passion for re-connecting the public with the long-gone South Sub. He explained that the railway is a “very under-used resource that the campaign really wants to use for Edinburgh, that also has potential use into Midlothian and East Lothian”.
A key speaker at the meeting was Corey Boyle, one of the Heriot-Watt team of master’s students who carried out a study of the use of tram-trains on the South Sub. The study concluded that by using tram-trains on the South Sub there are many benefits for Edinburgh, including reducing congestion by cutting car journeys, encouraging urban regeneration, and improving access to jobs, education, and health services for communities across the Southside of Edinburgh.
Not officially being part of the campaign, he and his colleagues study plays a pivotal role in the campaign, both raising awareness and providing a clear plan of how the network could be constructed and operate.
Being part of a research team of six, he is the only one left fighting for Edinburgh train-trams. This team of six unfortunately lost one of their team members in a motorcycle crash a few weeks prior to the meeting, dedicating his section of the presentation to her.
Talking to the Midlothian View, Corey explained:
“After researching previous proposals and why they hadn’t succeeded, we felt our team could offer a fresh perspective. From there, the project grew, gathering nearly 4,500 petition signatures, securing TV and radio interviews, and leading to presentations at two conferences, including at the Scottish Parliament.”
Corey explained his further passion for the project, away from a university project, saying:
“Our study found it is hugely unlikely that heavy-rail passenger trains will ever return to the South Sub because of capacity issues at Haymarket and Waverley and the prohibitively high costs to address them, which has blocked previous plans.
“Light-rail tram-trains are cheaper to run and operate than heavy-rail, making them a more practical and commercially viable option.
“Therefore, I believe tram-trains are the best, and really the only, way to reopen the South Sub to passengers.”
“Edinburgh is thriving, with major projects like the £80 million Edinburgh Arena, the £250 million Ocean Terminal redevelopment, and the £1 billion St James Quarter all planned and designed to be within walking distance of tram stops, However, this success is not evenly spread across the city. Reopening the South Sub could bring similar opportunities for regeneration to these areas while improving access to jobs, education, and services.”
Identifying that Edinburgh and the Lothian’s are Scotland’s fastest growing regions, yet one of the most congested in the UK forcing an extra 300 buses an hour to accommodate future population growth, the study results and network plans he took last night’s group through layed out positive reasons that the council and Scottish Government should get on board with the potential project.
Explained in the meeting the estimated costs of phase 1 is around “£16 million for 12.3km of rail network”, this estimate number is around 3x cheaper than the 4.7km York Place to Newhaven tram line that cost £54 million.
One issue in the plan surrounds a connection at Murrayfield where a Network Rail bridge would need to be implemented to allow the line to pass through the busy Edinburgh to Glasgow mainline without disruption.
Example of how the underpass would need to be modified
Corey’s study found a solution to this problem being a line that ran on the road through the underpass but it is estimated to cost around a quarter of the estimated overall spending.
Phase 2 of the project wasnt discussed with detail in last night’s meeting but involves a tram-train extension in Leith via Seafield connecting the phase 1 tram-train with the existing tram network in Leith.
Surrounding last night’s meeting, Rob Falcon, said:
“I was delighted by the turnout at the public meeting and also by the strong support shown by the audience during the questions and discussion. The South Sub is a sadly underused public asset which can and should make a significant contribution to better public transport in Edinburgh.”
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