A return for passenger trains to Edinburgh's South suburban railway?
Could we see a return for passenger trains to Edinburgh's South suburban railway - 60 years since the last service? The Capital's transport convener wants to look at the idea
It's been 60 years since passenger trains last operated on Edinburgh's South Suburban railway.
The route, which runs from Haymarket through areas like Gorgie, Morningside and Portobello is still used for freight traffic.
But Edinburgh's Transport Convener, Councillor Scott Arthur thinks opening it up to the public again is a great chance to further the Capital's journey to making travel more eco-friendly.
"We are looking quite hard at transport generally in Edinburgh and trying to reduce the carbon footprint and also deal with congestion, reduce the number of vehicles on the road, basically." Arthur told Forth News.
"The infrastructure is basically there. And it's underused." He continued.
"So people who are keenest on the line getting re-opened again say we could reopen this at a fraction of say a tramline serving in the same general area."
This certainly isn't the first time the idea have been brought up in the last 60 years.
But as Edinburgh looks to hit net zero by 2030, Councillor Arthur believes the case has grown even stronger, he told us:
"Those who have lived in Edinburgh a few years like me know that every few months, this comes up as a hot topic about whether or not should it should be reopened.
"There has not been a proper study done for about 20 years or so. And that one 20 years ago, it was broadly positive, there was a case there.
"So I think with the climate emergency it's definitely time to look at it again."