Location
Waverley station is situated in a steep, narrow valley between the medieval Old Town and the 18th century New Town. Princes Street, the premier shopping street, runs close to its north side. The valley is bridged by the North Bridge, rebuilt in 1897 as a three-span iron and steel bridge, on huge sandstone piers. This passes high above the station's central section, with the greater half of the station being west of North Bridge. The central booking hall is just west of the northern massive stone pier of the bridge and cleverly hides it within its bulk.Previous stations
Edinburgh's Old Town, perched on a steep-sided sloping ridge, was bounded on the north by a valley in which the Nor Loch had been formed. In the 1750s overcrowding led to proposals to link across this valley to allow development to the north. The "noxious lake" was to be narrowed into "a canal of running water", with a bridge formed across the east end of the loch adjacent to the physic garden. This link was built from 1766 as the North Bridge and at the same time plans for the New Town began development to the north, with Princes Street to get unobstructed views south over sloping gardens and the proposed canal. The loch was drained as work on the bridge proceeded. In 1770 a coachbuilder began work on properties feued at the corner between the bridge and Princes Street, and feuers on the other side of the street strongly objected to this construction blocking their views to the south. A series of court cases ended with the decision that the buildings nearing completion could stay, immediately to the west of that some workshops would be allowed below the level of Princes Street, and further west a park would be "kept and preserved in perpetuity as pleasure ground" in what became Princes Street Gardens. In the mid 1830s proposals for a railway fromThe present Waverley station
From 1866-1868, the North British Railway acquired the stations of its rivals, demolished all three and closed the Scotland Street tunnel to Canal Street. The present Victorian station was built on the site. Along the tracks of this first station, Hanna, Donald & Wilson built some very impressive roofs. The station was extended in the late 19th century. In 1897, the impressive glass dome was added. Waverley has been in continual use since, under the auspices of the North British, the LNER, British Railways (rebranded as British Rail after 1965), Railtrack and latterly Network Rail. From its opening in its current form by the eastward tunnelled extension from Haymarket, Waverley has been the principal railway station in Edinburgh. From 1870 to 1965, the city had a second major station, Princes Street, operated by the rival Caledonian Railway, but this was never as important as Waverley. British Rail brought railway electrification in 1991 with electric trains on the East Coast Main Line to Glasgow Central and via York toRecent developments
From 2012 to 2014, improvements included: a new set of covered escalators atAdjacent buildings
As at other large railway stations of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the railway company constructed a grand station hotel beside their station. The North British Hotel, adjacent to the station at the corner between Princes Street and North Bridge (on the site of the coachworks), opened in 1902. In 1983, British Rail sold it to the Forte hotel group. In 1988, Forte closed the hotel for a year to extensively remodel and update what had become something of a faded jewel. When it reopened, it was rechristened The New Balmoral Hotel, maintaining the ''NB'' initials in what has proved to be an astute marketing move, despite the hotel being from Balmoral Castle; subsequently, ''New'' was dropped from the name. The hotel enjoys commanding views over central Edinburgh and is one of the most luxurious and expensive hotels in the UK. There is no longer a direct entrance from the station. Waverley Market is a shopping centre which occupies the space between Waverley Station,Services
* Caledonian Sleeper operates sleeper train services to London Euston and the Highlands. * CrossCountry operates via . They operate an hourly service and a two-hourly service to/from Glasgow Central, with few limited extras to Dundee and Aberdeen. *Routes – present and past
Layout
The main station facilities are located in the middle of what is essentially a large island platform which is surrounded by platforms on all four sides. There are 20 numbered platforms. There are three pairs of platforms which share the same tracks. *There are two tracks on the north side. The northernmost track is split between Platform 20 (west) and Platform 1 (east) and the other is split between Platform 19 (west) and Platform 2 (east). *There are four east-facing bay platforms, Platforms 3–6. *There are four tracks on the south side. From north to south, these are: **A track which is split between Platform 11 (west) and Platform 7 (east). **Platform 10. **Platform 9, which is subdivided into "9w" (west) and "9e" (east) sections. **Platform 8, which is subdivided likewise. *There are seven west-facing bay platforms, Platforms 12–18.Past layout
A total of 24 platforms have existed at Waverley, but not more than 21 at any one time. Prior to incremental rationalisation of the east end in the 1960s–80s there were 21 platforms. The east end terminating platforms have undergone significant rationalisation. From north to south these comprised: * former Platforms 2 and 3, which were latterly used for parcels/mail traffic only and were removed in the 1980s when a new Royal Mail facility was built on their site; * former Platforms 4 and 5 were also retained for parcels/mail traffic until this ceased; Platform 5 was reopened to passengers in 2006 as the new Platform 3; * former platforms 6 and 7, of which only the latter survives, now numbered 4; and * former Platforms 8 and 9, which were substantially shortened for use as a Motorail terminus, the infilled area becoming a car park; since the demise of Motorail services these platforms were used only for locomotive stabling, although the numbers 5/6 were reserved for them in the 2006 renumbering. These were extended as full length platforms to accommodate terminating CrossCountry and London North Eastern Railway services with the taxi rank closed in June 2014 to make way for these works which were completed in early 2019. The former Down Main through Platforms 7 (east end) and 8 (west end) are at the south side of the main station, and comprise a single very long platform with a crossover in the centre. They are numbered 7 (formerly 10, east end) and 11 (west end). At the west end there has been little change to the terminating platforms, apart from widening them by removing disused centre-road tracks. The platforms comprise (south-north) numbers 12/13, 14/15, 16/17 and bay Platform 18. These were not affected by the 2006 platform renumbering scheme. The only platforms outwith Waverley's overall roof are the former 'Suburban' Platforms 8 and 9 (formerly 21 and 20), a lengthy island platform. These are on the southern edge of the station, adjacent to the east to the former freight depot (now a car park and offices) and with direct access to Market Street, which runs parallel to the railway to the immediate south. A need to increase capacity for through and west-end traffic led to three new platforms being built in 2006, on land formerly occupied by disused sidings and bypass lines within the main part of the station. Platform 10 is a through platform at the west end, facing Platform 11. Platforms 1 and 20 are a single long through platform facing Platforms 2 and 19. All are linked by the upgraded north–south overhead walkway linking the Waverley Steps (escalators) to Market Street. In December 2006, a partial renumbering of platforms took place to reflect the construction of the new platforms.Future developments
In March 2019, Network Rail announced proposals to redevelop Waverley station in order to meet an anticipated increase in passenger demand by 2048. The Waverley Masterplan drawn up by engineering firm Arup Group envisages the creation of a new mezzanine level concourse above the main platforms to facilitate passenger circulation within the station, with a link through to the neighbouring Waverley Mall shopping centre. As part of the redevelopment, the entrance ramps from Waverley Bridge into the station would be removed and the new concourse would be enclosed in plate glass to provide panoramic views over the Old Town. The plans also make reference to a "transport hub", although an interchange with Edinburgh Trams is not specified.See also
* Railtrack (Waverley Station) Order Confirmation Act 2000References
Bibliography
* * * * * *External links
* {{Authority control Railway stations in Edinburgh Former North British Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1846 Network Rail managed stations Railway stations served by Avanti West Coast Railway stations served by Caledonian Sleeper Railway stations served by CrossCountry Railway stations served by London North Eastern Railway Railway stations served by Lumo Railway stations served by ScotRail Railway stations served by TransPennine Express Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed railway stations in Scotland New Town, Edinburgh 1846 establishments in Scotland Stations on the West Coast Main Line