Edinburgh–Dundee line

(Redirected from Edinburgh to Aberdeen line)

The Edinburgh–Dundee line is a railway line linking Edinburgh with Dundee via the Forth Bridge and the Tay Bridge. A branch runs to Perth. Passenger services are operated by ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry and London North Eastern Railway.

Edinburgh–Dundee line
The Forth Bridge between North Queensferry and South Queensferry
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleCity of Edinburgh
Fife
Angus
Scotland
Termini
  • Edinburgh
  • Dundee
Stations18 (mainline)
2 (Perth branch)
Service
TypeHeavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Operating speed100 mph (160 km/h) maximum
Route map

(Click to expand)

Route

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LNER Class 800 Azuma and ScotRail Class 43 HST pasing each other at Leuchars

Part of the route is shared with other services:

The majority of the line is double track. Between the junction with the Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line and Edinburgh Waverley, the line is quadruple-tracked.

Historical

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The route comprises the following historical railway lines:

  • Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway between Edinburgh and Saughton Junction
  • Forth Bridge Connecting Lines of the North British Railway between Saughton Junction and Dalmeny Junction
  • Forth Bridge Railway between Dalmeny Junction and Inverkeithing South Junction
  • Dunfermline and Queensferry Railway between Inverkeithing South Junction and Inverkeithing Central Junction
  • Aberdour Line of the North British Railway between Inverkeithing Central Junction and Burntisland
  • Edinburgh and Northern Railway between Burntisland and Leuchars North Junction
  • Tay Bridge and associated lines of the North British Railway between Leuchars North Junction and Dundee

In detail

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Place Station Ordnance Survey
grid reference
Notes
Edinburgh Edinburgh Waverley NT257738 East Coast Main Line and Cross Country Route services join the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line at Waverley
See Edinburgh Waverley railway station for other lines
Bus link and tram links to Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh (Haymarket) Haymarket NT239731 See Haymarket station for other lines
Bus link and tram links to Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh (South Gyle) South Gyle NT189722 Local services only
Edinburgh (Gogar) Edinburgh Gateway NT176727 Tram link to Edinburgh Airport Highland Main Line and Fife Circle services only
South Queensferry (Dalmeny) Dalmeny NT138779 Local services only
Forth Bridge NT135792
North Queensferry North Queensferry NT131808 Local services only
Inverkeithing Inverkeithing NT131833 Fife Circle Line connection; Bus link to Edinburgh Airport
Dalgety Bay Dalgety Bay NT149840 Local services only
Aberdour Aberdour NT190854 Local services only
Burntisland Burntisland NT232856 Local services only
Kinghorn Kinghorn NT269868 Local services only
Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy NT275916 Fife Circle Line connection
Markinch Markinch NO299015 Fife Circle Line connection, also serves Levenmouth and Glenrothes
Ladybank Ladybank NO306096 Connection for Perth
Perth Perth NO112230 Highland Line connection
Invergowrie Invergowrie N034299 Local services between Perth and Dundee
Springfield Springfield NO349119 limited service
Cupar Cupar NO376143
Leuchars
for St Andrews
Leuchars NO449206
Tay Bridge NO391277
Dundee Dundee NO402298 Glasgow–Aberdeen line connection.

Electrification

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Currently, the only electrified section is that in Edinburgh shared with the lines to Glasgow.

Work to electrify the section between Dalmeny railway station and the junction with the Glasgow lines began in June 2022 and is expected to be completed by December 2024.[1]

Services

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There is an hourly service between Edinburgh and Aberdeen (17 trains in total) for most of the day. Most services are provided by ScotRail (8 of which extend to Inverurie, one continuing on from there to Inverness). 4 services are provided by LNER which provide services to/from Aberdeen of which 3 run to London King's Cross while 1 runs to Leeds. CrossCountry provides 1 train per day to Aberdeen from Plymouth while one runs from Aberdeen to Penzance and to Edinburgh. On Sundays, a limited service is provided by ScotRail who run 5 trains per day, LNER run 4 and CrossCountry run 1 service. On Monday-Saturday there is an hourly regional service from Edinburgh to Dundee, serving smaller Fife stations.

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Roger (4 June 2022). "Piling work to get underway to electrify Fife Circle". RailAdvent. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
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