Getting Around Edinburgh (trains, cars, buses, trams, etc.)

All the information you need for buying tickets, route planners and help with getting around Edinburgh

Edinburgh Buses

The Lothian Buses are an economical way to get around Edinburgh, with all day passes costing just £3.00. The system also offers special tours and airport shuttle services.
Lothian Buses , 0131 555 6363

Edinburgh Train Stations

Waverley Station - Edinburgh’s mainline station

Haymarket Station - Edinburgh’s original, second mainline station

Edinburgh Train Services

First Scotrail - You are most likely to be travelling on this company’s trains if you are just travelling within Scotland, especially if you are travelling to the more rural destinations in the Scottish Highlands. Has a busy route between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Timetables and booking.
GNER - The Great North Eastern Railway has trains running every hour between Edinburgh and London, as well as offering services up to Aberdeen and Inverness.
National Rail - Offers a useful resource for planning your trip by train by integrating the timetables of different railway companies and routes.
Virgin Trains - Online booking and news about this company’s service between London and Edinburgh, as well as information about facilities provided.

Edinburgh’s Trams

Edinburgh’s trams are to be running by early 2012, some 65 years after the last tram trundled through the capital’s streets. Following years of disruptive work installing tram tracks and utilities along busy roads, a fleet of 27 trams will ferry up to 20,000 passengers per hour through the city.

The trams will be integrated with bus timetables and tram tickets should cost the same as bus tickets.

Edinburgh’s Car Rental

Edinburgh has plenty of black cab taxis and decent public transport. But if you’re in need of your own wheels these links may help: Edinburgh Car Rentals (includes minibus and van rental)
Avis - Car rental in Edinburgh and across 120 UK and 3,800 international locations.
Budget Car Hire - Range of Edinburgh car rentals. 3,400 locations in over 128 countries.
Arnold Clark Car & Van Rental - Scottish company offering reservations for car, van and minibus rentals across the U.K.
Alamo Car Hire - International car rental firm with Edinburgh and Edinburgh airport locations.

Edinburgh Cycling

Edinburgh has rain, wind, hills, and traffic is often heavy. So it may come as a surprise to learn that it is considered one of the better cities for cycling in the UK. Part of this is down to its extensive off-road cycle network built along old railway lines which were closed down in the Sixties to make way for the brave new age of the car. These “green corridors” now provide a haven for wildlife and non-motorised traffic alike.

Click here for city routes: By bike you can see Edinburgh in all its permutations in a day, from the run-down housing schemes to the Georgian New Town, the beach at Crammond in the North to the leafy suburbs in the South. Unfortunately, there are few of these routes within the city centre itself and since they pass few shops or places of work, they’re more suited to leisure riding.

Cycling uptown is definitely a less leisurely affair, although experienced cyclists shouldn’t have a problem. Also, as climate change and environmental concerns grow, Edinburgh City Council has started taking cycling more seriously with more space devoted to bicycles on city streets.

In recent years, more bike lanes and bike boxes at traffic lights have been painted on roads and traffic calming measures introduced on busy biking commuting areas, although the network is far from joined up and motorised traffic still a major deterrant for would-be cyclists.