Place Newington, Edinburgh Pre-grouping North British Railway 10 September 1962 Closed | Area City of Edinburgh 1 December 1884 Opened Platforms in use 2 | |
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Post-grouping LNER
Scottish Region of British Railways Similar Craiglockhart railway station, Duddingston & Craigmill, Balerno railway station, Balgreen Halt railway st, Morningside Road railway st | ||
Blackford Hill railway station was a railway station in the Blackford area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was located at the foot of Blackford Hill on the Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway (ESSJR). It was opened on 1 December 1884.
Blackford Hill station closed in 1962, when passenger rail services were withdrawn from the Edinburgh Suburban line although the line itself was retained for rail freight use. The route continues to be used for freight services to this day, so freight trains avoid Edinburgh's main stations of Edinburgh Waverley and Haymarket, and occasionally diverted passenger trains also pass along this line.
Future
A local campaigning group, the Capital Rail Action Group (CRAG), is running a campaign for the SSJR line to be re-opened to passenger services, and proposes that it should be operated either as a commuter rail service or as a light rail system to form an extension of the forthcoming Edinburgh Tram Network. Following a petition submitted to the Scottish Parliament in 2007, the proposal was rejected in 2009 by transport planners due to anticipated cost.