Haymarket Railway Station

fast ticket area, which is great. The staff seem to enjoy working there, had a laugh with the announcer, when he said the train for Glasgow Queen street was 4 minutes late(the driver left his sandwiches in a locker apparantly, in waverly) it raised a giggle. Theres a "pumpkin cafe" on the platform, and its expensive unless ya want a paper or something.

wee bit of advice, get yourself one of these.

http://www.bitecard.co.uk/

Gets you 20% off all grub in train stations all over the UK. Ive saved a fortune on mine.

As Edinburgh’s second railway station, Haymarket is considerably smaller than Waverley with only 4 and a half platforms (the half platform is for trains from Fife and local areas, which occasionally terminate at Haymarket). There are steps to all platforms as you enter at street level and then have to go through ticket barriers, and the steps can be awkward for those with mobility problems or pushchairs - however there is an entrance on a level with one of the platforms available on request. The facilities at Haymarket are limited and the toilets are on platform 4, which can be tricky if your train is on platform 1, 2 or 3! The announcers are good though and often humourous where need be to lighten the mood. There is a coffee shop on platform 4 (by the toilets) & a kiosk on platform 2/3, however I have never used these so cannot comment on them. Overall, a much easier station to use than Waverley and I would recommend it if heading west or north and your train stops there. The only problem is that some trains, especially the commuter trains, can be full by the time they reach Haymarket and it can be difficult to get a seat.

Smaller than waverly station, but handier for my old workplace (HBOS). This station is in need of a makeover and I believe this will be happening in the next few years.

I find the coffe stall to be overpriced but not as much as the trains themselves.

Not the best station to use if you are heading north during evening rush hour and the trains are always pack and you will never get a seat.

Haymarket station is Edinburgh’s “second” station and is situated just a couple of miles to the west of Waverley station.

I use this station frequently as it is within walking distance of my home and I enjoy using it despite the fact it is considerably smaller than Waverley and has far less facilities.

The biggest problem with Haymarket is the lack of disabled access here. The whole station is earmarked for redevelopment and it is claimed this will be dealt with then but it does seem long overdue. This is also worth bearing in mind if you have heavy baggage - you may struggle to get it up and down steps.

Ticket buying facilities are also nowhere near as good as at Waverley. There are 3 ticket machines and 3 counters and its not unheard of for people to miss a train waiting to purchase a ticket.

There is a small coffee stand selling sandwiches and drinks on one of the platforms, and a shop called Pumpkin on the busier platform which is where trains going to Glasgow call at. This sells a limited selection of magazines and some expensive sandwiches and cakes.

However close to Haymarket there are several stores selling food and magazines so my advice would be to buy there before you reach the station.

However if you are staying in the West End of Edinburgh I would advise using this station as its will be far closer to your hotel.

Easier to get in and out when travelling on local journeys than going to waverley and generally runs pretty efficiently.. pretty modern.

I use the train quite a lot for travelling both in Scotland and out and about in the rest of the country. The station is served by quite a few operators, such as Virgin Trains, Cross Country Trains, First Scotrail and National Express (ex GNER). These together serve various domestic destinations such as Glasgow, Perth, Aberdeen etc aswell as English stations such as Leeds, York, Birmingham, London, Bristol, Plymouth and Penzance. Currently the station is operated by First, and is quite an attractive ‘old fashioned’ in style, with a wide selection of cafes and good customer information systems. A pleasure to transfer through!

Second biggest station in Edinburgh. Quite dated station, but not as busy as Waverley. Very close to city centre. Some coffer stall and newsagent on platforms. The plans come forward to be rebuild within next few years.