Origins 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.
Edinburgh and Glasgow railway In the mid-1830s, proposals for a railway from
Glasgow running along the gardens to a station at the North Bridge were set out in a prospectus with assurances that the trains would be concealed from view, and smoke from them "would scarcely be seen". An association of "Princes Street Proprietors" who had feued houses in the street, and had spent large sums turning the "filthy and offensive bog" of the Nor Loch into quiet gardens, strongly opposed the railway and in late 1836 put forward their case against the parliamentary bill for the railway. The
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway opened in 1842 with its terminus at
Haymarket railway station, stopping short of Princes Street. In the
Railway Mania of the 1840s, the railway sought another act of Parliament allowing access along the gardens, and at the same time two other railways proposed terminus stations at the North Bridge site. By then several of the Princes Street properties were shops or hotels with an interest in development, and agreement was reached in 1844 on walls and embankments to conceal the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway line in a
cutting, with compensation of almost £2,000 for the proprietors.
North Bridge Station The North Bridge station was opened on 22 June 1846 by the
North British Railway, as the terminus for its line from
Berwick-upon-Tweed. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway's General station opened on 17 May 1847, on the same day as the Canal Street station of the
Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway, serving Leith and Granton via a long rope-hauled tunnel under the New Town. The collective name "Waverley", after the
Waverley Novels by
Sir Walter Scott, was used for the three from around 1854 when the through "Waverley" route to Carlisle opened. Canal Street station was also known as Edinburgh Princes Street, 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 now
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. The railway company constructed a 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.
Recent history British Rail brought
railway electrification in 1991 with electric trains on the
East Coast Main Line to
Glasgow Central and via
York to
London King's Cross. The station's large size and the unusual topography of its surroundings mean that it contains a large amount of valuable, centrally located land. The station's successive owners,
British Rail,
Railtrack and its current owner
Network Rail have been criticised for underusing the valuable city-centre spaces available within, there being a legal covenant preventing any upwards extension, which would obstruct the view of
Arthur's Seat from
Princes Street. The elevated walkway linking the
Waverley Steps (from Princes Street to Market Street) has been upgraded with the recommissioning of the suburban platforms (at the south) and provision of additional through platforms to the north to serve the increased proportion of through rail traffic. During 2006 and 2007, parts of Waverley were extensively refurbished, including two new through platforms and the electrification of platforms 12 to 18 in preparation for electric trains from the
Airdrie-Bathgate rail link and future lines in Scotland to be electrified by the EGIP (Edinburgh/Glasgow Improvement Project). From 2010 to 2012, the glazing of the roof of Waverley station was entirely replaced with new strengthened clear glass panels, replacing the old of mixed surfaces including felt, cloudy wired glass and plastic sheet. Part of a £130 million upgrade, this has greatly increased the amount of natural light in the station. From 2012 to 2014, improvements included: a new set of covered escalators at
Waverley Steps leading to
Princes Street (narrowing the huge set of previously open-air steps); a rebuilt and widened entrance from Market Street; a rebuilding of the canopies on the southern suburban line; a restoration of the central space in the ticket hall; and major improvements to the Calton Road access. Internally, several new lifts and escalators have greatly aided circulation. A new drop-off point and disabled parking/access was added on the Calton Road access in 2014. In mid-2017, as part of the
Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme, platform 12 was extended. At the same time the former
Motorail bay platforms were extended into a former car park area and taxi rank to allow platforms 5 and 6 to be extended to accommodate additional
London North Eastern Railway services. Platforms 5 and 6 were brought into use on 28 February 2019. Work began in 2020 to reopen a corridor from the ticket office to the eastern concourse; this will also see the toilets replaced and a
Changing Places facility installed. == Location ==