Edinburgh Haymarket

Haymarket is a region of Edinburgh just over a mile to the west of the city centre. As such it's within walking distance of the West end of Princes Street - though perhaps rather a long trek from the eastern end and Waverley station. Like many places in Edinburgh, Haymarket gets its name from its original purpose: it was the site of the market where hay for animals could be bought.

Today the Haymarket area acts as a sort of Western gateway to the city of Edinburgh. Several important roads feed into here and it's also the site of Edinburgh Haymarket railway station. It's a part of the city often overlooked by tourists.

Haymarket station was originally built as the terminus for trains to Edinburgh from Glasgow, however today most of these run all the way through to Waverley which is the main Edinburgh stop. However Haymarket is still heavily used both for local access and as a rail interchange, making it one of Scotland's busiest railway stations.

Plans are in place for a possible expansion of Haymarket as a central transport hub to bring together improved rail travel, the new Edinburgh trams and local buses. The Haymarket Interchange Feasibility Study (HIPS) began in 2005 was set up to deliver plans for "a regenerated Haymarket area which will ensure the city keeps moving as it continues to grow". It's currently hoped that work on phase one of the Haymarket Interchange Project (HIP) could begin in 2012 with phase two following in 2014.


External Links:
Haymarket Interchange