Edinburgh Airport to Haymarket Station

Why Haymarket, not Waverley

Many people heading somewhere other than Edinburgh itself never need to reach Waverley. Haymarket sits on the west side of the city centre, on the lines to Glasgow, Fife, Aberdeen, Inverness and the south, and nearly every train out of Waverley in those directions calls here first. Getting off the airport bus or tram at Haymarket shaves a few minutes off the journey into town and spares you the walk through Waverley's concourse.

Two routes to the station

Airlink 100. The express bus leaves Stop A by the plaza up to every 10 minutes from 04:12 to 01:00 and up to every 20 minutes through the night. Haymarket is its last stop before the city centre, about 20–25 minutes from the airport depending on traffic along the A8 and Corstorphine Road. The fare is the same £6.00 single (£8.50 open return) as for the full run to Waverley Bridge. Pay by contactless or exact cash; Amex is not accepted.

Tram. The tram stops outside the station as well, on the way to Princes Street. It runs every 7 minutes for most of the day, from 06:30 to the last departure at 22:52, and costs £7.90 (or £7.50 pre-bought online). The tram has its own track for much of the way, so it is the steadier choice in the morning and evening peaks. It also has six luggage racks per vehicle, which counts for something when you are changing onto a train with a large case.

Changing onto a train

The airport's own advice is to use Haymarket for Glasgow, Fife, Inverness, Aberdeen, North Berwick and services to London and southern England. ScotRail scrapped peak fares permanently in September 2025, so walk-up prices no longer jump at rush hour. Combined tram-and-rail tickets can be bought from the machines in the airport check-in hall, near the Jet2 desks, which saves queuing at Haymarket.

For Fife and the north, the tram also passes Edinburgh Gateway, which is earlier on the line and has its own station; for Glasgow via Bathgate or Stirling, Edinburgh Park is another option on the tram route. Haymarket is the most useful of the three because it has the widest choice of trains on the main lines to Glasgow, the north and England.

Staying near the West End

Haymarket is also a short walk from the hotels around the West End, Shandwick Place and the conference district around the EICC. The Airlink stops at Shandwick Place too, right after Haymarket, and the tram's next stop is West End – Princes Street. For a hotel in Dalry or on the western side of Morrison Street, Haymarket is the closest stop.

Short hops beyond the station

Haymarket is also a hub for local buses heading towards Dalry, Gorgie and Fountainbridge and west along Corstorphine Road. If you are staying in those areas, it is often quicker to leave the Airlink here and catch a city bus (£2.40 single) than to ride into the centre and come back. Murrayfield Stadium has its own tram stop one stop before Haymarket, which is the better choice on match days.

Taxi and meter estimates

Capital Cars runs the only rank at the terminal, a short walk over the plaza; book online beforehand or at the desk. Haymarket is roughly 10 km away, and on the council tariff in force from 25 July 2026 (£3.60 initial charge on weekday daytimes, £4.80 evenings and weekends, then 30p increments) that comes to about £22 on a clear road and up to around £28 in slow traffic. Pre-booked cars to central Edinburgh start at about £43, so for a short hop like this the metered taxi is usually the better buy.

Late trains and late flights

The bus covers you at any hour, but trains do not. If you are heading on by rail, check the last departure from Haymarket before you book a late flight, as longer-distance services finish in the evening. If you miss the last train, the city has plenty of hotels within walking distance of the station, and coaches to Glasgow, Stirling, St Andrews and Dundee leave straight from the airport itself, some of them through the night.