Coal and salt were the original drivers. The Tranent–Cockenzie Waggonway (1722) hauled Tranent coal to Cockenzie/Port Seton’s salt pans—a horse-worked wooden tramway that was later re-railed in iron and tied into the North British Railway (NBR). It’s regarded as Scotland’s earliest railway and set the county’s rail habit two centuries before modern electrics; archaeology on the line keeps adding detail. (Wikipedia)
From 1846 the NBR pushed the East Coast main line across East Lothian (ECML), with junctions feeding rural branches to Haddington (1846) and North Berwick (1849/50), later to Gullane (1898) and up the coal lines to Macmerry and on to Gifford/Humbie. The estate economy (coal, grain, beet) shaped alignments and intermediate stops (e.g., East Fortune, Fenton Barns, Seton Mains Halt), while the seaside/leisure trade locked in North Berwick and (briefly) Dirleton. Passenger traffic withered on the agricultural/coal branches under bus and lorry competition; most passenger services ended by the 1930s–50s, with goods lingering to the mid-1960s/1970. (Wikipedia)
Since the 1980s the story flips to Edinburgh’s gravity. New/reopened stations at Musselburgh (1988) and Wallyford (1994) and service uplifts on the North Berwick Line turned East Lothian into a high-frequency commuter corridor, boosting ridership and re-urbanising settlement patterns along the ECML. The 2023 reopening (on a new site) of East Linton—the county’s eighth current station—cements that trend and reconnects a community Beeching cut in 1964. (East Lothian Council)
A. Current stations (with key dates)
| Station | Opened (current site) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Musselburgh | 3 Oct 1988 | Two earlier “Musselburgh” stations existed (Inveresk/branch); both closed in the 1960s. (Wikipedia) |
| Wallyford | 13 Jun 1994 | Short-lived NBR stop (1866–67) preceded the modern station. (Wikipedia) |
| Prestonpans | 1846 | Opened as Tranent; renamed 1858. (Wikipedia) |
| Longniddry | 22 Jun 1846 | Junction for Haddington (1846–1949 pax; 1968 goods). (Wikipedia) |
| Drem | 22 Jun 1846 | Junction for North Berwick Branch. (Wikipedia) |
| North Berwick | 17 Jun 1850 | Surviving branch terminus (Dirleton closed mid-20th c.). (Wikipedia) |
| East Linton | 13 Dec 2023 | Original (1846–1964) closed; new station resited and opened 2023. (Wikipedia) |
| Dunbar | 16 Jun 1846 | Second platform reinstated Dec 2019. (Wikipedia) |
B. Notable former stations/halts & rural branches
(Passenger closure dates shown; some lines retained freight later.)
| Line/Stop | Opened | Closed (pax) | Later goods closure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haddington Branch (Longniddry–Haddington) | 22 Jun 1846 | 5 Dec 1949 | 2 Feb 1968 | Now a popular railway walk. (Wikipedia) |
| Haddington | 22 Jun 1846 | 5 Dec 1949 | 2 Feb 1968 | Terminus. (Wikipedia) |
| North Berwick Branch (stops now closed) | ||||
| Williamston (temporary) | 13 Aug 1849 | 17 Jun 1850 | — | Interim terminus before N. Berwick opened. (Wikipedia) |
| Dirleton | 17 Jun 1850 | 1 Feb 1954 | — | Platform remains visible. (Wikipedia) |
| Aberlady & Gullane Branch (from Aberlady Jn) | 1 Apr 1898 | 12 Sep 1932 | 15 Jun 1964 | Luffness Golf Platform: 1903–1931. (Wikipedia) |
| Aberlady | 1 Apr 1898 | 12 Sep 1932 | 15 Jun 1964 | Single-platform country stop. (Wikipedia) |
| Gullane | 1 Apr 1898 | 12 Sep 1932 | 15 Jun 1964 | Golf/resort traffic never paid. (Wikipedia) |
| Macmerry Branch (Inveresk–Macmerry) | 19 Mar 1870 | in stages to 3 Apr 1933 | 25 May 1965 (parts 1960) | Coal branch with offshoot to Gifford. (Wikipedia) |
| Smeaton / Crossgatehall / Ormiston / Winton / Macmerry | 1 May 1872 | 1925–1933 | 1960–1965 | Staggered closures; see Macmerry chronology. (Wikipedia) |
| Gifford & Garvald Railway (Ormiston–Gifford) | 14 Oct 1901 | 3 Apr 1933 | 25 Apr 1965 (parts 1960) | Intermediate: Pencaitland, Saltoun, Humbie. (Wikipedia) |
| ECML intermediate stops now closed | ||||
| East Fortune | Jul 1848 | 4 May 1964 | 14 Sep 1970 | Served the airfield/hospital. (Wikipedia) |
| Seton Mains Halt | 1 May 1914 | 22 Sep 1930 | — | Between Prestonpans and Longniddry. (Wikipedia) |
- The early waggonways underwrote an 18th-century coal/salt economy; the 19th-century NBR fixed East Lothian into UK trunk rail. (Wikipedia)
- Twentieth-century road competition erased most rural passenger lines; Beeching finished many. (Timelines above.) (Wikipedia)
- Late-20th/21st-century reopenings (Musselburgh, Wallyford, East Linton) reflect the county’s integration with the Edinburgh conurbation and policy to shift commuter flows to rail—riders grew materially when stations and services were added. (East Lothian Council)
