The main railway station in Edinburgh is called Waverley Railway Station  and is an attraction in itself. First opened in 1846, Waverley Station was rebuilt 1892-1902. It lies between the Old and New Towns, adjacent to Princes Street, Edinburgh Castle and the Princes Street Gardens, where it serves over 14 million people per annum. Despite various refurbishments, the past still survives in the station’s elaborate, domed ceiling where wreathed cherubs leap amid a wealth of scrolled ironwork.

Waverley Station is a major hub for the Scottish rail network, operated by First Scotrail. There is an hourly service to Dundee and Aberdeen, and two hourly to Inverness. Shuttle trains to Glasgow (Queen Street) run every 15 minutes throughout the day, dropping to 30 minutes on evenings and Sundays, and the journey takes 45-50 minutes.

The vast majority of train services to Edinburgh from London (and most of eastern England) are operated by East Coast.  An hourly service leaves from London Kings Cross station throughout the day until 6PM. Journey time is between 4hrs 20min and 5 hours. The cheapest tickets (£16 to £90) are advance single (one-way) fares for a fixed train time bought 2-12 weeks in advance, and the flexible Saver Ticket (roughly £100 single or return) is not valid at some times to/from London. Virgin Trains operate a 2 hourly service from Birmingham New Street via the West Coast Mainline with an average journey time of 4hrs 4 mins.

There is a second railway station in the centre of Edinburgh, Haymarket, around a mile to the west of Waverley.