It appears to enjoy the unanimous support of local residents, and now local political figures are becoming more vocal in support of re-opening the South Suburban Railway.

The line, still in use by freight trains, is said to have potential to run 1.4 million passenger journeys a year and South Edinburgh stations would be sited at Morningside and Newington.

Labour Transport spokesperson Cllr Ricky Henderson says there is now cross-party support for the re-opening of the line and urged the SNP/Lib Dem council administration to act on the matter.

He said, "All the political parties went into the last election with a commitment to work towards the reopening of the line, and it would have been disgraceful if this issue had become another broken promise.

"The South Suburban line would greatly benefit communities across South Edinburgh, including Morningside, Newington, and Craiglockhart, and take some 1.4 million passengers off the roads."

Mike Pringle, the Lib Dem MSP for Edinburgh South, who has personally campaigned for the reopening of the South Sub for around 20 years, says the new line would see half of Edinburgh's population able to gain easy access to a local train.

"A reopened South Sub would see almost half of Edinburgh's population within 10 minutes walk of a station, improving both internal and external commuter links. I am delighted that [council leader] Jenny Dawe has said she is still committed to the project and that the council is to further examine the case for reopening the line to passenger services.

Connie Bennett, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, gauged opinion of young people in South Edinburgh and found a positive response.

She said, "Almost all young people were positive about reopening the railway, with the benefits of reducing environmental impact of traffic and helping with congestion most important. Also, the process of re-opening shouldn't disrupt the roads."