Berwick and the 123 Gifford Circle passed back to the Haddington-based firm Prentice Coaches. The nearest rail station is at Drem, to the north, which is served by regular Edinburgh to North Berwick trains. Haddington was once served by its own railway branch line which carried passengers for over a century from 1846 to 1949. There have been proposals to reopen or extend a railway line to Haddington to ease road congestion, but nothing has come to fruition in regards to this. The Railway The Haddington railway line was a branch from the East Coast Main Line at Longniddry and terminated at Haddington railway station and freight depot in the area between West Road and Hospital Road. The line was in length and had stations at Coatyburn Siding and Laverocklaw Siding before terminating in Haddington. The line was opened on 22 June 1846. The branch had only a single track, though bridges and embankments were built to allow for a double track. Passengers from Haddington were required to alight at Longniddry and change trains in order to travel to Edinburgh. The Haddington branch line and station were damaged during the flood of 1948 and though both passenger and freight services were reinstated, British Rail opted to remove rail services to the public due to competition from bus services and dwindling passenger numbers. Passenger services ended on 29 December 1949. The use of the railway line for freight continued until March 1968. The larger Victorian station building was demolished; a smaller older building, parts of the platform structure, and embankment walls remain. These are recognisable by their distinctive red-brick appearance, and can be seen from West Road, Somnerfield Court, and the industrial area south of Hospital Road. The land occupied by Haddington's railway line is owned by East Lothian Council and is used by walkers, cyclists and horse-riders in the section of the line between Longniddry station and the St Lawrence area of Haddington. The eastern terminus of the line is occupied by industrial units and scrub vegetation. A campaign to reopen Haddington's railway service is led by the group RAGES (Rail Action Group East of Scotland). Since the closure of the station in the 1940s (isolated as it then was at the western extremity of Haddington), the town has since expanded significantly. Between 1951-81, the population of the town grew by 54%. It remains to be seen whether further expansion