Edinburgh Tram Network
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Although there currently is no tram network in Edinburgh, like many other cities in the UK, Edinburgh had a tram network in the first half of the 20th century, running as far as Leith and Musselburgh. The service was withdrawn in 1956 - the last tram to run was on the evening of Friday November 16 that year.
Following years of transport studies in Edinburgh, the last being CERT, Central Edinburgh Rapid transport. In 2004, two Bills were submitted to the Scottish Parliament to reintroduce a tram network to Edinburgh. Both Bills were passed in March/April 2006 and the system has now received Royal Assent. Movement of underground utilities is due to commence in Spring 2007, now that the draft business case has been accepted by the Scottish Executive [1].
As of October 2006 the scheme is being developed and designed under a joint design contract lead by Parsons Brinkerhoff and Halcrow and overseen by the City of Edinburgh Council's wholly owned company, Transport initiatives edinburgh (tie). Currently, work is ongoing to refine previous designs and to undertake survey work where needed in preparation for moving of utilities and later network construction. Once the network becomes operational it will be operated by Transdev, a French company, who were awarded the contract in 2004 to help develop, and eventually operate the network.
Ticketing and fares will be fully integrated with Lothian Buses. The fare for a single journey on the tram network will be the same as on Lothian Buses, expected to be around £1.25 when the network opens in 2011. Day tickets and Ridcards will be valid on both the trams and buses. [2]
Contents |
[edit] Lines
The proposal consists of three lines, of which lines One and Two have parliamentary permission. For funding reasons, the network will be built in three phases. Phase 1a would consist of a line from Newhaven to Edinburgh Airport via Princes Street. Phase 1b would be a line from Haymarket to Granton Square. Phase 2 would link Granton Square and Newhaven together. Phase 3 would extend the airport line to Newbridge. It is hoped that phase one of the network will be operational by 2011.
The network will be operated from a depot that will be situated close to the A8 roundabout just north of the Gyle tram stop.
[edit] Line 1 (North Edinburgh)
The first route will be a circular route between the City Centre, Leith, Newhaven and Granton. It will be integrated with the cycle and pedestrian path along the Roseburn wildlife corridor or the former railway between West Coates and Granton. This has raised opposition from users of the cycle path and graffiti has appeared on the cycle path protesting against the decision[citation needed]
Please note that routings, station names, and station locations are subject to change.
| Name | Phase | Transport Interchange | Serves | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haymarket | Phase 1a | Haymarket railway station Lothian Buses Line 2 (West Edinburgh) |
Edinburgh International Conference Centre | ||
| Shandwick Place | Phase 1a | ||||
| Princes Street | Phase 1a | Princes Street National Gallery of Scotland |
|||
| St Andrew Square | Phase 1a | Lothian Buses Edinburgh Bus Station Waverley Station |
St Andrew Square St James Centre |
||
| Picardy Place | Phase 1a | Omni Centre Edinburgh Playhouse |
|||
| McDonald Road | Phase 1a | Easter Road Stadium | |||
| Balfour Street | Phase 1a | Pilrig Park | |||
| Foot of the Walk | Phase 1a | Lothian Buses | |||
| Constitution Street | Phase 1a | ||||
| Ocean Drive | Phase 1a | Scottish Executive building | |||
| Ocean Terminal | Phase 1a | Ocean Terminal Royal Yacht Britannia |
|||
| Newhaven | Phase 1a | Newhaven | |||
| Lower Granton | Phase 2 | ||||
| Granton Square | Phase 1b | ||||
| Granton Waterfront | Phase 1b | ||||
| Caroline Park | Phase 1b | Telford College | |||
| West Granton | Phase 1b | ||||
| Crewe Toll | Phase 1b | Lothian Buses | Fettes College | ||
| Telford road | Phase 1b | Western General Hospital | |||
| Craigleith | Phase 1b | Craigleith Retail Park | |||
| Ravelston Dykes | Phase 1b | Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Stewart's Melville College The Mary Erskine School St. George's School |
|||
| Roseburn | Phase 1b | ||||
| The line continues to Haymarket to complete the loop | |||||
[edit] Line 2 (West Edinburgh)
The second route will run from the City Centre out to Edinburgh Airport via Edinburgh Park, with a branch line to Newbridge. In February 2005, construction of a bus guideway, which forms part of the route, was completed. The guideway is designed for conversion to tram running, and between proposed stops 4 and 6 runs adjacent to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, between Haymarket and Edinburgh Park stations.
Please note that routings, station names, and station locations are subject to change.
| Name | Phase | Transport Interchange | Serves | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between the city centre and Haymarket, trams run along Line 1. | |||||
| Haymarket | Phase 1a | Haymarket railway station Lothian Buses Line 1 (North Edinburgh) |
Edinburgh International Conference Centre | ||
| Murrayfield | Phase 1a | Murrayfield Stadium | |||
| Balgreen | Phase 1a | Edinburgh Zoo | |||
| Saughton | Phase 1a | ||||
| South Gyle | Phase 1a | Stevenson College | |||
| Edinburgh Park Station | Phase 1a | Edinburgh Park railway station | Hermiston Gait retail park | ||
| Edinburgh Park | Phase 1a | Edinburgh Park | |||
| Gyle | Phase 1a | Gyle Shopping Centre | |||
| Gogarburn | Phase 1a | Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters | |||
| Ingliston Park and Ride | Phase 1a | Lothian Buses | |||
| At this point the line diverges; one branch runs to Edinburgh Airport, the other to Newbridge North | |||||
| Edinburgh Airport | Phase 1a | Edinburgh Airport Rail Link | Edinburgh Airport | ||
| Ingliston West | Phase 3 | Royal Highland Showground | |||
| Ratho Station | Phase 3 | ||||
| Newbridge South | Phase 3 | ||||
| Newbridge North | Phase 3 | ||||
[edit] Line 3 (South East Edinburgh)
The third tram line would run from the City Centre towards the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and finally connecting with Newcraighall railway station and park and ride, with a possible extension to Musselburgh.
The third route has yet to be submitted to the Scottish Parliament. Funding for the line depended on Edinburgh voters agreeing to a congestion charge, which was rejected in the Edinburgh road tolls referendum, 2005. As such, the proposal is on hold and does not form part of the proposed phases, but the land needed for the line will be protected for at least 10 years [3].
| Name | Phase | Transport Interchange | Serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waverley station | N/A | Edinburgh Waverley railway station Lothian Buses Line 1 (North Edinburgh) |
|
| High Street | N/A | Royal Mile | |
| South Bridge | N/A | ||
| Nicholson Square | N/A | University of Edinburgh central campus | |
| St Patrick Square | N/A | ||
| The Meadows | N/A | The Meadows | |
| Newington Road | N/A | Newington | |
| Minto Street | N/A | ||
| Newington Station | N/A | Interchange with South Suburban Railway at Newington Station | |
| Craigmillar Park | N/A | University of Edinburgh King's Buildings campus | |
| Cameron Toll | N/A | Cameron Toll Shopping Centre | |
| The Inch | N/A | ||
| Moredun | N/A | Moredun | |
| RIE/Bio Medipark | N/A | Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh | |
| Greendykes | N/A | Greendykes | |
| Craigmillar | N/A | Craigmillar | |
| Niddrie | N/A | Niddrie | |
| The Wisp | N/A | ||
| Fort Kinnaird | N/A | Fort Kinnaird Retail Park | |
| Newcraighall | N/A | Newcraighall railway station | Queen Margaret University |
[edit] Trams
The contract to build the trams is worth up to £40 million, and manufacturers were required to meet the specifications placed down by Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE). Tenders were submitted in mid October 2006. The trams will either be manufactured by CAF or Alstom [4], who have been selected from amongst the four manufacturers who submitted tenders. Bombardier, and Siemens were the other companies competing to build the 15-25 vehicles.
The trams will have to cope with the steep slopes of Edinburgh while being 30-40m long, possibly the longest in the UK. They will be 100% low floor built to meet the UK Rail Vehicle Access Regulations in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 for disabled people. Passenger capacity will be more than 200 with a vehicle top speed at 70-80 km/h. The system will be fitted with CCTV on the tramstops as well as in the tram. Special requirements that Edinburgh city has put on the bi-directional vehicles are low noise and a visual fit suitable for a World Heritage Site.[5]
Willie Gallagher, chairman of TIE, said: "Edinburgh will have the most advanced tram system in the world."[6].
[edit] See also
- Transport in Edinburgh
- Light Rail Transit Association
- Scottish Tramway and Transport Society
- List of Tramways in Scotland
[edit] External links
- Transport Initiatives Edinburgh's Tram Time web site
- WEBS (West Edinburgh Busways)
- Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Bill Committee
- Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Bill Committee
- Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Act 2006)
- Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Act 2006)
| Local rail transport in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Metros : | Docklands Light Railway (East London) | Glasgow Subway | London Underground | Tyne and Wear Metro |
| Tramways : | Blackpool | Edinburgh | Manchester | Midland Metro (West Midlands) | Nottingham | Sheffield | Tramlink (South London) |
