CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Tram latest

CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Tram latest http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Tram latest en Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:15:04 +0000 Arellcat on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-385142 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:09:36 +0000 Arellcat 385142@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Tulyar is right to call out the gig worker economy for encouraging unchecked proliferation of electric mopeds masquerading as e-bikes, and whatever underground movement exists to service that demand – but to bring the argument back to trams, the likelihood of such an e-bike catching fire onboard a tram is surely the same as one catching fire not onboard a tram. How often does that actually happen? I'm sure it must do occasionally; I've never seen one in flames but I'm not in town 24 hours a day. And how often does an e-bike from a reputable brand catch fire? I've even less seen that happen. Arellcat on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-385134 Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:43:33 +0000 Arellcat 385134@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @Yodhrin, I'm sure I've posted about this before in here but the search function is broken. It would be instructive to ask CEC to show their risk assessment criteria. Back of the envelope thinking here, but an e-bike battery fire onboard a tram may be rare or unlikely in terms of likelihood – itself a combination of likelihood that a bike onboard is an e-bike and that the e-bike is a bit shonky. The inherent likelihood of a shinky e-bike is reduced because those bikes are mostly not being brought onboard trams in the first place. At any rate, combine that likelihood score with a major or severe impact were it to occur and you still get an overall risk that is three or four times smaller than the highest possible risk. The control measure would therefore be simply to remove the source of risk altogether (that is, "NO E-BIKES"), since "NO BIKES" would be an unreasonable level of mitigation. There is possibly some confirmation bias on both sides, since e-bikes in Edinburgh may constitute a higher proportion of bikes in daily use compared with other cities with trams that allow bikes onboard, if there are any. One counter argument I often thought about is how the scoring of impact ought to allow for the fact that an e-bike battery contains far more energy than most other lithium batteries we carry every day, in our bags, pockets and on our wrists. But even a phone battery contains enough energy to produce quite a decent little fire, enough probably to cause panic amongst passengers, probably not enough to set a tram on fire though. Yodhrin on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-385133 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:58:09 +0000 Yodhrin 385133@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @Tulyar Yeah sorry man, I don't buy it. The actual risk is statistically nonexistent(I've currently got an FoI request in with Merseyrail about their supposed "safety review" to find out what evidence and criteria they used in their ban, and Edinburgh Trams will be getting the same if Spokes can't get them to back down - I suspect the answer in weaselly terms will be "sweet FA" and that this is happening almost exclusively at the behest of one particular union who are using a single incident on a platform on the London Underground as an excuse to push a full ban with operators nationwide as they did in London, why I have no idea). Powered wheelchairs are still allowed, mobility scooters are still allowed - their batteries are at least as large as any EAPC, and I've known people who've replaced old failed battery packs in mobility devices with "shonky foreign jobs" because the official replacements were so expensive when out of warranty. Laptops and mobiles are still allowed despite the fact that there have been scandals in recent years where both types of device exploded or caught fire either injuring people or burning down buildings. Lithium batteries and their risks are simply part of modern life, there is no rational, evidence-based reason I've yet seen to specifically single out ebikes and hold them to a different standard. I've seen suggestions that the various bans are less about battery safety and more about the wider context; they always seem to be happening in places that are working to enable more cycling and encourage multimodal journeys but where operators have invested in infrastructure and rolling stock with poor provision for bicycles, and banning ebikes which are quickly becoming the main kind of bicycle people use for utility transport is a way of simply not having to deal with the increased demand for capacity, a way for their staff to not have to deal with customers forced to wait on a platform because a train or tram only has space for two bikes. A cop out, essentially. chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-385130 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:51:58 +0000 chdot 385130@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/edinburgh-trams-to-newhaven-must-be-resumed-urgently-after-debenhams-fire-in-princes-street-8810802" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/edinburgh-trams-to-newhaven-must-be-resumed-urgently-after-debenhams-fire-in-princes-street-8810802</a> Tulyar on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-384988 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:53:19 +0000 Tulyar 384988@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @chdot Lee Harrison seems to have jumped from the frying pan into the fire with his move to replace Jane Cole - wife of Barry Cole who was a railway manager covering the WCML routes in Lancashire & other transport projects, as his move to Blackpool Trams landed at the same time as their heritage tram base (the old Rigby Road depot was condemned, and then the wheel condition for their new Flexcity tram fleet was given a safety close-down order by ORR, due to the raised risks of derailments with worn tyres Blackpools trams are Alsthom - Edinburghs are CAF but I've noted some internal rows concerning the tyre wear & thus risks of flange climbing & derailments All this is somewhat technical & would relate to operating trams on railway tracks, where pointwork & other detail requires certain adaptations. Happy to discuss off CCE forum with engineers, as I've been building railways & tram tracks since 1968 (when I was building a new railway as a volunteer in N Wales, alongside John Grimshaw, before he started building cycle routes! Tulyar on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-384987 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:36:28 +0000 Tulyar 384987@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ @yodhrin as with the rampant abuse of e-mopeds through the unregulated commercial use of public roads with illegally 'employed' gig workers where the principals (Just Eat etc) fail to keep records We also fail miserably with trading standards (Edinburgh Council) failing to regulate the sale of illegal (for road use) and dangerous (wiring & control circuits) battery powered vehicles The Dutch, at government level have impounded container-loads of dangerous battery powered machines, and the local councils closed down retailers selling these machines In the UK all electric MOPEDS should be sold with a form V5 to register these as motor vehicles & ensure the legal criteria are delivered at the point of sale Eliminating the sale of dangerous lithium ion battery powered kit should reduce the fire risk through eliminating the high risk of short circuits & cell failures in these batteries with bad & cheap circuits The Union Street fire in Glasgow also highlighted a serious hole in legislation for storage of lithium battery equipment which needs the same levels of fire containment as flammable products like organic solvents & gas cylinders etc A wake-up call which is being ignored? chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-384933 Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:34:50 +0000 chdot 384933@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Elph “ Among his many community and social projects, Brian worked with North Edinburgh Arts in Muirhouse, Lothian Cat Rescue and a project to brighten the city during tram construction works. His small mural ‘The Fairy Boy of Leith’ on Leith Walk was inspired by a 17th century folk tales of a young child believed to have second sight, who would commune with elves on Calton Hill by night. Brian continued to make long ‘joiner’ pieces beside the Newhaven tram tracks up until very recently with Many Style Crew members. “ <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/26233111.talented-street-artist-huge-heart-dies-aged-48/" rel="nofollow">https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/26233111.talented-street-artist-huge-heart-dies-aged-48/</a> <a href="https://archive.ph/nw0qE" rel="nofollow">https://archive.ph/nw0qE</a> Yodhrin on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-384853 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:33:44 +0000 Yodhrin 384853@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Oh forgot to mention, I emailed Spokes about the ebikes on trams thing, apparently they have set a meeting with ET to discuss it and see what the heck is going on. If anyone else has been impacted or knows someone who has, it may help to also email Spokes and let them know your situation as well to give them more ammo? chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-384851 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:53:50 +0000 chdot 384851@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-trams-boss-received-excessive-ps370000-pay-off-council-chiefs-call-for-immediate-investigation-8758797" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-trams-boss-received-excessive-ps370000-pay-off-council-chiefs-call-for-immediate-investigation-8758797</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=76#post-384802 Sun, 21 Jun 2026 15:25:48 +0000 chdot 384802@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ Only a truly connected Edinburgh will be able to meet the challenges of the future Edinburgh is changing at a rapid pace. We’re the fastest growing city in Scotland, at twice the rate of Glasgow, in the fastest growing region in the country. This trend represents significant opportunities in terms of economic growth, investment and jobs but also places increasing pressure on our communities, and on the city’s transport infrastructure. We’re also facing into the climate, nature, and housing emergencies, alongside the urgent need to tackle poverty and improve the life chances of people living in the poorest areas of our city. “ (Good argument for <a href="http://www.Powderhall.Link…" rel="nofollow">http://www.Powderhall.Link…</a>) <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/fast-growing-edinburgh-stands-at-a-crossroads-and-its-trams-are-key-8751466?v%3D" rel="nofollow">https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/fast-growing-edinburgh-stands-at-a-crossroads-and-its-trams-are-key-8751466?v%3D</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384669 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:43:21 +0000 chdot 384669@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ Edinburgh's proposed new North-South tramline risks becoming a "fantasy project" due to lack of funding, a senior councillor has claimed. Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Kevin Lang said there was currently "no credible funding plan" for the project and therefore "no realistic prospect" of it being built. “ <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-north-south-tramline-risks-becoming-fantasy-project-due-to-lack-of-funding-claims-senior-councillor-8668170?ref=edinburghminute.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-north-south-tramline-risks-becoming-fantasy-project-due-to-lack-of-funding-claims-senior-councillor-8668170?ref=edinburghminute.com</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384668 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:43:51 +0000 chdot 384668@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ New tram line increases property prices by up to 37 per cent “ <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/espc-reveals-how-the-newhaven-tram-extension-has-impacted-edinburgh-property-prices-along-the-new-line-8665956" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/espc-reveals-how-the-newhaven-tram-extension-has-impacted-edinburgh-property-prices-along-the-new-line-8665956</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384662 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:56:33 +0000 chdot 384662@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/new-edinburgh-tram-line-wins-only-minority-support-in-huge-consultation-response-8665614" rel="nofollow">https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/new-edinburgh-tram-line-wins-only-minority-support-in-huge-consultation-response-8665614</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384653 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:23:40 +0000 chdot 384653@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ “One of the main reasons why people join and use the Dean Gardens is to enjoy a peaceful, green space in the city. From the consulting engineers’ report, it is clear that the redevelopment of the Dean Bridge would be a large-scale, prolonged and technically challenging project.” “ <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26177115.heritage-body-trams-historic-edinburgh-bridge/?ref=edinburghminute.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26177115.heritage-body-trams-historic-edinburgh-bridge/?ref=edinburghminute.com</a> <a href="https://archive.ph/C2x5G" rel="nofollow">https://archive.ph/C2x5G</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384651 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:52:10 +0000 chdot 384651@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “Has the fact the trams have now banned ebikes been mentioned yet?” Actually no I noticed that the other day but was preoccupied with other things More importantly (perhaps) i wasn’t thinking about the consequences Your post eloquently examples the impact It’s possible that electric bikes on trams have increased because of Voi bikes It’s possible that it’s about ‘e-bikes catch fine’ ScotRail must carry more and longer distances but hasn’t banned them Yodhrin on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384649 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:01:34 +0000 Yodhrin 384649@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Has the fact the trams have now banned ebikes been mentioned yet? Apparently they just decided in May without any discussion I've been able to find and the conductors are turning people away with reference to their website, where no reasoning or justification is given just a bald statement they're not allowed at any time. I cannot adequately state my reaction to that without breaking the forum rules. Riding in to Ingliston and catching the tram was my favourite "lazy nice day" way to get into Edinburgh - something I already couldn't do for the whole month of August because of the half-bummed way the trams begrudgingly permitted bikes aboard. Nevermind the people *really* impacted who were using tram+ebike as a commute or for other necessary trips. Absolute nonsense. chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384604 Sat, 06 Jun 2026 07:43:45 +0000 chdot 384604@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ France has built around 300,000 new homes per year in recent years - roughly the same number that successive British Governments have set as a target but never achieved. One significant enabler has been the systematic expansion of tramway networks, with new lines opened across French towns and cities over the past two decades, many explicitly designed to enable suburban housing growth. This report examines whether a similar tram- enabled housing model that avoids accessibility being car-dependent could be replicated in Britain. “ <a href="https://www.createstreets.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Towns-and-Trams.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.createstreets.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Towns-and-Trams.pdf</a> Tulyar on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384446 Tue, 26 May 2026 09:45:13 +0000 Tulyar 384446@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ In major cities the delivery of the greater frequency of tram services through a city core sees this being resolved by grade separation, and putting the trams in a tunnel under the centre I've also done a lot of work on the delivery of robust standards for installing steel rails in a range of pavements. In 1999 after the debacle of the 4 new generation tram systems falling apart with rails moving in the concrete and tarmac, I worked to revise the 1870 Tramways Act with a lot of detail on the mechanics of losing control of a bicycle when it hits a raised steel edge. I also looked at rail level crossings and the poor standards for the pavement surfaces in tarmac, timber, concrete & rubber, all of which had caused fatalities to pedestrians and cyclists using defective surfaces which had not been fixed (for Staines the fatality was 12 years after the inspection had called for the issue to be fixed!) I now have over 10 years of recording the poor detail underlying the construction and maintenance of the Edinburgh Tram track that I really need to get collated as a detilewd piece, and would really like to get the resources to deliver this, based on over 60 years of working with transport systems (in 1968 I was helping to build a new railway line in Wales!) Over 100 years ago the Caledonian Railway prepared plans for a double track tunnel under Princes Street with some of the core logs at BGS looking to be part of this work and confirming thet the ground conditions are a factor in the continuing movement of the highway pavements along the Edinburgh Tram route from Haymarket to Waverley Yet along the tram route using the street above, almost every load transfer joint between each section of the upper track slab between these points has cracked (2 cracks about 30 cm apart, and lumps of concrete fall out with patches in a variety of styles, plus many steel frames for access chambers and valve covers come loose and sink with the tarmac falling out - because tarmac does NOT stick to steel at all well - with steel plates covering the worst holes - often for a year or more. This problem required a complete redesign and rebuilding of the on street section on Princes Street with the side shoulders of the track having the tarmac replaced by black coloured concrete before the line opened, but the tarmac still breaks away from the edge of this and sinks/cracks plus the blockwork also moving and coming loose (because it was laid with a slack bond & the gaps filled by brushing in a 'dry mix' mortar which then falls out as it gets loaded by traffic Drawing from the 1963 project at Oxford Circus in London and a system used in Switzerland now to rebuild a road for the full depth of the road structure by placing a portable steel umbrella over the excavations and constructing the new road under the existing route with traffic still running overhead <a href="https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/50-years-ago-a-huge-steel-umbrella-for-oxford-circus-tube-station-8955/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/50-years-ago-a-huge-steel-umbrella-for-oxford-circus-tube-station-8955/</a> From the Core logs this means that the digging along Princes street will be a mix of glacial clay and gravels over a fractured bed of shale with the existing Scotland Street Tunnel neatly in place to remove the excavated material in large quantities, continuously and with minimised dust and dirt on a covered conveyor out to the Water of Leith where it can be ferried away on barges for land reclamation as appropriate Placing the trams under the main street also enables the ey stops to be moved to better places (Shandwick Place/Maitland Street to the Junction at Lothian Road, and St Andrew Square to a new atrium space directly linked to the lower level of Waverley Market and through to the main bridge across Waverley Station, with the old Scotland Street Tunnel as a pedestrian link to the North & Canonmills With the new station locations a third or fourth track can be included to regulate the trams from each radial route and even turn services back when an intensive service may be required to move crowds from events (eg at Murrayfield running an intensive service between Haymarket and Edinburgh Gateway when the event ends) With the tram route under the street the junction for Leith (and also for the Bridges/Regent Road can have track rising up in the centre of Leith Street as a way to sort out the mess of the at grade arrangements of traffic signals etc between York Place and Picardy Place. As in the original tram systems with this continued world-wide (Hong Kong, Toronto, Belgium - & original Glasgow tram routes) trams should run down the centre of the carriageway, and motor traffic should yield to allow pedestrians to cross to a tram stop (the law in Toronto, Hong Kong, Boston) when a tram stops there It should be interesting to see whether a report or a safety bulletin is produced following the recent pedestrian injury after a collision with a tram on Leith Walk chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384401 Fri, 22 May 2026 11:15:28 +0000 chdot 384401@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Can’t say I understand this! “ The council has said under the terms of the agreement with DLA Piper it cannot disclose the amount of the settlement. However, SNP councillor Danny Aston accused the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Green groups of “gross misjudgement” over the way the case was approached and said it could have lost the council a big chunk of the settlement. He said: “When we had two options on the table - whether to pursue this case independently, on our own, and trust the strength of our legal arguments, or potentially give a very large sum of whatever settlement we ultimately received to a third-party funder, despite the strength of our case, that's what the Lib Dems, Tories and Greens decided to do. It’s only good fortune that the case settled when it did. “ <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/big-chunk-of-edinburgh-councils-tram-settlement-could-have-been-lost-councillor-claims-8613825" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/big-chunk-of-edinburgh-councils-tram-settlement-could-have-been-lost-councillor-claims-8613825</a> gembo on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384343 Mon, 18 May 2026 15:35:29 +0000 gembo 384343@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Yeah City Deal - glasgow is really using this money to rejuvenate the entire centre of Glasgow. Admittedly more run down than Centre of Embra. Oh I recall the Southbridge with the Scientologists trying to trip you in the Street and the people with fleas shopping in WEWW [or Wattys as it was also called in the east] bakky on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384335 Mon, 18 May 2026 09:28:02 +0000 bakky 384335@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Great stuff, now spend the £222m you just landed on implementing the City Mobility Plan… chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384334 Mon, 18 May 2026 09:15:01 +0000 chdot 384334@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ The council and DLA Piper have now reached an out-of-court settlement. The terms of the deal prevent details of the settlement being made public, but lawyers believe the compensation paid is likely to be measured in tens of millions of pounds and less than half the initial total claimed. “ <a href="https://www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/tram-lawyers-pay-up-to-settle-scotlands" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/tram-lawyers-pay-up-to-settle-scotlands</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-384074 Tue, 05 May 2026 20:17:41 +0000 chdot 384074@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ John Swinney has said he is willing to “engage” with Edinburgh council on the proposed North-South tramline, but has insisted it is a “local project” which the council is responsible for. And he blamed the trams for the slow progress on the dualling of the A9 between central Scotland and the Highlands, saying the funding of Edinburgh’s original tram project took money away from the road scheme. … The SNP election manifesto includes an explicit rejection of the Roseburn Path option for the northern part of the new tramline, in line with the position of the SNP group on the council, which has also rejected the alternative Orchard Brae route but has suggested work should start on the southern section of the line while a new route is found between Granton and the city centre. “ <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/holyrood-elections-2026-john-swinney-on-edinburghs-new-tramline-reopening-the-south-sub-and-snp-seats-at-risk-8498759" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/holyrood-elections-2026-john-swinney-on-edinburghs-new-tramline-reopening-the-south-sub-and-snp-seats-at-risk-8498759</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-383879 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:56:00 +0000 chdot 383879@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ THE first section of Birmingham's eastern tram extension belatedly opened on Easter Sunday. Tracks at the far end are already in place but the central section is blocked by HS2 Ltd, which is slowly building an oversized station there. Last month groups including the RAC Foundation and Create Streets released a report called Towns and Trams: Learning from the French. French leaders had told them France opens a new tramway every six months, costing an average £35m per mile. Birmingham's extension, one mile long, is budgeted to cost £352m. The report said all but two French towns and cities with more than 150,000 people have trams (versus eight of 53 in the UK) and that was one reason France builds the 300,000 homes annually Britain can only aspire to. It urged the UK to streamline "elongated British business case processes" for trams, end "gold plating", and overhaul policies on utility cables and pipes under future tramlines. The government has promised to create a taskforce which will assess the benefits of "mass transit" systems and the "delivery barriers" 'Dr B Ching' “ (Private Eye) … <a href="https://www.createstreets.com/projects/towns-and-trams-what-britain-can-learn-from-frances-tram-led-housing-model/" rel="nofollow">https://www.createstreets.com/projects/towns-and-trams-what-britain-can-learn-from-frances-tram-led-housing-model/</a> <a href="https://bettertransport.org.uk/blog/towns-and-trams-learning-from-the-french/" rel="nofollow">https://bettertransport.org.uk/blog/towns-and-trams-learning-from-the-french/</a> Yodhrin on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-383844 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 13:25:23 +0000 Yodhrin 383844@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ Like you say it's all pie in the sky at the end of the day, the SNP at national level are far too carbrained and tightfisted when it comes to non-car infrastructure. Hell they can't even manage to produce a steady, dependable stream of funding for active travel projects and those are cheap as chips. The party has just been such a disappointment all around in recent years, and I dread to think what kind of state they'll be in after all the Alba people pile back in as they seem to be talking themselves into doing. chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-383843 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:54:35 +0000 chdot 383843@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “if you oppose the Granton spur of the tram just have the guts to say so“ That’s valid! I don’t think CEC’s SNP Group has handled this particularly well, but it’s ’all about the election’ - attracting more votes without losing others. The LD’s were bolder (and perhaps more cynical) being early opponents of the RC route. I presume they were/are in favour of the Dean Bridge option? The other Granton option used to be an extension from Newhaven (intended to be part of a loop up RC). I think the problem was land ownership, but, if so, don’t know why. The latest ‘plan’ by SNP Group is to favour the ‘idea’ of the route to the RIE and bits of Lothian. In transport/traffic terms this seems like a sensible idea and (more) likely to get SG cash. But, SG. Is unlikely to have spare cash, or have trams high on its list of priorities in the near/medium future. I’m not against trams but have little confidence that anything can be planned, funded or constructed ’well here’. This is definitely an Edinburgh problem but also UK (and Scotland) problem related to political and public attitudes to public transport, roads and ‘universal’ car use. Wars, oil price ‘shocks’, increasing obviousness of climate change/emergency/catastrophes don’t seem to make any difference… Yodhrin on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-383841 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:58:18 +0000 Yodhrin 383841@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ What solution do they propose then? Because if you want a route that goes from Granton to the city centre, especially one that links up with the existing line in a functional way, I'm not seeing many alternatives on the map. I suppose you could cut West and run through Blackhall and Ravelston, I'm sure Mary Erskin, the Ravelston Golf Club, and all the well-heeled locals won't have an issue with the Dykes being filtered to ram a mass transit system going through one of the most deprived bits of the city before it reaches them into their neighbourhood... Any further West and you can't really view it as an express north-south route into the town anymore. And Eastward hardly improves your options: either a bottleneck at the busiest part of Ferry Road to get you to Fettes, then open warfare with the Cockburn Society at all the cobbles you'd have to rip out to get it up Comely Bank Ave. there to face another bottleneck thanks to the hairpin turns at Learmonth Terrace. You could run up Granton Road and go via Inverleith Row, but that has two successive big traffic bottlenecks as each road meets Ferry Road. Between Swinney's gormless warblings about "energy security"(as if every drop of oil & gas that still comes out of the North Sea doesn't immediately get flogged on the open market at the same elevated price as fuel from anywhere else does) and this kind of rhetorical cowardice(if you oppose the Granton spur of the tram just have the guts to say so, rather than claiming you're open to an alternative solution that geographically cannot sodding exist) I'm going to have to use a spring-loaded peg on my nose to vote for the SNP on the constituency ballot this time. chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-383828 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:21:24 +0000 chdot 383828@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ Edinburgh's SNP group has today said it would back a North-South tramline for the Capital, but did not believe either of the options for the northern section – Roseburn Path or Orchard Brae – offered the right solution. “ <a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-north-south-tramline-snp-says-build-line-to-infirmary-first-and-find-a-new-route-to-granton-6565804" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-north-south-tramline-snp-says-build-line-to-infirmary-first-and-find-a-new-route-to-granton-6565804</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-383756 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:49:00 +0000 chdot 383756@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ (More history than “latest”!) “ You probably think I am talking about Edinburgh Trams but you’d be wrong. No, somewhat remarkably there was a direct predecessor to that latter horror show which also managed to get almost everything wrong in and from which important lessons should have been (but never were) learned. What we’re actually talking about is the convoluted, calamitous and remarkably recent history of CERT, the City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit guided busway. “ <a href="https://threadinburgh.scot/2026/04/01/dead-cert-the-thread-about-edinburghs-disastrous-dalliances-with-guided-busways/" rel="nofollow">https://threadinburgh.scot/2026/04/01/dead-cert-the-thread-about-edinburghs-disastrous-dalliances-with-guided-busways/</a> chdot on "Tram latest" http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8710&page=75#post-383703 Sat, 28 Mar 2026 09:07:58 +0000 chdot 383703@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ “ “Transport is absolutely key in tackling both the population growth question and the economic growth question... Making the choice of taking the tram North out to Granton is about flattening that curve a little bit and investing in an area of the city which…. there are parts of the city, which I know because I speak to people all the time, that feel that they’ve been left behind.” Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, convenor of the Transport and Environment Committee. “ <a href="https://www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/why-citys-2bn-tram-plan-is-about?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/why-citys-2bn-tram-plan-is-about?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email</a>