I was stuck in there in the bus 35 coming from the airport. I almost took the tram to "test it" just for the fun of it, but then it started to rain and I didn't fancy the long walk home from the nearest tram stop (plus the fact that it's 3 times as expensive as the bus). I did regret my decision!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
Tram latest
(2182 posts)-
Posted 10 years ago #
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"
AN urgent overhaul is needed to improve access to Edinburgh Airport, bosses have warned, after a car crash saw passengers cut off from the terminal for the second time in eight months.
"
http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/don-t-leave-us-stranded-say-airport-chiefs-1-3497207
Posted 10 years ago # -
“You come off a dual carriageway, via a rather elaborate set of roundabouts, on to something that looks like a B-road, into what is the busiest airport in Scotland. There’s no point having a 21st century airport with an early 20th century road.”
I wonder what exactly they would consider a 21st century road? Would it would ensure that people driving single occupancy boxes will be lower priority than all other vehicles?
Posted 10 years ago # -
I wonder what exactly they would consider a 21st century road
One that only allows driverless taxis?
Posted 10 years ago # -
"
Edinburgh Trams (@EdinburghTrams)
29/08/2014 08:53
Trams currently terminating at Murrayfield due to an incident. Tickets are valid @on_lothianbuses services."
Presumably this is because the Haymarket stop isn't level(?)
If so, just another short-sighted decision(?)
Posted 10 years ago # -
Just saw a tram go past at Edinburgh Park (1245 ish) and it said "York Place" on the destination board.
I think the issue with stopping at Haymarket is that you're already past the switchover at Haymarket Yards. Trams will be terminating at Murrayfield, running on to the switchover, changing sides and then running back. Perhaps 100 or so metres of wrong-line-working from Haymarket back to the switchover is just too challenging for Edinburgh Trams.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"Perhaps 100 or so metres of wrong-line-working from Haymarket back to the switchover is just too challenging for Edinburgh Trams."
So there aren't enough crossover places?
Posted 10 years ago # -
Presumably the wrong-line working would mean going along the short on-road section at Haymarket Yards in the wrong lane.
Posted 10 years ago # -
So there aren't enough crossover places? beyond Haymarket, I think York Place is the only location where a tram can change running lines.
Presumably the wrong-line working would mean going along the short on-road section at Haymarket Yards in the wrong lane.
Indeed. You think a man walking ahead of the tram in a fluourescent jacket and waving a flag could sort that one out.Posted 10 years ago # -
@ Chug - would depend if room on section at Haymarket Terrace (don't know) - perhaps stop is in wrong place?
Either way - 'emergency' therefore people with warning flags on Haymarket Yards??
Posted 10 years ago # -
I always thought they should have put an emergency stop at the bottom of Haymarket Yards. That way they could still run a reasonable service if something happens in the town centre
Posted 10 years ago # -
Is there not a changeover on Shandwick Place?
A few weeks back when the (I think) Orange March closed off bits of town the trams were only running to Shandwick Place (I mean West Princes St).
This was annoying as we were planning on taking the tram on our 2nd ever trip from St Andrews Sq to Murrayfield so we had to walk to Shandwick place first.
Which leads me onto K's observation: "Just saw a tram go past at Edinburgh Park (1245 ish) and it said "York Place" on the destination board."
This was also true with the tram we got at Shandwick Place. Despite the fact it was about to head back to the airport it was still displaying York Place. What was worse, as we headed west the onboard screens and announcements kept counting up the stations towards York Place even though we were going in the wrong direction.
The harassed ticked inspector was explaining that they had no control over the system.
Maybe they haven't read that far in the operators' manual but it does seem unbelievable shortsightedness that they can;t cope with this kind of thing.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Just saw @ediworstdrivers is looking for a cyclist with a puncture who was forced to get off the tram... Anyone know more?
Posted 10 years ago # -
Posted 10 years ago #
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3rd trip on the tram yesterday.
On at York Place (which I noted is on quite a hill - I thought it was supposed to be flat so that the driver can swap ends safely. I guess it must be flat enough).
All went well until the tram reached the Waverley Bridge junction and met with a stop sign (i.e. horizontal line).
And there we stayed for about 10 minutes. Nothing ahead of us and nothing wrong with our tram, but the system said 'no' so there we sat. I think it involved some kind of intervention from the control room to get us going again.
Apprantly this happens pretty much every day at some point or another.
Trouble was, the back of the tram was still sitting in South St Andrew St which meant that gridlock quickly ensued on Princes St.
I think they need to upgrade their software to EdinburghTrams v1.1.
Posted 10 years ago # -
The trams are meant to have a wheel-flange oiling system (Matron!) to stop the squeal on tight turns like the one cb describes above. It either doesn't work, or has broken, because they're making a terrible squealing noise as they edge their way gingerly around the corner now.
Apparently it was because unoily flanges were not conducive with Edinburgh's World Heritage Status (but tearing down 2 period facades on St. Andrew Square is.)
Posted 10 years ago # -
@k I am not sure, I thought when I have been on te tram that the flanges looked unoiled - and I would rather they stayed that way, I dont want any transfer of oil to the track when cyclist cross at less than 90 degrees !
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Nelly, according to the pedia of wikis, "To achieve the low noise requirement a self lubricating system is used to avoid the squeal of wheels on track when turning tight corners."
Posted 10 years ago # -
I added this to the Sunday Hootsman piece on tram safety:
Unlike tram systems in England, which are regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) the Edinburgh Trams are regulated by Transport Scotland, because of this, they also escape the immediate arrival of crash investigators from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), collecting evidence on the causal factors for an objective independent and impartial report, which than provides ORR with a set of recommendations to prevent recurrence of the circumstances which caused that incident. All RAIB investigation reports, and the lower ranking Urgent Safety Announcements (USA) are published in full and downloadable on line, which contrasts tellingly with the delivery of Section 39.3.a of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as a statutory duty of roads authorities (like Edinburgh Council).
The RAIB usually issues an announcement that an incident will be investigated within days of it happening. As yet we have had no announcements on any one of the 4 serious incidents which are it seems in the public domain - namely that of 2 PSV-Tram collisions, a car-tram collision and a pedestrian-tram contact. I really do hope that Transport Scotland recognises that it must align with ORR in managing the way in which the public has a transparent view of the safety and related standards by which the Edinburgh trams are operated.
One welcome detail is the news that Edinburgh Tram has signed up to the confidential service for staff to report their concerns for safety in a rail industry operation via the independent charity CIRAS, launched in Scotland nearly 20 years ago, and now in universal use across the UK's mainline railways. CIRAS provides the corporate safety net to capture important signals of safety failings that slip through the corporate internal processes, and the fact that Scotland on Sunday is reporting these issues is a clear indication that Edinburgh Tram places transparency on safety issues as a cornerstone of its public profile.
In order to accommodate the Developed Kinetic Envelope that the tram sweeps through on the street between West Maitland Street and Shandwick Place, the traffic lane width has been pared down from the more usual 3.5m to a narrower standard, which naturally is tighter on the 2.55m (plus mirrors extending up to 2.8m) of the maximum 'standard' width of a bus or truck.
The first PSV collision was with a coach turning left into Moray Place, and I'd note that the outswing for a coach on a full lock turn can be (and usually is) up to 1.2m, which of course means that the back of a large vehicle making aleft turn swings into the path of a tram. Perhaps the solution here is prevent large, or any vehicles making left turns, or even closing off Moray Place entirely to traffic to or from Shandwick Place.
I'd also note that several people have timed their travel from St Andrew Square to Haymarket at 15 minutes- possibly longer, which utterly destroys the timetable, and make it faster to walk, as the editor of a leading tram magazine did. Signalling screw-ups also impact elsewhere, as on one exploratory trip with a fellow CCE'er on a wee exploration of the fine network of cycle routes delivered with this project we came upon a tram at every stop Westbound from the Stenhouse flyover, yet not a single one coming towards us. Stopping to enquire we found that a signalling problem at The Gyle had stalled the service, but despite a cross-over at Edinburgh Park the trams were patiently queuing to go through to the Airport. Lawrence and other CRAG members have been checking times, and it would seem that a 15 minute York Place to Haymarket trip is not unusual, and that compares with 3-4 minutes on one of the equally frequent departures from Waverley to Haymarket by train - just £2.10 single or £2.60 off-peak return, the latter comparing very favourably with the bus even. Edinburgh Park and South Gyle take 10-12 minutes compared with 30-40 by tram to the location or close-by.
Even on the under-geared 1-speed Brompton which I spin-out on at 26-27mph (need to upgrade to the 62 Tooth chainring from 56), leaving the airport several minutes after the tram I caught up with it at Haymarket and rode alongside down Princes Street, having had both of us passed by the airport bus that left many minutes after me - passing me at Roseburn, and past Haymarket well before the tram arrived.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Dont take this the wrong way but......you must have a lot of spare time on your hands.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I would suggest that Tulyar is in fact a hoopy frood who knows where his RAIB procedural manual is.
Posted 10 years ago # -
1.5 million journeys in 100 days and buses busier than ever, should mean less traffic?
Posted 10 years ago # -
"should mean less traffic"
Yes, though more could be done to discourage driving to the centre.
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While cyclists and pedestrians will probably enjoy the calmer street, diverting traffic off George Street and limiting traffic on Princes Street has meant residents and businesses along Queen Street, which runs parallel to George Street, are suffering from heavy traffic, with gridlock at busy hours of the day.
...
Edinburgh cycle lobby group SPOKES welcomed the George Street trial although it said more needed to done to improve the "permeability" of the route, so that city centre cyclists could easily exit and enter the new route safely onto other cycleroutes. It also urged the Council to consider a safe Princes Street cycleroute as a priority for cyclists.
"
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Tulyar, I assume you mean Manor Place as Moray place is nowhere near Shandwick Place.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Sorry I got Places mixed up...
Posted 10 years ago # -
"All went well until the tram reached the Waverley Bridge junction and met with a stop sign (i.e. horizontal line).
And there we stayed for about 10 minutes"
This could be the reason?:
"When a tram passes a certain point before its traffic signal, this triggers the ‘go’ for the tram, but if it gets stuck by traffic then the system assumes it has gone through and is waiting for next tram."
So said an 'observer', from:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/traffic-light-change-clears-edinburgh-tram-path-1-3536116
Posted 10 years ago #
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