Thoughts on the "Route for the third Edinburgh tram line"

[andrewducker]

There's been a bit of a fuss today about the unveiling of a third Edinburgh tram line route. And my thoughts about it aren't simple enough to stick into a link title, so I thought I'd ramble a little.

Firstly, it seems to me that this is not a council announcement of anything. The map is plastered with the repeated word "concept". It contains both Picardy Place and York Place (Picardy Place was created when York Place was removed, when the tram extension was carried out in 2023). I've seen discussions that it's based on an old version of the existing routes taken from Wikipedia.

The source is a Scotsman article, rather than a council publication. And even then the coverage is mostly taken from a speech given at the Rail in Scotland conference - where the council's transport convener said he "was excited at taking a closer look" - but it's not the main priority. Certainly there's nothing on the council's news page mentioning it.

So I'm not convinced that this is more than a "Here's an interesting possibility"

Secondly, I'm not convinced it's viable financially. Which isn't to say that trams, in general, can't be worthwhile. If Edinburgh hadn't badly botched the construction of the first tram line then it would be well in profit now. But that tram line runs from one of the most densely populated parts of the city (Leith Walk) to one of the business hubs (Gyle and Gogar), through some of the most touristy stretches (Princes Street).

Much though I love the idea of a tram that literally stops in my road and goes to both the airport and Portobello, nearly the whole route is low-density. The bus route that is closest to it is the 38, which is so low-use outside of rush hour that it's a single-decker that has to be subsidised.

Admittedly, it's cheaper to build than a new tram line, as it's mostly a question of re-using the old train line. But I'd like to see a concrete business case for it, that checked that the number of potential users would support running tram-trains along that route.

Comments

[soemand]

Could the properties along the line transition to a higher density should the tram line be built?

I recall the lrt in Calgary the density around stations grew with time.

[andrewducker]

Oh yes. It would probably attract people. Certainly the existing tram line has triggered more building.

[0olong]

Buses like the 38 (and, say, the 1) are an interesting case. They cater for journeys for which the only alternative is routes into the centre and out again. There are many reasons why that's desirable (both for passengers and for the city at large), but unfortunately, they do it slowly and infrequently. That means that many people who *would* use routes like these are likely to find other ways to make the journey.

I don't think we can infer from the underuse of the 38 that fast, reliable public transport serving some of the same route would also be underused.

[cmcmck]

The trams in Brum have re-used a lot of existing suburban railway lines very successfully.

[danieldwilliam]

Advantage of that route are that it re-uses an existing line so is probably cheaper and quicker to build. It probably connects poorer parts of the city to jobs in the West End. It helps connect the seafront and creates opportunities for higher density housing there. With a little re-jigging you can cobble together an Outer Circular Tram which helps public transport with point-to-point routes.

That said the 38 is instructive.

Very much agree that this is someone doodling on a map rather than a plan or a proposal.

[andrewducker]

The person who created it doesn't seem entirely comfortable with how fast it's spread

https://bsky.app/profile/stephenjenkinson.bsky.social/post/3mdocfwgpv22v

[andrewducker]

Oh, and yes, I'm a bit sceptical, but I'm not against the idea. Very much looking forward to an official analysis.

[danieldwilliam]

I think the route might be a bit more dense than you fear. Some of the stops are in high-density areas. The area along the South Suburban less so.

[andrewducker]

That's fair. Joining Portobello to Leith might be useful. And London Road to Portobello as well.