PEOPLE will finally be able to see trams running in Edinburgh again within weeks, council leaders confirmed today.
• First operational tram line in Edinburgh to run later this month
• Line will run between Gogar and Edinburgh airport
• Safety notices distributed as trams set to run at speeds of 45mph
More than five years after work began on the capital’s long-delayed scheme, the first full test runs are to finally go ahead on a stretch of line between the capital’s airport and Gogar from 26 November.
The section is the first part of the tram project to be completed and is due to be handed over to the city council from the project contractors in March.
Safety warnings were today issued by the council as the trams will be travelling at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. Overhead power lines between Gogar and the airport will also go live on 26 November.
Trams last ran in Edinburgh in 1956 although plans to bring back some form of system were first floated more than a decade ago.
However the project has been dogged by difficulties, including a prolonged dispute with contractors, the scrapping of a council company set up to run the project and the departure of a string of key personnel.
The first public services are not due to start running again until July 2014, although the council has admitted it may be able to start running them earlier than that due to the rate of progress on the project.
A five-minute film was released showing various parts of the route - which will run from the airport to York Place, in the city centre - last month.
Some £669 million has now been spent on the project, despite a new budget of £776 million being set last year. However the council insists the project is running to its new budget.
The tram vehicles ordered by the council have only been able to be tested at a section of track used to train drivers at the Gogar depot.
Council transport leader Lesley Hinds said: “Testing is a vital part of the development of Edinburgh’s tram system to make sure it’s safe and reliable for future service.
“We have been in touch with residents and businesses along the route to make sure they know the tests are taking place and so they have important safety advice.
“The tram project is progressing well and it’s good to see that a long stretch of track is almost complete and that we’ll see trams running on it very soon.”
