Christmas cheer for Princes Street as buses come back

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 08:53

IT WAS the moment frustrated traders, shoppers and commuters had been waiting for.

The first bus in nine months made its way along the newly re-opened Princes Street yesterday morning at 7:30am – only two hours later than planned.

The famous street now has completed tram tracks from the west of Waverley Bridge to South Charlotte Street.

Contractors worked day and night to finish the project in time for the festive season, though Saturday night's severe weather resulted in a short delay to the planned re-start.

The news was welcomed by shoppers, with many more flocking to the street to do their Christmas shopping. Shopkeepers also breathed a sigh of relief, hoping for a much-needed boost in sales.

Johanna Mackay, manager of the One World Shop, at the West End, said: "It has really made a huge difference. We'd been quite close to having to cease trading. People just weren't coming any more, and we suffered enormously.

"It was fabulous yesterday. We had many more people, and it came at just the right time."

The work on Princes Street involved laying around 4,000 metres of rail track, as well as diverting and replacing ageing utilities along the route. Workers also installed overhead poles along the central reservation to support power cables.

City council leader Jenny Dawe said: "As the first physical on-street presence of the tram scheme, the track-laying along Princes Street was a monumental phase in the project.

"Our traffic management team will be on-street throughout the coming days to ensure that the alterations run smoothly and with minimal disruption to city residents, workers and visitors."

Richard Jeffrey, chief executive of Edinburgh Trams, said: "There are many people we owe a great debt of thanks to, and some of these include the people of Edinburgh and the retailers and businesses on Princes Street. I would also like to thank the contractors and teams who have worked 24 hours a day for the last eight weeks to ensure that we met the deadline.

"The weather has been really appalling particularly in the last week and despite this, everyone worked on.

"The completion of this stage of the work is a milestone for all of us. It is a pleasure to be able to hand the street back to buses, taxis and cyclists and to the city."

There will be some work over the next few days to reinstate parking and loading requirements along George Street, St Andrew Square and other central areas. But there will be no major tram works in the city until 4 January.

Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, also thanked business owners for their patience.

He said: "Let's all celebrate the re-found easy access to Edinburgh city centre."