Transport: 'The case for tram line three remains strong'

Published on Wednesday 10 September 2008 10:15

THE call to have tram line three included in the strategic review of national transport won't be greeted with joy by many people in Edinburgh who are already sick of the sight of road cones, but it is the right thing to do nonetheless.

Having once been totally opposed to trams, the Government now needs to show a flexible attitude towards a modern integrated transport system. Earlier this year Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson conceded there was "logic" in expanding the planned Leith-Airport tram line. But while it has always been assumed that the next extension would be the spur from Roseburn to Granton doubt must now be cast on the viability of such a plan.

Certainly TIE has a fixed price option on the extension until July next year but as it struggles to bridge a 30 million shortfall in funding, questions have to be asked as to whether this can be made up.

Much of the missing funding was to have come from developer contributions along the line but they have not been forthcoming. To date only a few hundred thousand pounds has been pledged and today the Evening News reveals a staggering downturn in the number of new homes being built in the city, which can only make the task even harder.

Experience elsewhere shows trams are viable in highly-populated areas. But forcing them into areas where demand could remain low seriously threatens the business case. If the housing boom predicted for Granton is not going to materialise in the foreseeable future then there is little point running trams to the coast.

But the business case for tram line three from Princes Street to Little France and possibly beyond remains strong. It would run through an already densely populated inner city area, would serve two hospitals – the ERI and a new Sick Kids – and the proposed biomedical park as well as several university campuses. Although it would cost in excess of 200m, the route has largely been secured and a draft bill prepared.

Perhaps the problem to date is that tram line three, the South Sub, Waverley Line and a guided busway to serve the south of the city have all been examined in isolation.

If tram line three were to progress, could it not be extended to the Sheriffhall Park and Ride or even to Gorebridge? Savings from not building miles of expensive heavy rail track through empty fields to Galashiels would make a substantial contribution to the budget.

All options for transport infrastructure in the Greater Edinburgh area must be examined collectively and the best bits of each scheme cherry-picked to create a modern transport network that would best serve people rather than politicians with individual vested interests.