Leader: ‘Light at the end of a very long tunnel’

TODAY’s news of light at the end of the tunnel for the Haymarket station redevelopment will be welcomed by commuters.

It will be a Christmas present worth waiting for when the revamp is unveiled, especially with the new measures to tackle the bottle-neck caused by events at Murrayfield.

But it is not just the travelling public who will be counting the days until a normal service is resumed in the West End.

After we reported this week how trams would be running by January – admittedly empty to begin win during extensive testing – it is beginning to look like it will be a long-overdue happy new year for traders and residents.

We have already highlighted how there is a sense of a corner being turned with the arrival of three big supermarket names – Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco – into an area where the only developments in recent years seem to have been businesses closing down blaming the roadworks gridlock.

The revamp of Haymarket and the arrival of the trams is going to turn the area into a modern, bustling hub, and, while it will take time, the future has to be rosy. When you factor in the revamp of Waverley Station, then (whisper it) Edinburgh may soon have a transport network of which to be proud.

Whether it has been worth all the pain of the last few years, only time will tell.

But for now, the positive news just seems to keep coming for the West End, and long may that continue.

There is light at the end of a very long tunnel today – and it is a train approaching on time.

Age no barrier

If ever there was an example of age being no barrier then it is Supergran Dot Nobbs.

Not content with a bunch of flowers and a card on reaching the milestone of her 90th birthday, she has been celebrating with a high-speed motorcycle ride and a spot of 
abseiling.

She may have initially expected a slightly more sedate trip but ended up loving the experience, joking that she is now saving up for her own bike.

And why not? You are only as old as you feel after all and even if, as in Dot’s case, you need a step ladder to get on the back of a motorbike, then go out and give it a go.

Many happy returns to Dot who is a fantastic inspiration to those even half her age.

Spare a thought for her family, however, who may well be fearing what she has planned when she hits the big 100.