Disruption after Edinburgh tram collides with bus

No one was injured in the crash in West Maitland Street, just east of Haymarket, which is believed to have happened when a First Bus single decker was pulling out into the tram lane.

Trams were halted east of Murrayfield following the incident around 8am.

A spokeswoman for Transport for Edinburgh, which runs the trams and Lothian Buses, said: “It looks like the bus pulled out into the tram tracks. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”

Last month, a private coach collided with a tram close to the Shandwick Place tram stop, just east of today’s incident.

A passenger on the bus told The Scotsman: “The number 38 First bus I’m on just had a very near collision with a tram just before Princes Street.

“They both came up street together and driver slammed breaks on - tram is currently sandwiched to our side. No-one hurt.”

The city council reported “significant delays in and around Haymarket” with long delays on Haymarket Terrace, Dalry Road, Palmerston Place, Manor Place and other roads in the west end.

A First spokesperson said: “We can confirm that one of our Service 38 buses travelling from Falkirk to Edinburgh was involved in a low speed minor incident with a tram in Edinburgh’s West End.

“The two vehicles made slight contact at around 0740 this morning.

“Fortunately no one was hurt but we have launched our own investigation to establish exactly what happened.”

A spokesman for Edinburgh Trams said: “One of our trams was hit by a First Bus in West Maitland Street at 7:43am.

“After recovery of the bus by a tow truck, engineers were able to assess the tram on street and drive it back to the depot where a full damage assessment will be being carried out.

“We’ve reviewed our CCTV footage and are satisfied that our driver was not at fault and that our procedures for handling an incident like this were followed appropriately.

“Services resumed on the full line at 10:38am and are now running normally. We’d like to apologise to any passengers affected by the incident this morning.”