Edinburgh Trams want 1,000 volunteers for test

Edinburgh Trams want volunteers to help them test the tram stop at Murrayfield. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Edinburgh Trams needs to undertake a number of realistic exercises to test operational and safety procedures on the £776 million project before it enters full passenger service this year.

This follows six years of construction and problems, including a long-running dispute between the council and its contractor.

Edinburgh Trams wants to test crowd management at Murrayfield Stadium ahead of a number of high-profile events including the One Direction concert in June.

An event will take place on Thursday March 13, named Exercise Salvador, which they hope will involve up to 1,000 members of the public.

Tom Norris, director and general manager at Edinburgh Trams, said: “All major public transport systems undergo thorough scenario testing before they go live and Edinburgh Trams has already carried out a wide range of these types of exercises.

“At Murrayfield Stadium on match days or event days, we’re looking to ensure we have the best possible procedures in place to manage crowd numbers on to the system.”

As well as the crowd management exercise itself, volunteers will also get the chance to ride on the tram.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, transport convener, said as well as driver training and system testing, this “vital pre-launch period” gives an opportunity to test out various scenarios in a controlled manner before embarking on tram passenger services in May.

She added: “This exercise on March 13 will help us to see how the system copes with crowd numbers getting on and off the trams at Murrayfield Stadium, which will obviously be invaluable preparation.”

Places are strictly first come, first served and volunteers will need a copy of their confirmation email to gain access to the tests.

Anyone keen to take part in the exercise is invited to register by sending an email with the name(s) of those interested to [email protected] by Monday March 10.

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