Passenger estimates cut for trams

SCRAPPING the tram route to Leith has cut expected passenger numbers by more than half, according to figures released under freedom of information laws.

Forecasts drawn up for the city council predict 5.4 million people a year will use the trams between the airport and St Andrew Square, compared with previous estimates of 12 million passengers a year for the original 11-mile route between the airport and the Waterfront.

Even after nine years of operation, the forecasts suggest the curtailed route will attract fewer than ten million passengers, while the full route was expected to have twice that number.