Edinburgh's trams roll into action - 31 May 14

[whole diary]

[bobm]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Edinburgh's tram service has taken its first paying customers as the long-awaited route from the airport to the city centre opens to the public.

The first tram services set off at 05:00 BST from the Gyle Centre in the west of the city.

It follows six years of disruption and problems, including a bitter dispute between the council and its contractor.

The Edinburgh tram route cost ^776m and covers 14km (8.7 miles) from the New Town to Edinburgh Airport.

Tram works
 
In the decade since the first money was allocated to the project, the price has doubled, the network has halved and it has taken twice as long to build as originally planned.

The project was almost scrapped just weeks before the construction began in 2007 and later ground to a halt for months when the company in charge of the trams fell into a bitter dispute with the main contractor.

The people of Edinburgh suffered six years of disruption as roads were closed for construction and businesses have also complained it caused them to lose trade.


 
Edinburgh has 27 trams in its fleet, although only about half of these will be in service at any one time.

Tram vehicles, each costing about ^2m, can take 250 passengers - 78 seated, 170 standing and two dedicated wheelchair spaces.

The full journey from the airport to York Place in the city centre should take about 35 minutes.

The 14km route has 15 stops along the way, three of which connect with rail and bus services.

The tram services will run seven days a week, with a reduced timetable on Sundays.

During the week, the first trams will run from the Gyle in the west of the city at 05:00 and from the airport at 06:15.

Trams will run from York Place to the airport from 05:29.


 
At peak times, the trams will runs every 8-10 minutes.

The last trams to travel the full route will leave from Edinburgh airport at 22:45 and from York Place at 23:08.

Tickets cost ^1.50 for a single in the city zone and ^5 for a single if you want to go to or from the airport.

Operators warned passengers should get a ticket before getting on the tram as there will be a ^10 fine for anyone travelling without a ticket.

It had been hoped the tram fleet would offer free wi-fi, but it is understood most carriages will be installed with internet access in the weeks and months following the launch date.

Extremely frustrating
 
Original plans to take the tram line to Leith were scrapped but could still be implemented in the future.

Edinburgh City Council transport convener Lesley Hinds said: "You can't underestimate the amount of money over-budget and the time it's been over as well. Obviously that has been extremely frustrating and I think it's been damaging to the city of Edinburgh.

"Our purpose over the last two years has been to get passengers on the tram from the airport to York Place.

"We do have enough trams to go down Leith and we have the rails because that was all bought before.

"There will be a report at the end of the year to see how people are taking to the system and it will suggest how we might want to further invest in public transport and the trams come under that."

There have been calls for a public inquiry into the trams fiasco but Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said there are no immediate plans for one.

"We've said let's wait until the system is up and running and then look at lessons to be learned," Mr Brown said.

"I've spoken to the council already about this and will speak to them in future because the council has a number of legal actions ongoing and we can't have inquiries which cut across that.

"A total of ^776m has now been spent on the system so let's make as much money as we can and get people on as many trams as we can to help repay that cost."

[paul7575]

The 14km route has 15 stops along the way, three of which connect with rail and bus services.

The author didn't read the route map then.  'Three' refers just to rail interchange surely?

Paul

[ChrisB]

Rail and bus[\b] maybe?

[paul7575]

Oh yeah...   

Paul

[readytostart]

Took a run out to the airport and back yesterday, all seemed to be running smoothly, quite busy - as you'd expect. Surprised at the amount of very tight (5kph on one) curves on the route.

Not shown on the route map is the small staff platform at Gogar depot between the Gyle and Gogarburn, stopped in both directions for a driver change.

Fares are a bit of a rip off for anyone venturing the airport (the only stop outside of the city zone) coming in at more expensive and a longer journey time than the Airlink bus (also under the Transport for Edinburgh banner). Coincidentally the Airlink goes 24hrs a day as of today, previously those with very early or very late flights would have needed a taxi or the meandering N22.

For anyone planning a ride out a PlusBus is valid on trams within the City Zone and Edinburgh to EdinAirportBus (via Haymarket) rail tickets are valid for the whole route.

[John R]

Am I right in thinking that the tram stop is a longer walk than the bus stop (which is right outside the arrival hall)?  So why would you use it?

[readytostart]

The airport terminal is currently undergoing expansion so I'm guessing it will eventually be right outside, as will the express bus stand which has recently been moved.

[stuving]

I flew to Edinburgh in June, and was puzzled by a few points about the trams.

Yes, the tight curves on the out-of-town sections, and the low speed needed to get round them, are a bit of a surprise if you are expecting something on the German or Swiss model. Supposedly the run will speed up slightly in the future; I'm not sure what it is that has to bed in before then.

The flat fare of ^1.50 everywhere except ^5 to the airport itself looks like a rip-off - a bit like the surcharge for hiring cars at an airport. Given the somewhat avaricious parking management at EDI, you wonder if they are getting a cut, as they do for buses as well as taxis.

You walk the length of the building site which will be the new terminal, then find a row of ticket machines by the tram platforms. There were staff hanging about to be helpful, one of whom was asked about the validity period of return tickets. I'd already researched that, as it's not explained up front and is an obvious thing you need to know. The answer is: on the day for trip one, and for ever for trip two! (I think they are valid for either direction). So ^8 versus 2x^5 seems just about worthwhile.

There are contactless card readers for the locals, but tickets out of the machines are plain paper. That strikes me as odd for a newly-designed system (OK it's delayed, but only by a few years). Read by an on-board conductor, of course, not the encapsulated driver. My return ticket was punched on the way in, which wasn't needed as that was "day of issue". Going back out, I had my ticket in my hand but when I proffered it I was told "I've already seen yours as I came past". So I guess it's still valid. The ticket has two spaces for punch holes, so that first punching was just so it can be easily seen to be on its second use. So I guess she just needed retraining - already. But why is it that tram and bus operators here are so dead set against "date-stamp your own" tickets, standard for cities across Europe?

[ellendune]

I too visited in June and had a meeting near the airport. I took the tram out to the Park & Ride (still in city zone) and despite the signs saying no access to the airport, walked the short distance to my meeting. 

After my meeting I then walked to the short distance to the airport!

[bobm]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Bus and tram in Edinburgh collision


A bus and a tram have collided during the rush hour in Edinburgh.

The accident happened on West Maitland Street at about 07:45. Both vehicles were travelling east towards Princes Street.

Police said no-one was injured and the tram was not derailed.

The tram and bus were eventually separated and removed, but traffic was seriously disrupted with long delays before the road was reopened two hours later.

[brompton rail]

Clearly the tram tried to pull over into the bus lane!

[TonyK]

Clearly the tram tried to pull over into the bus lane!

Whilst we don't want to prejudice the outcome of the eventual inquiry, I think we can rule that out!

The Edinburgh tram, whilst already busy and likely to be a continuing success, shows what can go wrong when politics and transport mix. They must always mix, because of where the money comes from, but this project has suffered more than most. As soon as the then Labour-led administration passed the enabling bills, the then-SNP opposition announced they would scrap the scheme if voted into power. This promise formed a part of the SNP's manifesto for the 2007 Scottish elections, and could have been the end had SNP won an outright majority. As it was, they lost the scrapping vote, and the fierce protagonists became the reluctant cheerleaders - never a good thing. It was, of course, Edinburgh City Council's scheme, but it was going nowhere without the government's say-so.

Contractual difficulties caused further delays, but it may be overdue and overpriced, it's still here. Time will tell, but the early results are positive.

I'm not impressed. In Bristol, we're getting MetroBust.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Edinburgh trams running three-quarters empty



Edinburgh's £776m tram network was running at an average of 25% capacity, newly released figures show.

Passenger numbers on the network almost doubled between 2014 and 2015 to 5.3 million, but the services have the potential to carry 21 million people per year.

Each tram has a capacity of 250 and the vehicles make a total of 85,000 journeys per year. It means, on average, three-quarters of the space on the network was unfilled.

The trams were originally designed to run for 15 miles from Edinburgh Airport to Leith by 2011, at a cost of £375m. But a truncated nine-mile service, stopping in the city centre, opened in 2014, at a cost of £776m - with interest charges expected to push the final bill to about £1bn.

A public inquiry has been set up to investigate the problems for the project, which went over budget and was completed five years later than planned with a reduced network, having caused major disruption for residents and visitors through years of works.

Scottish Conservative MSP^▸ (Member of Scottish Parliament) for Lothian Miles Briggs said: "The one saving grace people in Edinburgh thought they could take from the trams was that they would be worth the wait eventually. However, with three-quarters of spaces unfilled every year, it seems even that consolation hasn't come to pass. This was a hideously disruptive and expensive project but, having been operational for a while, millions of spaces on these trams are going spare. Passengers are complaining that they continue to be slower than the bus, and some residents are so furious with the inconvenience they caused they refuse to get on them. It's clear there is still significant work to do to make this project a success, and I hope bosses use these numbers as a catalyst for doing exactly that."

The figures were revealed by Edinburgh Trams finance manager Tom Neil in response to a freedom of information request, which said during peak times some trams "operate at 100% capacity" and enhanced provision has been made to cope with the demand.

An Edinburgh Trams spokesman said: "It's disappointing that the Conservatives have issued a figure that misrepresents both the success of the trams to date and how public transport in general operates. We've already had to introduce extra services at peak times and there will be good news early in the new year on further service improvements. Although a relatively recent form of transport for the city, the tram continues to go from strength to strength and is clearly proving its value for the people and economy of Edinburgh."

The firm said the figures were based on 2015 passenger levels and it expected 2016 to show a significant increase. It highlighted that two-thirds of a capacity of a tram is standing, and based on available seats usage levels are about 80%.

[stuving]

Looking at the top and bottom of that story:

Edinburgh trams running three-quarters empty
...
The figures were revealed by Edinburgh Trams finance manager Tom Neil in response to a freedom of information request, which said during peak times some trams "operate at 100% capacity" and enhanced provision has been made to cope with the demand.
...
The firm said the figures were based on 2015 passenger levels and it expected 2016 to show a significant increase. It highlighted that two-thirds of a capacity of a tram is standing, and based on available seats usage levels are about 80%.

You can imagine a "real-world meeja studies" exam question:

Based on the piece above, write as new article to suit the headline "Vulnerable passengers forced to stand on Edinburgh trams".

Normal rules apply:
Where facts and quotations do not exist they may be invented.
You may ignore or even contradict what you do quote, but only up to the point where that becomes obvious.
Marks will be deducted for blatant lying (the examiners' decision on this will be final).

[grahame]

25% loading doesn't sound too good until you start to think about it ... or to compare it to other figures that are published / can be deduced.   It's quite easy to take a branch line terminus, and divide the number of exits from the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) ticketing figures by the number of trains terminating there per annum and the number of seats on a typical train, and you'll often get a figure well below that 0.25.     With the vagaries of peak commuting, I can well believe that some services are indeed at capacity ...