Since Edinburgh Trams opened some five and a bit years ago one of the city centre tram stops has been known as West End Princes Street (although had been scheduled to be called Shandwick Place in pre-opening publicity) – but no longer! Recently noted at the stop is the removal of the Princes Street part of the name with the signs now just saying West End. It is thought that this has been done so as to prevent visitors to the city wanting the main street alighting here as they still find themselves some distance from where they are likely to want to be, although quite why its taken five years to work this out is unknown!
The original name West End – Princes Street.
On 24th August and the Princes Street part of the name has been removed just as passengers await an outbound tram with 274 heading to York Place. (Both Photographs by Roy Calderwood)
All very confusing because bus travellers from Fife, Queensferry et al only recognise Lothian’s West End bus stop as that sited in Queensferry Street, a good three quarters of a mile from the tram stop sited west end of Shandwick Place, which was the original name for the tram stop, shown on Edinburgh Trams’ February 2009 Fact Sheet. Still, it will necessitate Lothian cartographers compiling and printing yet another bus and tram service Route Map for Edinburgh’s bus and tram services