Its time for a good news story from Edinburgh Trams as not only has it been confirmed that the Trams to Newhaven project remains on target for a Spring 2023 opening (and within the £207.3 million budget) but that trams will return to St Andrew Square from Monday 28th March – slightly earlier than planned. Excellent progress is being made at various locations along the 2.91 mile (4.69km) extension from the City Centre to Newhaven although timelines on some sites have slipped slightly as a result of challenges with the work taking place and revised completion dates have now been revealed, but this is not expected to impact on the completion of the overall project.
3km (70% of the total due to be laid) of track is now down with all crossovers also in place whilst 90% of utility diversions have been completed. Other recent milestones achieved include three of the eight tramstops finished, 3km (66%) of drainage installed, 4km (82%) of communications ducting put into place, the substation at Melrose Drive is completed and the fit-out is now ongoing.
Construction has been largely finished on several key sections of the route (other than some localised works) including Constitution Street, between Constitution Place and Queen Charlotte Street and Ocean Terminal to Rennie’s Isle.
Despite this good progress in many locations, it has been necessary to review specific completion dates for remaining sections as a result of delays caused both by the pandemic and an earlier concrete shortage. As a result the following changes have been made to completion dates:
- Newhaven to Melrose Drive – delayed from Winter 2021/22 to June 2022 due to the complexity of utility diversions along with the realignment of Lindsay Road.
- Ocean Terminal – delayed from Winter 2021/22 to May 2022 with work to continue on carriage and footways to resolve defects, install equipment to support the new tram line including tram communication systems, tram stop fit outs, installation of overhead, street lighting, landscaping and traffic signalling.
- Stevedore Place – delayed from Spring 2022 to June 2022 with work to continue on carriage and footways to resolve defects, install equipment to support the new tram line including tram communication systems, tram stop fit outs, installation of overhead, street lighting, landscaping and traffic signalling.
- Casino Access Road/section in front of old Genting Casino – delayed from Summer 2022 to Autumn 2022. Works are due to commence March/April 2022.
- Coatfield Lane to Foot of the Walk – delayed from Winter 2021/22 to June 2022 because of the narrowness of the road along with archaeological finds and utility conflicts. Works will continue on carriage and footways to resolve defects, install equipment to support the new tram line including tram communication systems, tram stop fit outs, installation of overhead, street lighting, landscaping and traffic signalling.
- Foot of the Walk to Crown Street – delayed from Summer 2022 to September 2022 because of the complexity of the junction at the Foot of the Walk
- Crown Street to London Road – completion date changed from Summer 2022 to July 2022. Works will continue on carriage and footways to resolve defects, install equipment to support the new tram line including tram communication systems, tram stop fit outs, installation of overhead, street lighting, landscaping and traffic signalling.
- Elm Row – delayed from Spring 2022 to July 2022 with work to continue on carriage and footways to resolve defects and continue with landscaping including installation of London Road Roundabout clock and bronze pigeons
Speaking about the latest announcements, Cllr Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “It’s clear that the Trams to Newhaven project is well on its way to completion, as these figures show, and before long we’ll be testing trams on the streets of Leith. Next week, we’ll also see the return of the existing service to the city centre, which I’m sure will be great news for many. Of course, while this project will bring significant benefits to the area, we know that its construction has impacted all those who live and work nearby, and I’d like to thank them for their patience during the last two years. As we enter the final year of work to deliver the tram line, we’ve had to make some changes to the programme due to issues outwith our control. I want to assure communities along the route that we’re doing everything we can to mitigate the impacts of this, and that we’re still on track to begin providing the service by spring next year.”
The project team will continue to mitigate any impact of changes to the programme of works to ensure that the scheduled Spring 2023 completion date can be met (the reputational damage for any future extensions if there are any significant delays doesn’t bear thinking about). They have learnt lessons from the construction of the first tram line and also best practice from other major European construction projects which has allowed them to focus on large work sites which provides the flexibility to continue construction elsewhere on-site if issues are encountered.
Testing and commissioning of the line is due to commence in Winter 2022/23 and continue through until the opening of the line in Spring 2023 (exact date to confirmed but spring is three months long so could be any when between March and June). It is planned that more details of this stage of the work will be given during the Autumn as we continue to edge towards a time when trams will be running through to Newhaven.
One of the worksites which has seen a lot of progress in recent weeks has been that around the former tramstop at York Place, which should allow tram services to resume to St Andrew Square during the last week of March. As we’ve seen previously the old tramstop at York Place has been removed to allow tracks to be laid in its place which will connect the original tram line with the extension leading into Picardy Place. Both tracks are now connected and concreted in place. New wiring has been put up and a larger planter has been put in place to act as a temporary buffer stop for now.
With the old tramstop removed and infrastructure put into place there has been succesful testing and commissioning of the layout which will see a normal tram service running as far as St Andrew Square from Monday 28th March. Trams will run from every seven minutes between the Airport and St Andrew Square, with the latter stop becoming the terminus until next spring. Once trams arrive at St Andrew Square passenger will aligt and the tram will then move forward around the corner to York Place where they will reverse using the crossover and then head back to St Andrew Square to start their return journey.
Edinburgh Trams Managing Director, Lea Harrison, said: “We always aimed to restore services to the city centre by early April, but thanks to excellent progress made on this landmark phase of the project we have been able to start essential testing this week. As a result, we will be running services to a temporary terminus at St Andrew Square a little earlier than expected. As we reach this important milestone, we would also like to thank customers for all their patience and understanding over the past few weeks while this essential work was being carried out.”
Looking from York Place towards Picardy Place, both sets of tracks are now in place through to the location of the Picardy Place tramstop with concreting completed. Some tarmac infill on the roadway is needed to complete the work. The original crossover is in the foreground.
The new central island marks the spot where York Place tramstop once stood.
The original buffer stop has been removed and a new, very large wooden planter has taken its place to act as a temporary buffer stop until the line to Newhaven opens. In the background is Calton Hill with the Nelson Monument visible just to the left of the traction pole.
New meets old in York Place. To the right of the pole can be seen the new shiny copper overhead wire leading to Picardy Place and its connection to the original wire to the left of the pole.
A closer look at the junction between new and old wire. (Photographs x5 by John Hampton, 24th March 2022)
Just a few days after the previous photos and barriers have been removed from the side of the tracks with evidence of test trams having used the crossover here on test runs. In just a few short days trams will again be regularly traversing this track but not with passengers on until next spring.
How quickly people forget! It was only six weeks ago that trams regularly travelled on York Place but now in preparation for their return signage has been added to remind people to be aware of trams. (Photographs x2 by Roy Calderwood, 26th March 2022)