SNP promise further Edinburgh Trams extensions if they win Council elections

The political hot potato of extending Edinburgh Trams is showing no sign of going away with the Scottish National Party manifesto for the upcoming council elections promising to build new lines to the north and south if they retain power. You won’t be surprised to know that their enthusiasm for extending the network do not spread across the whole political spectrum!

The manifesto – which was launched in April – says on the trams: “SNP councillors will get going on turning the tram line into a tram network. Expansion will help us meet climate targets and keep Edinburgh moving. We intend two new extensions from the city centre – one northwards to Granton and the other southwards to the Royal Infirmary.”

Both these lines are not new ideas as they have been floating around for some time – indeed Granton should have been in the original tram network but was part of the network which was abandoned due to spiralling costs. But with Edinburgh’s aim to become carbon neutral by 2030 they are seen as vital to achieving this to help take more cars off the roads.

Granton is currently undergoing significant regeneration with a £1 billion project which will see 3,5000 homes built. This will potentially give lots of extra passengers for the tram network whilst extending the line south to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the BioQuarter will also give good connections for residents and commuters.

Speaking about their tram plans, Cllr Adam McVey, Leader of the SNP on the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “y keeping the Newhaven extension on time and on budget we’ve shown that, under the SNP, tram works can be delivered well. Even the pandemic hasn’t knocked the project off course. Now it’s time to turn Edinburgh’s tram line into a network worthy of a modern European capital. We will take the time to plan this properly, just as we did for the Newhaven extension, to minimise disruption as far as possible and ensure the new routes are deliverable. To tackle climate change, we have to provide people with low carbon alternatives for getting about the city. Trams are a proven way of doing that. Linking up parts of the city with fast, efficient transport supports residents to switch from car to public transport for those journeys. When the trams started running they carried millions of passengers – and bus passenger numbers also increased. The tram line is now an important part of the transport network, linking in and working with our fantastic publicly-owned bus service. Our city continues to grow so we need to invest in these rapid transport options to effectively tackle congestion, as so many other cities across Europe already do.”

However, the enthusiasm is shared by opposition councillors. Iain Whyte, Scottish Conservative candidate, said: “People living in Edinburgh will be frankly astonished that the SNP are talking up more tram lines. The SNP’s track record on trams is nothing short of embarrassing yet they are asking voters to trust them to deliver this. The SNP council are currently claiming that current works are on time and on budget, but they haven’t delivered. Passenger numbers simply aren’t there, yet the SNP want to chuck more money onto the project. This is continuing to let down residents and businesses who have had to endure endless delays while works have taken place. It also signals quite a remarkable about turn, given the SNP wanted to scrap the trams when they got into office.”

The council elections will take place on Thursday 5^th May. City of Edinburgh Council is currently run as a coalition between the SNP (16 councillors) and Labour (11 councillors), although the Conservatives are the single largest party with 17 seats.