We head off to Edinburgh once more as we take a look at some more of the progress being made on the Trams to Newhaven extension – due to open in spring 2023. Although the project has been delayed by global events outside the control of the contractors which saw a revised programme released during the summer, good progress continues to be made on construction and in this update we feature Picardy Place, McDonald Road, Foot of the Walk and the clock on Elm Row.
Picardy Place
The first tramstop on the extension will be at Picardy Place, and is a replacement for the old stop at York Place which was closed in February to allow the old and new extensions to be joined together. An island platform recent progress has seen the concrete upstands for the edges of the platform have been cast in situ.
Looking towards the city centre this view shows work underway on the stop at Picardy Place. A tram can just be seen at the top of the picture at York Place where it has come to reverse using the still existing crossover. (Photograph by John Hampton, 25th August 2022)
Looking west with the Airport bound track on the right. St. Paul’s and St. George’s Church is in middle distance on the right.
St Mary’s RC Cathedral is behind the arm of the digger. (Photograph by Roy Calderwood, 27th August 2022)
McDonald Road
With the first shelters on the extension having been installed during August, further work on the platforms has been taking place – including the very first stop signs! This is the next stop along the line after Picardy Place.
McDonald Road stop sign being put into place. (Photographs x2 by John Hampton, 25th August 2022)
Foot of the Walk
Foot of the Walk will be the fourth new stop from the city centre (with another four being built after it) and unlike others on the extension it will consist of side platforms. This is down to the rather limited space here with the tramstops also forming part of the pavement. The stop is located at the very southern end of Constitution Street where it intersects with Leith Walk, Great Junction Street and Duke Street. Constitution Street has a second stop at The Shore just to the south of Bernard Street).
This image – taken from a passing bus – looks north over the site towards some trees which mark the location of the South Leith Church and graveyard (the scene where many medieval skeletons were excavated earlier in the project). On the left is a British Heart Foundation shop which used to be a Woolworth’s store, closing on 27th December 2008 it had opened in 1925 and the 180th store to open in the UK. (Photograph by Roy Calderwood, 23rd August 2022)
Elm Row clock
As we reported during August a refurbished clock was put into position in Elm Row following its extensive restoration after it was removed during the first attempt at extending Edinburgh Trams in this area. Before renovation it was in the middle of a roundabout on Leith Walk but is now in a much safer position just a few metres from its original location.
The clock remains in the middle of a worksite for now but is now in prime position once more. (Photograph by John Hampton, 25th August 2022)