Plans for an extension of the Edinburgh Trams network to Newbridge are set to be abandoned following a report released to the Transport and Environment Committee recommended that there are better options in the west of the city. The route of this extension had been safeguarded in the local transport plan but after further investigations it has been said that it doesn’t bring all the benefits of other proposals to extend the tramway.
The Newbridge line would have left the current tramway at Ingliston and travel to Newbridge via Station Road, Harvest Road, under the M9, along Cliftonhall Road, Newbridge Industrial Estate Road and terminating close to Newbridge roundabout.
The report commissioned into looking at this line has concluded that despite the fact that a tramway on this alignment would produce benefits it could also be better achieved by improving bus services instead. It is also noted that capacity of the network would only allow for one extra line to be built and its felt a line beyond Hermiston serving Heriot-Watt University would provide more overall benefits.
Although this report is looking into the Newbridge extension (and mentioned the other western extension to Hermiston), its also made clear that the priority for extending the system is that from Granton to the BioQuarter and onwards to Dalkeith. A consultation into that line is due to launch later this year with Cllr Scott Arthur admitting frustration that it would not be ready until at least 2035 as they want to hit the ground running with the project team already in place for the Newhaven extension.
Any further extensions of the network do currently remain unfunded though.