{"id":49853,"date":"2023-06-07T22:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T21:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=49853"},"modified":"2023-06-07T19:50:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T18:50:41","slug":"its-open-trams-to-newhaven-welcomes-its-first-passengers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=49853","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s open! Trams to Newhaven welcomes its first passengers!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edinburgh Trams are now running in passenger service all the way between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven after the opening of the Trams to Newhaven extension as planned at midday on Wednesday 7th<\/sup> June. There were almost simultaneous departures from each end of the line with the first passengers able to buy special platinum tickets from the machines at both Picardy Place and Newhaven tramstops.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Although the line had originally been due to be part of the original Edinburgh Trams network, much of which was curtailed due to severe cost overruns, and there were some preparatory works which took place as part of that, construction of the extension started in November 2019. Over the past three and a half years the work has gradually progressed with the track going down, overhead wires installed and tramstops constructed.<\/p>\n

It has long been planned that the line would open in spring 2023 and that has been achieved with a couple of weeks to spare! It has also been achieved within the revised budget of \u00a3207.3 million, which after all the problems of phase one is something to be cheered.<\/p>\n

The extension runs for 2.91 miles (4.69 kilometres) and sees eight new stops added to the network (with one decommissioned at York Place last February and replaced by one nearby). The stops are located at Picardy Place, McDonald Road, Balfour Street, Foot of the Walk, The Shore, Port of Leith, Ocean Terminal and Newhaven.<\/p>\n

The first tram from Newhaven every day will be at 0520 with a tram every 10 minutes until 0700 (Monday to Friday) and 0900 (Saturday and Sunday). Its then every 7 minutes until 2000 (Monday to Friday) and 2200 (Saturday and Sunday) and then every 10 minutes until the last tram from Newhaven at 2350 seven days a week. First trams going to Newhaven will be at 0447 from Princes Street and 0626 from the Airport.<\/p>\n

There are no changes to the fare structure following the opening. An adult single across the entire network (except between Ingliston and the Airport) is \u00a32.00 with a day return in the same area being \u00a33.80. An Airport single is \u00a37.50 with an Airport Open Return coming in at \u00a39.50. Probably more likely to appeal to many readers of this website though are the range of day tickets \u2013 one for the network as far as Ingliston is \u00a35.00 and if you want it to include the Airport its \u00a312.00 (the Airport section probably remains the most expensive section of tramway if not rail borne transport in the UK). Tickets have to be purchased before boarding with ticket machines available at all stops and the app also available for purchase.<\/p>\n

Services unusually started partway through the day (in most previous openings its been an early start to the day) with departures from both Picardy Place and Newhaven at around midday. The main events accompanied the Picardy Place departure which saw 258<\/strong> in operation (which has just received a new advert to publicise the new line) whilst the first tram from Newhaven was 259<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As 258<\/strong> arrived at Picardy Place it was accompanied by a piper and there was a specially choregraphed tram ballet outside St Mary\u2019s Cathedral. Council Leader Cammy Day was then joined by local school pupils to cut the ribbon to officially launch the service.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile at the other end of the line, primary school pupils from Victoria Primary School in Newhaven celebrated the launch by banging their drums! Also present to celebrate the occasion the Guard of Honour from the High Constabulary of the Port of Leith stood at Pilrig Street to welcome the trams into the historic Burgh of Leith wearing full parade dress, including top hats, whistles and ceremonial batons.<\/p>\n

Obviously, with it being the official launch (although councillors and local school children took a trip the previous day for a special press trip) there were lots of dignitaries to offer a quote.<\/p>\n

Cammy Day, City of Edinburgh Council Leader, said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to be playing a part in this momentous occasion \u2013 the launch of tram passenger services between Picardy Place and Newhaven. It\u2019s a real landmark moment for Edinburgh, as we bring this high capacity, sustainable and reliable service to the north of the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know many will share in my excitement, and optimism for the benefits this development will provide. We\u2019ve already seen vast improvements to spaces along the route and long-term I\u2019m looking forward to the impact it will have on the local economy, which even now we\u2019re starting to see.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who live and own businesses along the route. They have shown such patience and resilience throughout this major, complex project and now I hope that they will really gain from the new service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is also a chance to reflect on the hard work of those who have delivered this scheme. Thanks to the project team\u2019s dedication, despite the challenges of recent years, I\u2019m proud to say Trams to Newhaven has been delivered on time and within the \u00a3207.3m budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lea Harrison, Edinburgh Trams Managing Director, said: \u201cBuilding on the undoubted popularity of the original route, the new line opens up a wealth of opportunities for the communities it now serves. Customers old and new can also count on the Edinburgh Trams team to help them to make the most of the new services, and we\u2019ll be out and about on the system offering help and advice on getting around and finding the most cost-effective ticket option from a range of value-for-money deals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll also continue working closely with businesses along the route to ensure they don\u2019t miss out on the benefits of this landmark transport project that will help them attract new customers while providing a convenient way for their employees to get to and from work.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom start to finish, the Trams to Newhaven project has been a real team effort, and over the past few months the Edinburgh Trams team has worked tirelessly on extensive testing and commissioning to ensure the new route integrates seamlessly with the original line. Now we\u2019re all set to build on past successes as we enter a new era for both the tram and our fantastic city as it looks to a prosperous, greener, and even better-connected future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Passenger services will now run daily, although there do remain a few localised work sites to complete the public realm works.<\/p>\n

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259 gets ready to depart from Newhaven with the first inbound departure. It would depart at 1200 and become the first tram to leave the stop for the Airport with fare paying passengers on board. 264 is behind, which would operate service number two.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The departure is met by local school children and their drums.<\/p><\/div>\n

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One of the first tickets to be sold at Newhaven \u2013 an adult single. (All Photographs by Roy Calderwood, 7th June 2023)<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edinburgh Trams are now running in passenger service all the way between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven after the opening of the Trams to Newhaven extension as planned at midday on Wednesday 7th June. There were almost simultaneous departures from each … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49853"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49857,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49853\/revisions\/49857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}