There seem to be two reasons for cancelling a tram in Edinburgh: a devastating fire on the high street, or a couple of dog walkers on the trackbed.
The Council is now considering finally putting tracks back on the Roseburn Path, as was always intended and reaffirmed by the Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Act 2006. Its proposals go above and beyond to keep people walking, wheeling, and cycling alongside the tram. Battery-operated trams will avoid the need for overhead cables, allowing 70% of the trees to remain. Trams will run on a single track at pinch points, ensuring the maintenance of at least three metres of width along 93% of the path.
A vocal minority remains in denial, claiming any change to the path amounts to its “destruction”. The Council’s representative market research tells a very different story: more than 3 in 4 Edinburgh residents do not oppose the tram along Roseburn Path.
The Roseburn Path is the only viable option for a northern expansion of the tram network. The alternative Orchard Brae route would be nearly 80% more expensive, require delay-prone work to accommodate trams on the historic Dean Bridge, and actually mean removing cycle infrastructure in places. Of course Roseburn is the cheaper option – thanks to the original railway, the foundations are laid and the route is clear of obstacles.
Edinburgh is now one of the most productive and fastest growing cities in the UK. Investing this wealth to build out the tram network would stimulate a virtuous cycle where growth begets growth. And support for the expansion comes from a diverse multitude of lobby groups, ranging from sustainable transport campaigners to the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.
Innovative local funding models across Europe have demonstrated that tramlines can be built at a fraction of the cost of the previous Edinburgh tramline, which is already generating enough revenue to cover 98% of its operating expenses. The current tram network has been a huge success, with £600 million of new investment along the route.
Trams provide capacity, smoothness, and reliability that buses simply cannot match. For investors, as was the case for the £1 billion redevelopment of St James Quarter, the physical permanence of tracks provides certainty that a reroutable bus line cannot.
Nowhere better demonstrates the superiority of trams to buses than Argonaut Books, a beloved independent bookshop at the Foot of the Walk. It normally sees a 20 to 30% rise in sales in August due to the Fringe Festival, but without tram service due to the temporary closure of Princes Street, sales have instead fallen by 5%.
And it’s not just businesses that benefit from trams. They encourage housing development along their routes and increase property values. A smoother, more reliable journey gives commuters a reason to leave their cars at home, reducing congestion, noise, and air pollution – ultimately helping our environment. Everyone would be safer from road traffic collisions, whilst CCTV and staff on the tram would deter antisocial behaviour along the path at night. The northern extension would connect Granton and the Western General Hospital to the city centre, as well as to future extensions to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the proposed reopening of the South Suburban line.
A small group of NIMBYs are trying to withhold these benefits from the people of Edinburgh. This is a travesty, and we should call it what it is: rich neighbourhoods using their wealth and influence to prevent essential public infrastructure from reaching developing areas such as Granton. Allowing them to gaslight us into thinking the Roseburn Path is anything more than a very well maintained trackbed starves Granton businesses of sales, commuters of jobs, patients of access to hospitals, tourists of access to the waterfront, and children of clean air. We make the radical proposal to put tracks on the trackbed, as there was always meant to be – the grass, trees, and path can stay.
Don’t let our councillors be distracted by the NIMBYs. Get them to support the tram extension by going to: lookingforgrowth.uk/
Calum McCutcheon is a member of LFG Edinburgh and a local advocate who previously ran a group for safe pedestrian and cycle infrastructure.
