Bloody Edinburgh trams

[Ginaro]

50 minutes ago, RiG said:

In a surprise to no one the extension to Newhaven has been given the go ahead.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/2630/all_aboard_for_trams_to_newhaven_as_project_gets_the_green_light

I'm certainly not against the tram line being extended but it does seem like it's being rushed through. The plans to send traffic up Easter Road as a diversionary route are mental, the area it will travel along has some of the most frequent bus services in the city and it's another 3 or 4 years of roadworks for the good folk of Leith to have to deal with. Also means the money spent on doing up parts of Leith Walk has been pissed away as the street will now be torn up again for the tram line. No wonder local authorities are broke.

I'm sure I read there were plans to extend the cycle tracks all the way down from Pilrig Street, to replace the painted on-road lanes in the door zone, and that these were on hold until the tram decision was made. So at least that can be done at the same time as the tram design includes them.
 

[jamamafegan]

I think this is great news. Trams are superb. Long live the Edinburgh Tram.

[Paco]

The amount of buses in Edinburgh’s roads is awful so if the tram helps to get some off the road, as well as cars obviously, that can’t be a bad thing.

The interim period will be dreadful, obviously. Is it 18 months of Leith Walk down to one lane, and Easter Road becomes a major through road? That’ll be an absolute disaster. The likes of Brunswick Street and Pilrig Street will become major roads, which they’re really not suited to.

Hopefully worth it in the end.

[RiG]

3 hours ago, Ginaro said:

I'm sure I read there were plans to extend the cycle tracks all the way down from Pilrig Street, to replace the painted on-road lanes in the door zone, and that these were on hold until the tram decision was made. So at least that can be done at the same time as the tram design includes them.

I think the now disused railway line that goes down to some old rubbish plant at Powderhall is meant to be getting lifted and turned into a cycle path.

1 hour ago, Paco said:

The amount of buses in Edinburgh’s roads is awful so if the tram helps to get some off the road, as well as cars obviously, that can’t be a bad thing.

The interim period will be dreadful, obviously. Is it 18 months of Leith Walk down to one lane, and Easter Road becomes a major through road? That’ll be an absolute disaster. The likes of Brunswick Street and Pilrig Street will become major roads, which they’re really not suited to.

Hopefully worth it in the end.

The report to councillors mentioned removing six buses which, given the frequency of the buses up and down Leith Walk, is nothing (page 254 of http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/download/meetings/id/60308/full_meeting_papers_-_the_city_of_edinburgh_council_-_140319_-_version_2pdf) . That said, the statement is somewhat ambiguous - reduction of six buses per hour? In both directions? Bus services in general? Who knows.

[philpy]

Hmmm. Personally, I think the line extension isn't the greatest of ideas. There is a perfectly good bus system in place as it is. And to counter any arguments regarding bus emissions, Lothian buses are bringing lower emission buses into the fleet already. In fact, some are already on the road. Older vehicles on many routes have already been phased out.

[Paco]

Hmmm. Personally, I think the line extension isn't the greatest of ideas. There is a perfectly good bus system in place as it is. And to counter any arguments regarding bus emissions, Lothian buses are bringing lower emission buses into the fleet already. In fact, some are already on the road. Older vehicles on many routes have already been phased out.

Buses are slow and clog up/ruin the roads, even away from the emissions argument.

Edinburgh’s public transport is a legitimate disgrace and it’s almost unprecedented in Europe for a city of its size to just have buses covering 90% of the place. Manchester’s tram network should really be the model to follow if we’re never going to get the local train lines reopened, has seven lines covering most of the city and goes out to towns on the outskirts like Altrincham and Rochdale.

But it costs £207m here for a couple of miles, for some reason, so that’ll never happen.

[DiegoDiego]

Edinburgh’s public transport is a legitimate disgrace and it’s almost unprecedented in Europe for a city of its size to just have buses covering 90% of the place.

Poppycock.

[jamamafegan]

I think we can all agree here that buses are absolutely shite. Who was the bright spark that decided to tear out all the tram lines across the country and replace them with buses? I’d love it if Perth has trams again. Dundee is another city that would benefit from having tram lines. Would be quality.

[The Master]

The trams are great.  

Being able to jump on one from a train at Gateway has been a massive timesaver since the station opened. But even if I end up at Haymarket I still choose the tram over the bus because there's just something generally nicer about it.

[Detournement]

How exactly do buses clog up the road? In terms of passenger per square metre they are obviously much more efficient than cars

On emissions buses and brand new petrol cars seem similar in terms of emission per passenger km but bus passengers will also walk  and the idea of everyone having a new petrol car is absurd.

What people mean to say is they don't like buses because there are poor people on them.

 

[Highland Capital]

I see some campaigners want to re-open the city circle as the next extension.  Surely that'd be the logical next step for the trams.  Now I know there would have to be some modifications to the trams themselves but it could be done (this is the case in Bradford I believe).  I mean the lines are already there and this'd mean you wouldn't get much of the problem before where roads were being dug up and the whole city was a building site.  Even the stations are kind of still there - I imagine Gorgie is and Morningside is just a bit overgrown, but the platform is still there.

It very strange when you think about it.  Glasgow has loads of local stations, yet Edinburgh - a city with lines all over it - hardly has any.  There'd surely be a demand for it.

[Stellaboz]

Trams are fantastic. Buses are scum wagons.

[welshbairn]

7 minutes ago, Stellaboz said:

Trams are fantastic. Buses are scum wagons.

I got an early morning bus into Edinburgh airport and was there in no time, clean and comfortable. Tram back, couldn't believe how slow it was, was looking for the donkey pulling it. 

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

27 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

I see some campaigners want to re-open the city circle as the next extension.  Surely that'd be the logical next step for the trams.  Now I know there would have to be some modifications to the trams themselves but it could be done (this is the case in Bradford I believe).  I mean the lines are already there and this'd mean you wouldn't get much of the problem before where roads were being dug up and the whole city was a building site.  Even the stations are kind of still there - I imagine Gorgie is and Morningside is just a bit overgrown, but the platform is still there.

It very strange when you think about it.  Glasgow has loads of local stations, yet Edinburgh - a city with lines all over it - hardly has any.  There'd surely be a demand for it.

This?

[Highland Capital]

1 hour ago, Zen Archer said:

This?

Exactly.

[jamamafegan]

Our country has been plagued with scum wagons

[Ginaro]

2 hours ago, Highland Capital said:

I see some campaigners want to re-open the city circle as the next extension.  Surely that'd be the logical next step for the trams.  Now I know there would have to be some modifications to the trams themselves but it could be done (this is the case in Bradford I believe).  I mean the lines are already there and this'd mean you wouldn't get much of the problem before where roads were being dug up and the whole city was a building site.  Even the stations are kind of still there - I imagine Gorgie is and Morningside is just a bit overgrown, but the platform is still there.

It very strange when you think about it.  Glasgow has loads of local stations, yet Edinburgh - a city with lines all over it - hardly has any.  There'd surely be a demand for it.

*South Suburban Line - but the problem is getting the tram from Haymarket to line and getting it back to Princes Street from an already busy section east of Waverley. Or if you run it as a normal train, then you've got capacity problems. Plus if you live near a station on the route you'd be as well getting a bus rather than a circuitous route.

[Highland Capital]

5 minutes ago, Ginaro said:

*South Suburban Line - but the problem is getting the tram from Haymarket to line and getting it back to Princes Street from an already busy section east of Waverley. Or if you run it as a normal train, then you've got capacity problems.

I suppose the answer would be to connect the railway line to the tram line before Haymarket, have the tram take the usual tram line and then re-connect with the railway line after Waverley.  There must be a way to work it out.

[ajwffc]

I suppose the answer would be to connect the railway line to the tram line before Haymarket, have the tram take the usual tram line and then re-connect with the railway line after Waverley.  There must be a way to work it out.

One end of the sub is at Haymarket Central Jn(in line with Tynecastle and Haymarket depot) and the other end is at Portobello Jn (all ready at full capacity).

[Boostin' Kev]

Will be good once it's done IMO. Will be carnage in the short term on Easter rd and Bonnington rd.

Looks like the brownfield site at Ocean Terminal is going to finally get completed, saw plans for almost a 1000 properties, primary school,woodlands etc. Creating a new village in that shithole area basically.