Public consultation launched on Edinburgh trams expansion

Plans to expand the Edinburgh tram network by linking the north and south of the city have been put out for public consultation. 

The council is seeking views on new routes to Granton to the Royal Infirmary and BioQuarter as part of a project that would cost between £2bn and £2.9bn, depending on the route chosen. 

Leaders are weighing up whether the route should run between Crewe Toll and the city centre via Orchard Brae and across the historic, A-listed Dean Bridge, or along the Roseburn Path — a former railway line now used as a pedestrian walking path. 

The consultation is now open and will run for 12 weeks. 

The findings will not definitively decide the route of the new tramline. Instead, the council has said it would “inform the strategic business case” that will be presented before its transport and environment committee next year.   

A local campaign group has heavily criticised the Roseburn Path route due the its popularity as a walking and cycling path.  

Officials have said a dedicated walking, wheeling, and cycling corridor would be included in the design. 

Last year, officials recommended the route as the “preferred route”. They have also said that the proposed route would be faster and more reliable as it is off-road.  

Despite this, it was agreed that both options would be put out for consultation.  

The remaining section of the extension is proposed to run along Princes Street, connecting with North Bridge, then heading towards Newington and onto the Royal Infirmary via Cameron Toll.  

The plan also includes a proposal to construct a lift connecting the North Bridge tram stop with Edinburgh Waverly Station below. 

An additional extension to East and Midlothian will also be considered.  

The £207m extension from Picardy Place to Newhaven opened in 2023, expanding the existing line between Edinburgh Airport and York Place, which opened in 2014 after years of delay and over budget. 

Shortly after the first portion of the existing line was opened, a Public Inquiry into the project was announced. The report did not publish until 2023. 

The council’s transport and environment convener, Stephen Jenkinson, said Edinburgh’s population is expected to grow by 60,000 in the next 20 years, and said, “With regards to mass public transport in Edinburgh, doing nothing isn’t really an option.” 

He said, “Edinburgh is the fastest growing city in Scotland”, describing the extension as a “bold and ambitious solution”. 

Jenkinson added: “Whilst this shift is a true sign of our success, it brings real pressure on our communities, and crucially on the city's transport infrastructure on which we all rely. 

“The new developments we will see along the tram route will be key to Edinburgh's prosperity for generations to come.”