Edinburgh Trams to Newhaven 'must be resumed urgently' after Debenhams fire in Princes Street
Call for four trams to escorted through fire zone to provide shuttle service from Picardy Place
Trams suspended by the Princes Street fire in Edinburgh must be rapidly restored east to Newhaven, the city council is being urged.
A section of the Capital’s main public transport thoroughfare is expected to remain shut into August, with trams suspended between Shandwick Place, west of Princes Street, and Newhaven since the former Debenhams store blaze on July 9.
A former planning consultant has called for four trams to be moved east under escort so services could resume between a re-opened Picardy Place tram stop at the top of Leith Walk and Newhaven.
Robert Drysdale said even the reduced frequency service that would provide “would be a great deal better than no trams at all during the rest of July and throughout August”.
He said: “We need to get trams back to Newhaven urgently, to operate a shuttle service from there to Picardy Place, as has been done in the past.”
In a letter to the council, he said: “Without such an initiative, it is now evident we will be without trams to/from Newhaven throughout the Festival period, which will be a huge inconvenience to residents and visitors, particularly with the many hotels located at the Leith/Newhaven end of the route.
“Furthermore a prolonged interruption to tram services will not bode well for future discussions about tram line extensions, as opponents will point to the vulnerability of trams to disruption caused by events such as this.
“As soon as the westbound tram track on Princes Street can be made safe for occasional empty stock tram movements, perhaps including the construction of some form of reinforced temporary barrier several metres high alongside the central reservation between the track and the Debenhams site, we will need four trams to be moved overnight, with vehicular escort between the West End and York Place crossovers, reverting to the eastbound track at York Place to travel down to Newhaven.
“Measures will be needed to ensure the security of the trams stored overnight at Newhaven, together with interior cleaning, plus staff transport.”
Mr Drysdale said trams could not run any further west because of the lack of crossovers.
He said the Newhaven tram terminus had space for four trams, which would provide a maximum frequency of around every 12 minutes compared to seven minutes normally.
Mr Drysdale said trams would have to be rotated back to their depot at Gogar for maintenance, “so the overnight movement measures along Princes Street will have to be repeated as often as is necessary”.
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Bus Users Group said: “Businesses and local representatives in Leith have reported the urgent need for extra public transport capacity to and from the area, with buses being overcrowded.”
Council leader Jane Meagher said on Friday: “There’s a huge amount of work going into restoring the tram to its full route as soon as possible.”
A council spokesperson said: “There is a risk that vibrations caused by a tram travelling along Princes Street, even at a slow walking pace, could cause further damage and safety risks.
“Structural assessments of the building are taking place and work is continuing to stabilise the site before restrictions can be lifted.”
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