An opening date for the Edinburgh tram network extension from Leith to Newhaven has been confirmed.
It has been revealed that the £207million extension will now be operational by June 21. Speaking at the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, George Lowder, chief executive of Transport for Edinburgh, said the completion date would still count as "spring 2023."
Mr Lowder also added that the next phase of the Edinburgh tram network would add a Granton link due to it being the easiest to achieve. The link between Haymarket in the west of the city and Granton was initially held back due to a lack of funding.
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The Scotsman reports how the plan has been revived under a new long-term vision for the trams to run between the north and the south of the city.
It is suggested that Granton will be linked with the Edinburgh BioQuarter development at Little France, Newcraighall and Dalkeith.
Mr Lowder said: "Later this month, we will switch the power off for about a week’s time, trams will have to turn at Shandwick Place. As soon as the two systems are linked up, Lea and the team will start running trams to Newhaven.
"They will actually be walked in the first instance, to make sure that the tram fits and gets around all the bends. We will bring it back up and do it a bit faster, then put some people on it and then, in late spring, we'll be into service."
As well as plans to connect Granton to the tram network, huge plans for the coastal neighbourhood are also in the works, such as the addition of over 3,000 new homes, the transformation of the gas holder into a public park and the re-opening of the historic railway station into a new creative industries hub.
Mr Lowder adds that a link to two big developments in shape of Granton waterfront and the BioQuarter are definitely on the cards.
He continued: "I don’t want to pre-empt the work the council’s doing at the moment. An options appraisal will come back by the end of 2023, looking at all alignments, deliverability and other considerations like economic and environmental benefits.
“However we would say ‘do the do the easy bit first.’ From our perspective, that’s the Granton spur, for which we have permissions and would be less expensive than going to the south-east. It goes down what was an urban railway, the alignment is relatively straightforward and the majority is off-road.
“It also makes sense from a visitor economy perspective if we are trying to get people beyond the city centre and opening up the waterfront.
“From our perspective, we should go to Granton first before we work out how to go to the south-east.”
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