Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is an line between
Newhaven and
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...
, with 23
stops.
A modern tram network for Edinburgh was proposed by
Edinburgh Council in 1999, with detailed design work being performed over the next decade. Construction of the first phase, linking Edinburgh Airport with Newhaven, began in June 2008, but encountered substantial delays and cost overruns. During 2009, a 15-year contract held by
Transdev
Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020.
Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...
to operate and maintain the tram network was cancelled. By mid-2010, cancellation of the whole project was being publicly considered; during the following year it was announced that the length of the tram network would be drastically curtailed. Prior to August 2011, the project was overseen by
Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE), a company wholly owned by Edinburgh Council; TIE was disbanded largely due to its failings on the project's delivery. The troubled construction of the Edinburgh Tram was subject to a lengthy
formal inquiry, chaired by
Lord Hardie, which concluded that failings by Edinburgh Council and its arms-length companies were largely to blame for the delays in construction.
On 31 May 2014, the tramway was officially opened to the public, but only between the airport and
York Place. The service is operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Transport for Edinburgh, in which the City of Edinburgh Council has a controlling interest. The service is equipped with 27
CAF Urbos 3 vehicles. It runs at a seven-minute interval for most of the day, seven days per week. Fares and ticketing are integrated with
Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothia ...
, with the same fares charged on both systems, except for services to the airport where the tram is more expensive. In May 2025,
contactless payment
Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) for making sec ...
was introduced for the trams, with a 'tap on, tap off' scheme.
Since the original opening of the tramway, various changes have been implemented. In December 2016, the Edinburgh Gateway tram stop, between Gyle Centre and Gogarburn, was opened to provide an interchange between Edinburgh Trams and the
Fife Circle Line and
Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
s. Following the council's approval for an extension of the line to Newhaven in March 2019, construction work commenced that November, and was completed on schedule in June 2023, despite being delayed for three months by the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. As of 2024, an additional extension serving the north–south axis of the city was in the planning stage.
History
Background
Edinburgh and Leith were originally served by horse-drawn coaches, and then from 1871 various companies and corporations ran trams that were horse-drawn, then cable driven and finally electric. The municipal
Edinburgh Corporation Tramways ran from 1919 until 16 November 1956. After that date, public transport consisted of buses and a limited network of commuter rail lines.
Towards the end of the 20th century, there was
revived interest in trams in the United Kingdom and networks were reintroduced in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
and
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
.
Proposals for a network in Edinburgh were made in the 1990s, and a plan to build a line along
Princes Street
Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...
and
Leith Walk to
Newhaven was proposed in 1999 by the City of Edinburgh Council,
Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise and the New Edinburgh Tramways Company.
Proposals and agreement
A 2001 proposal envisaged three routes, lines 1, 2 and 3. The first was a circular route around the northern suburbs, and the others were radial routes to Newbridge in the west and
Newcraighall in the south. All lines would have passed through the city centre. In May 2004, a 15-year operating contract was awarded to
Transdev
Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020.
Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...
, to operate and maintain the tram network. This contract was cancelled in 2009.
Two
bills to reintroduce a tram network were passed by the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
in March 2006. Lines 1 and 2 received parliamentary permission, but funding the entire network was deemed impossible. Line 3, to be paid for by a proposed
Edinburgh congestion charge, was scrapped when the charge was heavily defeated in a referendum and construction of the remaining two lines was split into four phases:
*Phase 1a from Newhaven to
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...
via
Princes Street
Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...
, combining parts of lines 1 and 2
*Phase 1b from
Haymarket to
Granton Square via
Crewe Toll, comprising most of the remainder of line 1
*Phase 2 linking Granton Square and Newhaven, completing the line 1 loop
*Phase 3 extending the airport line to
Newbridge, completing line 2

The future of the scheme came under threat in 2007, when the
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
(SNP) published its
manifesto
A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
for the
Scottish Parliamentary election. The party made clear its intention to cancel the scheme, along with the
Edinburgh Airport Rail Link, to save £1.1 billion.
Following a lost vote in the Scottish Parliament, the SNP-led minority
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
agreed to continue the line from the airport to Leith on condition that no more public money would be supplied. A report by
Audit Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, confirmed that the cost projections were sound. The cost of the scheme in 2003 was estimated at £498million, £375million in funding from the Scottish Government and £45million from Edinburgh Council.
On 25 October 2007, the council approved the final business case. Approval was given on 22 December 2007 for TIE to sign contracts with
CAF to supply vehicles and BBS (a consortium of
Bilfinger Berger and
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
) to design and construct the network. Contract negotiations finished in April 2008, and construction started in June 2008. By this stage the cost of the project was estimated at £521million. Funding problems and political disputes led to the scaling back of the original plans. In April 2009, the council cancelled phase 1b, citing revenue shortfall created by the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009. to save an estimated £75million.
The Granton extension was also cancelled for the same purpose.
Construction: 2007–2012
Until August 2011, the project was overseen by
Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE), a company wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council, who were responsible for
project-managing the construction of the tramway.
After the draft business case was accepted by the Scottish Government in March 2007, initial construction work commenced in July 2007, with the diversion of
underground utilities in preparation for track-laying in Leith. These works followed a plan by System Design Services (SDS), a joint design team led by
Parsons Brinckerhoff
WSP USA, formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff, is an American multinational engineering and design firm. The firm operates in the fields of strategic consulting, planning, engineering, construction management, energy, infrastructure and community plann ...
and
Halcrow Group
Halcrow Group Limited was a British engineering consultancy company. It was one of the UK's largest consultancies, specialised in the provision of planning, design and management services for infrastructure development worldwide. With interests ...
.
In May 2008, final contracts to build the tram system were awarded to BSC, a
consortium
A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...
of
Bilfinger Berger,
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
and Spanish tram builder
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Grupo CAF, ) is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidiary. It is based in Beasain, Basque Autonomous Comm ...
(CAF).
The tramway uses a mix of
street running
A street running train is a train which runs on a track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in the roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being referred to as ru ...
and segregated off-road track, with conventional tram stop platforms. Stops are fitted with shelters, ticket machines, lighting and
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
. The network is operated from a depot in
Gogar, close to the
A8 roundabout, immediately west of
Edinburgh Gateway tram stop.
The route of the line required the construction of bridges to cross railway lines at
Edinburgh Park and
Stenhouse, and a tunnel under the A8 near the Gogar roundabout. A bridge at Balgreen was widened. Works to build a tram interchange at Haymarket station involved the demolition of a
Category C(S) listed building, the former Caledonian Alehouse on Haymarket Terrace.
Some on-street track was laid in a special foundation with cobbled road surfacing designed to be sympathetic with the style of Edinburgh streets but was removed in many places due to objections from cyclists. The trams are powered by overhead cables attached to purpose-built poles or mounted on the sides of buildings. Nine electrical sub-stations were planned for the line to Newhaven, both underground and above-ground but only five were built after the line was truncated at York Place.
Revisions and delays
In 2008 and 2009, the project met with delays to work on tramway infrastructure. Phase 1b of the project was cancelled because of a funding shortfall in April 2009.
[ Contractual disputes delayed track-laying in the city centre. In December 2009, media reported that the project budget was running over £545million, and the system was unlikely to come into operation until February 2012 or later. The operating contract with Transdev was cancelled in December 2009 to reduce costs and it was announced that the trams would be operated by Edinburgh Trams Limited, a subsidiary of Transport for Edinburgh.][ During March 2010, Bilfinger Berger announced that the estimated completion date would be in 2014.
]
Contractual disputes
In February 2009, work on the Princes Street
Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...
section stopped due to contractual disagreements between TIE and BSC after the latter submitted a request for an additional £80million of funding. Edinburgh Council believed the contractors' claims were unjustified as they had agreed to fixed-price contracts. After negotiations, BSC agreed to commence construction in March 2009 within the original budget, although disagreements remained. Work restarted and line construction went ahead.
In August 2009, TIE began legal proceedings against the BSC consortium over delays to the project, and track-laying on Leith Walk, Shandwick Place and Haymarket was suspended. At issue were alleged changes to BSC's work specification, including track works on Princes Street and £5million additional costs for foundation work near Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotla ...
. The BSC consortium alleged that TIE had not diverted the underground utilities in time for track-laying to begin, breaching contractual agreements and costing the consortium additional staffing expenditure.
In January 2010, the independent arbiter found in favour of TIE on some points, but on most of the disputed issues ruled in favour of BSC and awarded the consortium 90% of its additional costs, estimated to be up to £80million.
Delays in track laying and depot construction affected vehicle testing. By September 2009, construction was reported to be nine months behind schedule, and CAF was due to deliver the first trams from its factory in Spain. With key project dependency out of synchronisation, TIE held discussions with Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
about delivering the trams to Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
to conduct operational tests on the Tramlink
Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 195 ...
network. Tram vehicle testing commenced in March 2010 on the Siemens test track in Wildenrath, Germany. The tests included recreating the steep gradients of Leith Walk, and using weights to simulate the heavy passenger load expected during a Murrayfield
Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...
match day.
Funding crisis
Following further disputes and delays, it was reported in March 2010 that Edinburgh Council was considering cancelling the contract with Bilfinger Berger. By June 2010, the project's cost had risen to £600million. Council project managers were reported to be in crisis talks, considering options including: borrowing £55million to fund the increased costs; phasing the introduction of the tram line, so that trams would initially run between the airport and Haymarket; and terminating the contract with Bilfinger Berger. The council asked TIE to draw up costs for truncating the line at four places: Haymarket station, York Place, the foot of Leith Walk or Ocean Terminal.
Work resumed in May 2011 at priority locations, Haymarket Yards and Gogar, while the project's future was decided by the council. In August 2011 it was announced TIE would be disbanded and consultants Turner & Townsend would manage the project.
On 30 June 2011, Edinburgh Council voted to continue the line between Edinburgh Airport and St Andrew Square. Costs rose to an estimated £770million, leaving the council with a shortfall of more than £200million. The option to scrap the project was considered, but rejected. On 25 August 2011, the council voted to cut the line to run between the airport and Haymarket, reducing the expected cost to £715million. A week later, after the Scottish Government threatened to withhold £72million of funding, the council reversed its decision, restoring the terminus at St Andrew Square.[ On 29 November 2011, it was announced that the eastern terminus would be at York Place instead of St Andrew Square; the intention had been to build the tracks to a reversing point at York Place (without a stop for passengers). Extending passenger services from St Andrew Square to York Place would enable Broughton Street, Picardy Place and the surrounding area to be better served at comparatively little additional cost.
The first electric wires were energised in October 2011 within the depot at Gogar. Testing trams began in December 2011 near the depot at Gogar, on a length of track. On 15 December 2011, the contractors handed the depot to the City of Edinburgh Council. The first completed section of line, between the depot and Edinburgh Airport, was used to test a tram at full speed on 19 December 2012.
With extra interest payments factored in, the cost of the line was expected to exceed £1billion despite the decreased scope of the network.]
Criticism
Delays in construction were criticised by businesses, who claimed their income was damaged by long-term road closures in the centre of the city, and also by some residents.
Cycling groups voiced safety concerns after people were injured as their bicycle wheels became caught in the track. They reported the road surface around the tracks was crumbling, raising further safety problems. In response, TiE promised to carry out repairs and Edinburgh Trams agreed to fund special training for cyclists. During 2017, a woman was crushed to death by a passing bus when her bicycle wheel was caught in the tracks. Further safety concerns were raised by residents along the routes about the suspension of overhead electric cables from residential buildings, and some property owners refused permission for cables to be attached.[
To remedy crumbling tarmac along the tracks on Princes Street, the road was closed in September 2011 and remained closed for ten months. A road closure between Haymarket and Shandwick Place in March 2012 led to complaints from businesses and residents. It remained closed until October 2013. Originally to open as ''Shandwick Place'' tram stop, it was renamed ''West End - Princes Street'' prior to opening at the request of local traders, who felt the new name had greater associations to the city centre and would encourage more tourists to get off there. The stop was renamed again in August 2019 as ''West End''.]
Completion: 2013–2014
From late 2012, work continued mostly on schedule. More than of flawed concrete trackbed had to be replaced between Shandwick Place and Haymarket. In June 2013, overhead electric wires were installed on the city centre portion of the route. This was considered the last major step in the construction process.
Originally, it was planned that concessionary travel, that is the ability of those with a Scottish National Entitlement Card to travel on public transport free of charge, was not going to be offered on the tramway. This was despite the fact that Edinburgh Trams is to be run by Lothian Buses, who are mandated to offer free travel to those with concession cards on all their bus routes. This revelation quickly caused city leaders to support an ''Edinburgh Evening News'' campaign to ensure that concessionary travel would be offered on the new tramway. City transport convener Lesley Hinds stated "People in Edinburgh have paid through their council tax and their taxes for the trams to get up and running and it would be wrong for a large proportion of the population not to be allowed to use their concessionary bus pass".[
Despite this, the ]Scottish Government
The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
refused to pay for concessionary travel for the tram scheme, as it does for all bus routes in Scotland. Talks between the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Council eventually decided that concession cards should be valid for tram travel, but that they should be paid for by the Council instead of the Government. It was revealed on 15 August 2013 that the cards would be valid, and that travel would be paid for by Edinburgh Council. However, only people with cards issued in Edinburgh would be able to use them. This compromise upset many people in the Lothians, who often commute or travel into Edinburgh.
Works were two months ahead of schedule by September 2013, when Edinburgh Council announced the tramway would open by May 2014. All tram and road works were completed by 19 October with testing of the trams between the depot and Edinburgh Park commencing on 8 October 2013. This was followed by the energising of tram wires from Bankhead tram stop to York Place on 19 November, marking the first time that the route was completely energised. Testing along the full length of the route began on 5 December.
The tramway opened to passengers on 31 May 2014.
Public inquiry
In June 2014, shortly after the opening of the line, the then First Minister
A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...
announced a non-statutory public inquiry into the project's delays and cost overruns. The inquiry, which was headed by the former Lord Advocate, Andrew Hardie, Baron Hardie, was later upgraded to a statutory inquiry to ensure that key personnel would provide evidence.
The inquiry was itself subject to considerable delays. It finally published its report in August 2023. The report concluded that failings by Edinburgh Council, its arms-length companies and the Scottish Government were to blame for the delays, with much of the criticism being directed against TIE. Lord Hardie made 24 recommendations in the report, and also provided a figure of £835.7m for the final cost of the project.
Extension from city centre to Newhaven
Edinburgh Council stated on 17 March 2014 that works would be conducted along Leith Walk to prepare it for a possible future extension of tram service. In December 2014, Edinburgh Council ordered a detailed business case for extending the line to Leith. The council said in July 2015 that three options for an extension to Leith had been costed. These were a £144.7million extension to Newhaven, a £126.6million extension to Ocean Terminal, or a £78.7million extension to the Foot of Leith Walk.
During 2017, the business case to extend the system to Newhaven was approved.
In June 2018, Colin Beattie
Colin Beattie (born 17 October 1951) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency since 2011. Prior to this role, he was a councillo ...
, the MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, and others, suggested that the system should be extended to Musselburgh to relieve traffic congestion on the approaches to the City Bypass.
In March 2019, Edinburgh Council approved extending the system from York Place to Newhaven, with the line due to be operational by early 2023. Preliminary works to Constitution Street and Leith Walk started in November 2019. Work was suspended in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
but was restarted in June 2020.
In February 2022, the eastern terminating York Place stop was permanently closed for demolition and to enable connection to the Newhaven extension which relocated the York Place stop to Picardy Place. Services initially terminated at the West End stop between February and April 2022, and then the St Andrew Square stop before June 2023; however, trams still ran to York Place to turn back.
On 13 March 2023, following completion of tracklaying and the installation of overhead power lines, test trams began running during the night between Picardy Place and Newhaven, becoming the first tram to run in Leith since the closure of the original tramway system. The first test trams ran at walking pace, but their speed was later increased to . Daytime testing commenced on 19 April 2023, with 40 newly recruited drivers under training. After an announcement on 25 May 2023, revenue service on the full route began on 7 June 2023.
In June 2024, the Trams to Newhaven project won an award from the Local Government Chronicle
The ''Local Government Chronicle'' (''LGC'') is a British weekly magazine for local government officers, and is published by Metropolis. The magazine was launched in 1855 by bookseller and publisher Charles Knight. It was then published by Em ...
in its Future Places category, with the citation praising " e deep collaboration between the council and private sector partners".
Further north to south extension
During the early 2020s, plans were being prepared for a new line which would connect Granton in the north of the city with the Bioquarter in the south east, and possibly further onto either Dalkeith
Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...
or Queen Margaret University or Shawfair. At a meeting on 1 February 2024, City of Edinburgh Council voted to put the proposed north–south extension to public consultation; by this point, it had an estimated construction cost of £2bn.
Annual patronage
Current line
Route
The single, route begins running on-street at Newhaven, and then, via an 8 stop extension which opened in June 2023, from the port of Leith to York Place (now served by Picardy Place) in the city centre. It turns into North St Andrew Street, crosses St Andrew Square. From the square, it heads southeast into Princes Street
Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...
, and west along the street toward Haymarket, via Shandwick Place, Atholl Place and West Maitland Street. At Haymarket, the route heads onto a segregated track parallel to the Glasgow to Edinburgh mainline. It follows the railway line west for about , to Edinburgh Park railway station. There, it leaves the railway line on a segregated track and heads north to Gogar Roundabout from where it heads northwest via Ingliston Park and Ride to Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...
, where it terminates.[
An additional tram stop was opened in December 2016, between Gyle Centre and Gogarburn.] This stop, called Edinburgh Gateway, is situated alongside the Edinburgh Gateway railway station which opened at the same time. The station provides an interchange between Edinburgh Trams and the Fife Circle Line and Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
s. After this stop opened, crews changed here rather than at the special short platform which had been constructed alongside the nearby Gogar depot. Thus, the additional stop at Edinburgh Gateway did not affect the end-to-end running time between the Airport and York Place.
Stops
Former stops
Frequencies and journey times
Approximate journey times from the airport are ten minutes to Gyle Centre, 30 minutes to the city centre (Princes Street) and 55 minutes to Newhaven. The journey from the city centre to Newhaven takes approximately 25 minutes.
Services run every seven to ten minutes. , the first service of the day leaves Gyle Centre for Newhaven at 04:26. The first service leaves Newhaven at 05:20 and the airport at 06:26. The last service of the day leaves the airport at 22:48 and Newhaven at 23:50. The timetable is broadly the same every day of the week, except for a slightly reduced early morning frequency on Saturdays and Sundays.
As the first scheduled flight leaves Edinburgh at approximately 06:00, it is not currently possible to use the tram to get to the airport in time for security and departure. Conversely it is also not possible to use the tram on later arriving flights at Edinburgh Airport.
There are often later services on Friday and Saturday nights during the Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
and Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts and music
* "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* Purple fri ...
. The service interval is often reduced to three minutes before and after major events at Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotla ...
.
Rolling stock
Current fleet
Edinburgh Trams currently operates a fleet of 27 trams, as follows:
CAF Urbos 3
A £40million contract to build 27 Urbos 3 trams, sufficient for phase 1a and (unbuilt) 1b lines, was awarded to CAF. When the line was cut back to York Place, only 17 trams would be needed. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 2011 to lease ten trams to Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
for use on Tramlink
Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 195 ...
.
The trams are bi-directional, long and with low-floor access
Access may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network
* Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom
* Access Co., a Japanese software company
* Access International Advisors, a hed ...
to meet UK Rail Vehicle Access Regulations for disabled people.
In April 2010, the first tram was delivered and displayed at the Princes Street stop at the bottom of The Mound, before being moved to open storage in Broxburn. The 27th tram was delivered in December 2012.
The trams have wrapped advertisements for promoting local events and commercial advertising.
Fares and ticketing
Fare structure
Ticketing and fares are integrated with Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothia ...
. A proof of payment system applies. The single fare within the city zone is the same as on Lothian Buses (£2, with effect from 1 April 2023); day tickets and Ridacards are equally valid on trams and buses. As an exception, the tram fare from the city zone to the airport is £7.50 one-way compared to £5.50 for the bus.
The "Ridacard" is a smartcard season ticket issued by Transport for Edinburgh; it is valid on both Edinburgh Trams and Lothian Buses (available for one week, four weeks or annually). On 1 September 2014, a rechargeable pre-paid smartcard for single journeys on both buses and trams, called "Citysmart", was introduced.
Free travel is available to holders of City of Edinburgh Council-issued Scottish National Entitlement Cards which are eligible for concessionary travel, and for a companion travelling with the cardholder of National Entitlement Cards with a companion entitlement. Passengers with National Entitlement Cards eligible for concessionary travel but issued by other local authorities are not offered any fare concession, with the exception of blind or visually impaired cardholders. This is due to the free travel for local residents being funded by the City Council rather than the government.
An "onboard fare" of £10 is charged to passengers who have not pre-purchased a ticket or validated either a Ridacard, a National Entitlement Card or an m-ticket before boarding.[
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Ticket machines
At the request of Lothian Buses, installation of 30ticket machines at key bus stops began in 2007. Passengers had to purchase tickets before boarding the bus, reducing dwell times, but the machines were not popular with users and were scrapped in 2011. Consideration was given to installing similar on-street ticket machines, and new, advanced machines (capable of reading smartcards and accepting credit/debit cards) were installed in early 2014 at each tram stop. The new ticket machines are the Galexio-Plus type supplied by Flowbird Transport Ltd. Ticket machines do not accept banknotes or give change. The minimum spend for a card transaction was originally £3 which was more than the cost for a single ticket. The minimum spend was scrapped in September 2019, following complaints from customers and negative press comments.
On 19 May 2025, Edinburgh trams introduced contactless payment
Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) for making sec ...
, with a 'tap on, tap off' (TOTO) scheme, to account for the more expensive airport zone. If passengers fail to tap off at a stop, they will be charged the full Airport Zone fare of £7.90. However, fares on both Lothian Buses and the trams have daily and weekly caps.
Services
Services run every seven minutes throughout the entire line, between St Andrew Square and Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...
. On 7 June 2023, the services extended north from St Andrew Square to Newhaven, connecting Leith more quickly than bus services from the city centre, for the first time in almost 70years.
Bicycle policy
In May and June 2015, cyclists were allowed to board the trams with their bikes, during a trial period which was supported by cycle campaign groups Spokes and Pedal on Parliament. Following this, Edinburgh trams became the first modern tram network in the UK to permit the carriage of bikes on a permanent basis, with up to two bicycles being allowed per tram outwith peak hours (7.30am to 9.30am, and 4pm to 6.30pm) and excluding the period of the Edinburgh Festival and the Festival Fringe (usually 3½ weeks during August) and other large events.
Corporate affairs
Ownership and structure
Edinburgh Trams Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Transport for Edinburgh Limited. By virtue of its controlling interest in the parent's equity capital, the City of Edinburgh Council
The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...
is the ultimate controlling party.
Business trends
The key trends for Edinburgh Trams Limited since it commenced operations in May 2014 are (years ending 31 December):
Edinburgh Trams made a pre-tax profit of £252,000 for 2016, against a predicted loss of £170,000, which meant that profitability had been achieved two years ahead of schedule. This was based on excluding maintenance and infrastructure costs. Including these, as has been done since 2018 when these costs were shifted to Edinburgh Trams, the small operating profit (£3million) has turned to a large operating loss (e.g. £9.4million in 2018). It has not achieved an operating profit since full costing.
Staffing
Fifty-two ticket inspectors have been recruited to prevent fare dodging. Edinburgh Council is aiming for a 3% fare evasion rate, lower than any other tramway in Britain. Thirty-two drivers were employed, after passing psychological tests designed to eliminate risk-takers.
Accidents and incidents
Frequent accidents involving cyclists and the tramway have been reported since the opening of the system in 2014. These are typically caused by bicycle wheels getting stuck in the rails or by bikes skidding on the rails. A study published in 2018 found that, up to April 2016, 191 cyclists in Edinburgh had suffered tramway-related accidents serious enough to require hospital treatment. In September 2022, using Freedom of Information (FoI) data, the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
reported that there had been 422accidents involving cyclists on the tram tracks, as a result of which 196 cyclists had made successful claims against Edinburgh City Council, resulting in nearly £1.3million being paid in damages.
Following a further FoI request in September 2024, it was reported there had been 112 collisions between trams and other road vehicles since 2014, as well as four collisions involving cyclists (not including incidents involving cyclists and trams tracks).
Noteworthy accidents include:
* On 29 August 2014, a bus and tram collided in the West End of Edinburgh, causing severe traffic congestion.
* On 31 May 2017, a medical student was killed in Princes Street when she fell into the path of a minibus after her bike wheels may have become stuck in the tram rails. However, the exact cause of her fall is not known.
* On 13 June 2018, a bus and tram collided near Edinburgh Airport, seriously injuring the bus driver.
* On 11 September 2018, a pedestrian was killed by a tram on a crossing near Saughton tram stop. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch determined that the tram's warning bell was not loud enough, and that Edinburgh Trams should better monitor risks at crossings. The tram company was subsequently fined £240,000 for breaches of health and safety regulations. In May 2025, a fatal accident inquiry at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders.
History
Until the mid-1990s, hearings took place in the Justiciary Building, Edinburgh, Old Sheriff Court in the Lawnma ...
ruled that steps could have been taken by the tram operators that might have prevented the accident. These included ensuring that warning bells on trams were loud enough to be heard above the background noise, improving the design and layout of the crossing to make it more obvious to pedestrians that they were in an area of higher risk, and providing additional signs to warn tram drivers of the last emergency braking point before this type of crossing. The tram company has since replaced the horns on Edinburgh trams and have redesigned the crossing where the accident occurred.
See also
* Edinburgh Airport Rail Link
* Light Rail Transit Association
The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/streetc ...
* List of Tramways in Scotland
* Proposals for new tram lines in Edinburgh
* Edinburgh Tram Inquiry
* Scottish Tramway and Transport Society
* Transport in Edinburgh
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Auditor Generals Report on Tram Scheme
June 2007
{{authority control
Airport rail links in the United Kingdom
Light rail in the United Kingdom
Public inquiries in Scotland
Railway lines opened in 2014
Tram transport in Scotland
Transport in Edinburgh
2014 establishments in Scotland
Controversies in Scotland
750 V DC railway electrification
Electric railways in the United Kingdom