The Edinburgh Tram network operates a fleet of CAF Urbos 3 low-floor

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

s that were specially designed for use in the city. Twenty-seven were built in

Beasain Beasain is a town and municipality located in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. It has an important industry of railway vehicles and related equipment ( CAF) that ...

, Spain, between 2009 and 2011.

History

The contract to build a fleet of 27 trams for the Phase 1a and Phase 1b tram lines was awarded to the Spanish rail equipment manufacturer

CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

in November 2007 and is worth up to £40 million. The trams are built to meet the highly bespoke specifications issued by

Transport Initiatives Edinburgh Tie Ltd. (previously Transport Initiatives Edinburgh Ltd.) was a Scottish company which project-managed large-scale transport projects on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, which also owned it. The company was active between May 2002 and Aug ...

which precluded the use of an existing design.

was selected by competitive tender from a list of four rail vehicle manufacturers, the others being

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

, Bombardier, 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 ...

. A full size mockup of the front of the proposed tram was constructed and put on display on

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 ...

for the public to view. The replica tram was moved to Constitution Street at the foot of

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the east end of the city centre to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the str ...

in April 2009. There was also a tram front mockup put on display at the Gyle Shopping centre next to the bus stop. The first finished tram was delivered on 26 April 2010 and went on public display on 28 April 2010 at the location of the previous mockup in Princes Street, before being moved to open storage in

Broxburn Broxburn (, ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is from the West End of Edinburgh, from Edinburgh Airport and to the north of Livingston. Originally a village known as Easter Strathbock in the medieval period, by 1600, the village ha ...

in November 2010. The tram arrived far in advance of the completion of infrastructure (including its home depot), which has suffered serious delays and cost over-runs. The tramway opened on 31 May 2014, with a further extension opening in June 2023.

Specifications

The Edinburgh trams are bi-directional, long and built with 100% 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. Passenger capacity is 250 – 78 seated, 170 standing and 2 wheelchair spaces – and the trams will be fitted with

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 ...

. Several special requirements were specified for the tram vehicles: they have to cope with the steep slopes of

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 ...

streets, operate with low noise and offer a visual fit suitable for a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The particular requirements were specified by

Transport for Edinburgh Transport for Edinburgh (TfE) is an organisation that oversees public transport in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. It manages the city's public transport operations in a similar manner to Transport for London, but with many fewer powers. The organis ...

with the aim of designing an advanced tram system tailored for the needs of Edinburgh. To achieve the low noise requirement a self lubricating system is used to avoid the squeal of wheels on track when turning tight curves around

streetcorner A streetcorner or street corner is the location which lies adjacent to an intersection of two roads. Such locations are important in terms of local planning and commerce, usually being the locations of street signs and lamp posts, as well as bein ...

s at intersections and elsewhere.

Livery

To create a visual continuity between the tram fleets and local bus services, Edinburgh trams have the same livery as that of

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 ...

. The tram mockup shown in 2009 was decorated with the red and gold "harlequin" design that was introduced on Lothian Buses in the 2000s. Following the announcement of a rebranding of the bus fleet in April 2010, Lothian Buses reintroduced their traditional

madder ''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains ''Coffea'' (coffee). It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World. The genus and it ...

and white

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

, and the tram livery was updated to a matching colour scheme. As of recent years, Edinburgh Trams have introduced custom business liveries such as Capital Radio, OVO Energy, Edinburgh Rugby, Leith Distillery and Camera Obscura & World of Illusions.

Testing

The first part of the tram line to be completed was a short section between Gogarburn and the depot at

Gogar Gogar is a predominantly rural area of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the west of the city. It is not far from Gogarloch, Edinburgh Park and Maybury. The Fife Circle Line is to the north. Etymology The name of Gogar first appears in a cle ...

. Testing of new trams on this stretch of track started in December 2011 - the first time that a tram had moved under electric power in Edinburgh since 1956. The first daytime test run of a tram along the full route from

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 ...

to York Place took place on 20 February 2014.

In service

The fleet of 27 was ordered before the proposed network was curtailed. An attempt 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 ...

was unsuccessful and thus Edinburgh Trams took delivery of all 27 even though only half were required to operate the network at its peak, however since the extended line to

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

opened in 2023, this has increased significantly. Edinburgh's trams are on track for Croydon
''The Herald'' 26 March 2011

References

External links

{{Transport in Edinburgh Edinburgh Trams Tram vehicles of the United Kingdom Train-related introductions in 2014 750 V DC multiple units CAF multiple units