City Mobility Plan

On the back of recent press coverage, is the Council planning to build a tram to Granton and out to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary?

Building on the success of tram in the city and the ongoing development of Trams to Newhaven, the Council commissioned the Edinburgh Strategic Sustainable Transport Study (ESSTS1) in early 2020 to establish a policy-led rationale for future mass transit in the city in light of the fact that the city and the surrounding local authorities continue to grow higher than that of the Scottish average, and to support the 2050 City Vision, City Plan 2030, and for the city to be carbon neutral by 2030. The study identified ten corridors where transit could best support policy outcomes and prioritised two corridors for further development in the near term. These are Granton to the city centre and onwards to the south east quadrant of the city serving Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Bio-Quarter and beyond.

Following completion of ESSTS1, the Council commissioned a further study (ESSTS2) to further analyse the Granton and south east (SE) corridors, establishing corridor specific objectives, assessing possible route options, and carrying out preliminary analysis to support the case for mass transit.

No firm decision has been made to build these two lines. As you would expect from projects of this size, a detailed and robust business plan will need to be developed and this will take time.

Find out more about the City Mobility Plan.

Reports suggested works will begin in 2025 – is this true?

No firm decision has been made to build these two lines. As you would expect from projects of this size, a detailed and robust business plan will need to be developed and this will take time. The timeline that has been reported is indicative only.

How would the Council pay for this project?

The Council has commissioned a further study (ESSTS2) to further analyse the Granton and SE corridors, establishing corridor specific objectives, assessing possible route options, and carrying out preliminary analysis to support the case for mass transit.

No firm decision has been made to build these two lines. As you would expect from projects of this size, a detailed and robust business plan will need to be developed, including financing options, and this will take time.

If the Granton works went ahead would you connect the Granton line with the Newhaven line as outlined in the early plans for the trams?

The study identified ten corridors where transit could best support policy outcomes and prioritised two corridors for further development in the near term and these are Granton to the city centre and onwards to the south east quadrant of the city serving Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Bio-Quarter and beyond. This would give the city are important north – south route to complement the existing west – east route following completion of the Trams to Newhaven project.

Will you be asking the Scottish Government for money for this project?

We will keep relevant bodies aware of how this progresses.

Why do we need more trams?

The continued success and growth of the Edinburgh region, in an inclusive and sustainable manner, will require the development and implementation of a coordinated approach to economic development, spatial planning and transport.

At a national level, this coordinated approach is being advanced through the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework and National Transport Strategy (NTS) and, in support of the NTS, the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2). At an Edinburgh City level, the forthcoming City Plan 2030 (CP2030) will set out the spatial strategy and land allocations to 2030, which will be supported by the City Mobility Plan (CMP).

ESSTS2 has examined strategic transport corridors within, and potentially beyond, Edinburgh to assess whether, and how, the development of transit-led solutions could deliver against stated transport objectives and support wider policy outcomes such as sustainable economic growth, reducing carbon, promoting equity and social inclusion and supporting healthier lifestyles. The report concludes that mass transit will contribute significantly to realising these outcomes.

As is the case with the completed tram line from Edinburgh Airport to Newhaven, the introduction of mass transit linking strategic development areas and bisecting the city centre will be a key enabler for sustainable development and will contribute significantly to:

Supporting the development of more sustainable neighbourhoods;
Provide improve connectivity to support sustainable city expansion and prosperity; Improving access to high quality public transport and encouraging mode shift from private cars;
Providing improved access to jobs, education, healthcare and leisure by creating further opportunities for cross-city journeys;
Supporting the Councils vision for enhanced places by facilitating city centre transformation and 15-miniute neighbourhoods;
Enable active travel through traffic reduction;
Improving air quality (zero emission at source/modal shift).