A line on the Edinburgh tram scheme is likely to be shelved indefinitely, due to the current financial climate.
A project update report has recommended that City of Edinburgh Council ‘postpone’ Line 1b – the tram link from Haymarket to Granton – due to ‘the economic downturn and funding constraints’.
Council leader, Jenny Dawe, said: ‘It is disappointing that, in the current recession, monies are not available to fund Line 1b.
‘We will revisit this as soon as economic conditions improve. Experience elsewhere also suggests that, once operating, trams prove immensely popular with residents and businesses, and create real demand for expansion.
‘I am confident that this route will be the first of a world-class integrated public transport network for Edinburgh, including Line 1b and Line 3 to Little France.’ David Mackay, chairman of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh, said he believed a ‘prudent approach’ was justified in light of the recession and vowed to focus on the delivery of Line 1a and the creation of a ‘world-class’ integrated public transport network for those living in the city.
Meanwhile, the report stated the rest of the £545M tram system was progressing well. The first sections of the tram track was laid in Princes Street last month, following the resolution of a four-week dispute over costs between the council and its contractor, Bilfinger Berger (Surveyor, 26 March).
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