The Edinburgh Trams passenger service will begin on 31st May 2014. The confirmation of the May 'go live' date comes as Edinburgh Trams approach the final stages of a period of rigorous testing, commissioning and driver training in preparation for the return of trams to Scotland's Capital.
Ian Craig, Chief Executive of Transport for Edinburgh, said:
With testing set to go seven days a week and increase in frequency from Monday 7 April, a new campaign dubbed '#carefulnow' has been developed to harness social media to get safety messages across to road users.
Anecdotal evidence from tram drivers suggests that while the majority of road users are behaving responsibly around trams, there are a number of individuals still taking unnecessary risks when trams are running.
In less than 24 hours all of the available places were filled and we had to regretfully turn down further volunteers, many of whom wrote in with some touching stories of experiences with the Edinburgh Trams Network of the 1950's.
The first daytime test run of an Edinburgh tram along the full route from Edinburgh Airport to York Place took place on the afternoon of Thursday 20th February and we recorded it for you to watch.
Below are three videos - the first shows the whole route, the second shows the city centre section and the third is for those who want a quick - very quick! - overview of the entire tram route in two minutes.
Tom Norris, our Director & General Manager, speaks about tram testing in the city centre.
"Over the past couple of months or so, trams out on test runs have been an increasingly common sight during night-time hours in Edinburgh’s city centre.
Our team have been testing and training extremely hard and we're now ready to move into a phase where many more trams start to run along the route.
Residents, commuters and pedestrians in Edinburgh will start to see more trams being tested along the route over the coming days.
At present trams are only running through the city during the night and between Edinburgh Park and the Airport during the daytime.
Over the coming days, residents will start to see trams being tested in the City Centre during the daytime.
Trams are now being tested along the full tram route from Edinburgh Airport to York Place. Our drivers are currently training between the airport and Edinburgh park but soon they’ll be out learning the full route.
Dale Buchanan, who was recruited last year as one of the 40 drivers on the route was interviewed by the Council’s Magnet magazine recently. Dale later became an instructor as well as a driver, and now trains up new recruits.
What’s your background?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the last few months have been extremely busy time for the Edinburgh Trams team…to say the least! In December we hit our biggest milestone yet when we brought a tram through the city for the first time in 57 years. This was a proud moment for all of us and one that we’ve been working towards for quite some time.
A newly liveried tram made its way to St Andrew Square tram stop today where Edinburgh Trams, Lothian Buses and Transport for Edinburgh unveiled their new brand. Tram drivers and other operational staff were in the uniforms they’ll wear when passengers start using the service in May.
Our sister company, Lothian Buses, is also having its vehicles updated as part of an ongoing process to align the fleet to the new look.
