Tap on and Tap off with ToTo the Scottie dog (not to be confused with the one from the Wizard of Oz, that was actually a Cairn Terrier), the Edinburgh trams single fare fee is only £2.40, which transports you from Scotland’s largest airport down through Haymarket, the city centre, past Leith which includes a stop for Her Majesties Brittania, which realistically is now the only reason a stop is required for ocean terminal. The tram then ignores the word terminal and instead terminates in Newhaven.
In theory, the single ticket is a good deal, a lot of ‘Bang for your Buckfast’ one could say (but shouldn’t), and now the council wants to take the success of the tram and its 12 million users a year and expand.
For a local receiving this news, it’s worth bearing in mind that each time you hop on the tram, and listen to the soothing chime of its quaint bell, breathing in the air of an environmentally friendly option of public transport, it’s not just 10 pound ticket fines and pick pockets to worry about, it’s the council nabbing nearly 2,000 pounds from you right under your nose, I hope the fresh air feels and smells nice.
That figure may seem like just a hook (which has clearly worked if you are still reading), but it’s not. The Edinburgh Tram Inquiry revealed that the cost of Edinburgh’s little one-line rail system was over 1 billion pounds of public money, 500 million over the expected cost.
Now to show my working: Edinburgh now has a population of 530,000, which is generous, given that the population was lower in 2006/07, and not everybody will be paying council tax. Essentially, what I’m overcomplicating is that every Edinburgh local has spent 1884 pounds on the tram, that’s nearly 800 free trips. (785.2, to be exact, so I suppose on the last trip just hop off around the Gyle).
Enough math, I was always better at English. So, has the council learnt from the 12-year-long mistake? It doesn’t seem so, as Transport Convenor for Edinburgh City Council Stephen Jenkinson explains to me, expressing optimism about the expansion of a new train/tram hybrid at a time when Edinburgh’s population and area seem to be growing. ”We [Edinburgh] are experiencing quite a significant amount of economic growth and economic development. One of the things we need to ensure is that we put steps in place to make sure that we’re actively managing that growth. As an economic powerhouse for the whole country, this is actually a project of strategic importance for Scotland”
“We have to make sure that what we’re doing is the right thing for the city and the right thing for the region, investment, infrastructure is key to keeping the city moving and breathing”
Jenkinson is right; in fact, last year Edinburgh’s economy outperformed London, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures showed a gross domestic product per capita of £69,809 in Edinburgh, compared to £69,077 for London. City of Edinburgh council leader Jane Meagher welcomed the news, saying, in almost scripturally similar words to those of Jenkinson, that the capital is Scotland’s “economic powerhouse.”
It’s clear that Edinburgh is a good city to invest in; it remains stable even through times of trouble due to its magnetism for tourism, work, and study. However, can the successes of the private sector bleed into the public sector? Not historically, the council must reassure the public that history will not be repeated with the tram expansion, something Jenkinson is keen to make clear.
“We can see how Newhaven has been transformed. We can see people moving to that area and choosing to live and work around there. We can see the economic development that has been sparked by the expansion of the tram to that area in the north of the city.” Newhaven was the final expansion of the first tram line in Edinburgh. It was completed in 2023, nearly 10 years after the first trams began operating and nearly 20 years after the project began.
“It’s perfectly reasonable for people to be concerned and have issues about disruption, cost and all these things. But we have to make sure that what we’re doing is the right thing for the city and the right thing for the region, investment, infrastructure is key to keeping the city moving and breathing and being an enjoyable place to live and work.”
“About 100 years ago, you could get from Balerno to Waverly on a steam train in 25 minutes, and currently it takes you about 45 minutes with a fair wind on the number 44 bus. So, in 100 years, we’ve managed to lose 20 minutes of time.”
It is not just the past that is making locals sceptical. One of the main concerns from locals is the tram’s environmental impact, as many of the scouted expansion routes will involve the destruction of walkways and nature paths.
The Save The Roseburn Path Campaign is one of the most outspoken on this matter; hence the name, the Roseburn Path is currently an old railway line turned “fantastic green space and active travel corridor,” as described by the campaign group.
The railway-turned-greenway was transformed after the Beeching cuts, which saw over 5,000 miles of UK rail scrapped. Although not this council’s, the Government’s, or countries’ fault, I was curious and, admittedly, cheeky to ask Jenkinson whether he wishes Edinburgh’s extensive rail network had been preserved slightly better, or even if he yearns for the days when they were still in operation.
“Quite often we seem to be undoing the work of the Victorians for about 100 years, sometimes it feels like we maybe should have left things alone. Jenkinson referenced a document sent to him a few months ago that contained information about the train line between Edinburgh city and the outskirt town of Balerno.
“About 100 years ago, you could get from Balerno to Waverly on a steam train in 25 minutes, and currently it takes you about 45 minutes with a fair wind on the number 44 bus. So, in 100 years, we’ve managed to lose 20 minutes of time.”
The Roseburn campaign group make it clear they aren’t against trams, they just want them away from their well-loved walkway. Stated clearly and boldly on the front of their website: “We believe that trams should replace cars, rather than people using a local park. And we know the immense value the Roseburn Path already has to the people of Edinburgh. The destruction of the Roseburn Path risks the entire path network. If we do not act now, we will lose it forever.”
Jenkinson was involved with the group in a public consultation that was held at the end of 2025. Yet even with the immense backlash from locals, councillors and MSPs, the plans are still being pushed to go ahead. Jenkinson says on the matter that “It’s a balance, there’s a trade-off. But I think investing in sustainable transport, like trams, is certainly what we should be doing and is certainly what I’m keen to do to take the city forward.”
As Jenkinson plans to bring the city forward, the Scottish Government may not be so easily excited by the expansion. The tram project was originally raised to Holyrood in 2007, and the Scottish Government swiftly moved to reject the proposal. Now, nearly 20 years later, under the same Government, the new proposal could once again be blocked, a cause for concern.
Jenkinson believes that the best way to secure the SNPs approval is through a “strong business case” he continues: “With a strong business case, you’ve got a greater likelihood of receiving the funding that you require to deliver.” However, Jenkinson didn’t seem to have a strong answer when pushed away from his business plan and asked for any realistic proof of approval from parliament or any communication.
“We haven’t actually asked [the Scottish Government], and it’s not the right time to be doing that. In this year’s budget that was passed by the Scottish Parliament, there was a line in the budget that indicated a requirement for a mass transit solution for Edinburgh… The project is part of the national planning framework and is also on the Scottish Government’s books. So, it has been looked at in some detail, whether individual politicians want to be for or against a project, that’s absolutely fine. In this stage, what I’m trying to do is build a strong case as possible.”
The idea of a new tram/train hybrid, similar to what is seen in Germany, Spain, and Denmark, could bring Auld Reekie’s public transport into the 21st century. Over the 12 years of delay on the first tram line, the world saw the rise of electric buses, Uber, and E-bikes, making the case for a tram expansion less and less and again, less compelling. So, are the carriages a carbuncle catastrophe waiting to be expanded on, or a unique opportunity for investment in a time where, unlike Edinburgh, the rest of the UK is struggling to invest in its future transport?
