00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 I'm Alistair Dalton, transport correspondent
00:07 of the Scotsman.
00:08 I'm on the Roseburn Path in the west of Edinburgh,
00:11 where city council officials have recommended
00:14 that it form part of a new north-south tram line connecting
00:20 the main hospitals in the capital,
00:22 the Western General in the north,
00:24 and the Royal Infirmary in the south.
00:26 Edinburgh's serious about meeting its climate obligations
00:29 and also cutting congestion in the city.
00:31 So right now, we're looking at investing in a second tram
00:34 line in the city, which will go from Grantown
00:36 right out to the southeast of the city and beyond.
00:38 And one of the route options we're looking at
00:40 is down the Roseburn Path, which you can see behind me.
00:44 Back 20 years ago, when Edinburgh was first
00:46 started that journey looking at trams,
00:49 we actually got approval back in-- formal approval
00:51 from the Scottish government back in 2007
00:53 to lay-- to bring the tram down here.
00:55 But I think it's right to look at it again to figure out
00:57 if it's still the right route for the tram.
01:00 So both routes have a number of benefits.
01:02 But the key benefit of the Roseburn Path for me
01:05 is the connection we'll get to the Western General Hospital.
01:08 Because what using the Roseburn Path means
01:10 is we can get a good connection down Telford Road,
01:13 actually touching the Western General Hospital.
01:15 And that means people come from West Lothian,
01:17 can just park their car out at the parking ride
01:20 and get the tram all the way into the Western General.
01:23 If we use Orchard Brae, which is an alternative route,
01:26 they would have to get the tram into the city centre,
01:28 change trams, and then come back out to the Western General.
01:31 So that's longer journey times.
01:33 And it makes people less likely to use public transport,
01:35 or simply the tram coming into the hospital.
01:37 So last year, we looked-- we actually
01:39 walked both the routes in between the city centre
01:43 and Grantown, just to look at what the challenges were
01:45 and also the options.
01:46 And what was clear is no matter what option we take,
01:49 getting active travel alongside the route
01:51 is probably the most challenging aspect.
01:53 And I'm talking about good quality walking and cycling.
01:56 I think the aspiration is now we deliver a tram,
01:58 we deliver that good quality walking and cycling.
02:02 But what we've committed to here is
02:04 if the tram does go down the Roseburn Path,
02:07 as part of the consultation, we've
02:08 committed to having good quality walking and cycling
02:11 down the Roseburn Path alongside the tram.
02:14 Just so that-- so it's not that the walking and cycling
02:17 route here has been lost.
02:18 It's just that we're going to put a tram alongside it.
02:20 But a campaign group has been formed
02:23 to fight these proposals, saying this
02:25 is a vital green corridor, much used
02:29 by people walking and cycling.
02:31 If you were to interfere with these trees,
02:33 if you were to cut them down, that
02:34 would release enormous amounts of carbon.
02:37 Not only that, but it wouldn't be able to absorb carbon
02:40 into the future.
02:41 And trees take decades to grow.
02:43 From when-- the point that they're planted,
02:45 they take decades to grow before they can actually
02:47 absorb an adequate amount of carbon for net zero 2030
02:51 to even be possible.
02:53 Some of the bridges further up are pretty narrow.
02:55 And the idea of putting two rail tracks side by side,
02:58 plus a three meter wide walking and wheeling path,
03:01 doesn't seem to check out for us.
03:02 But also, again, it's that net zero thing.
03:04 Do we take net zero 2030 seriously, or don't we?
03:09 But supporters of running the tram line along the Roseburn
03:13 Path say it will make things quicker for tram passengers,
03:16 perhaps saving eight minutes of journey time.
03:19 And it could increase the number of people using the tram
03:23 by 600,000 people a year.
03:26 And that's taking-- that's instead
03:28 of taking the alternative route, which
03:30 would be along Orchard Bray.
03:32 Basically, this is an old railway line.
03:35 Was the North Suburban Railway line
03:37 that came out of Princess Street Station, the Caledonian
03:40 Railway.
03:41 And ever since public transport has
03:42 been discussed for the last 30, 40 years,
03:45 the old routes, which were tarmac'd eventually
03:49 for cyclists, these old routes were designated, basically,
03:53 for public transport use in the future.
03:56 And that can take a long time.
03:58 And it's great that cyclists have been able to use it.
04:00 So I think--
04:01 I would hope that some kind of accommodation can be reached.
04:05 At night, when this path is probably a little not so
04:08 user-friendly to cyclists, even though it's lit up,
04:12 the presence of trams, et cetera,
04:13 might be actually an addition to the safety of cyclists
04:16 at that time of the evening.
04:19 I mean, the other thing I'd say is that the tram is quite
04:23 disruptive to construct in the city.
04:25 So this was a public transport corridor designated--
04:29 was that since it's been a railway line many years ago.
04:32 So to construct a tram on this line
04:36 will be, A, less disruptive to the city
04:39 than building it across the Dean Bridge, if you could do that,
04:41 and then down Orchard Bray.
04:43 B, it will be a lot cheaper, because there
04:45 won't be all the utilities, the gas, the water, the electricity,
04:48 all the other things you have to dig out first and divert.
04:51 So it'll be a lot cheaper.
04:53 And C, this line will actually be quicker for the tram.
04:58 And then moreover than that, this line
05:01 connects into Haymarket Station, which is really
05:03 a bit of a transport hub now.
05:06 (upbeat music)
05:08 you
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