My home town of Edinburgh was to have had a tram system in operation on 25 February 2011. The decision was taken in 2006 when, despite the Scottish government’s opposition to the scheme, the other political parties (Scottish Labour, Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Greens, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats) joined forces to allow the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) proceed with the scheme. The Scottish National Party (SNP) whose administration had been against the plan decided that the financial committment of the taxpayer should be limited to that initially proposed – £500 million. The CEC was to contribute approximately £45 million with additional funds being ingathered from buisnesses along the tram route.

There is not enough space here to provide all the facts and it is a pity that there is not a web site that is dedicated solely to this subject. Some idea of the debate can be seen by reviewing the news items and comments on the Edinburgh Evening News web site. To go there click here or on the previous link.

The bottom line is that here we are five years later and the work is at a standstill and has been for two years. There have been some tram rails laid in Princes Street (see photograph) but as far as I can tell these are all that have been installed. Apparently nearly all the funds allocated for the project have been spent and with no more money available from the Scottish government the debate is whether the citizens of Edinburgh will get a single tram line let alone a tram system.

The photograph shown here is of Princes Street looking east. Down the centre of the street stands a row of pillars erected to carry the power cables to be used by the tram cars. In the distance is Carlton Hill and at the right one can see ‘Edinburgh’s Disgrace‘ – the row of columns. To the right of that is the Nelson Monument who died at the battle of Trafalgar (1805). At the far end of the street also on the right (but ‘in front’ of Carlton Hill) is the clock tower of The Barmoral hotel. The clock is always a few minutes fast so that train passengers going to Waverly Station immediately adjacent to the hotel have a little time in hand. In the middle foreground and again on the right is the Scott Monument built to commemorate one of Sotland’s literary giants, Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832). The photograph was taken on a slightly mistly morning just after dawn adding an atmospheric touch to the scene.