Students’ South Sub plan infinitely better value than £2bn tram line

It’s 60 years since the last regular passenger train made its final journey on Edinburgh’s South Suburban railway, now a group of Heriot-Watt University engineering postgraduates are looking into the feasibility of reopening it

Ever since I was the Conservative group’s transport spokeswoman on Edinburgh City Council, I have never seen eye-to-eye with the active travel “charity” Sustrans, with its clear cycling first agenda and close relationship with the Spokes cycling pressure group.

But now a change is in the air, and in fairness to the Scottish Government it is because of a change in the way money for transport projects is allocated, in which the cash will go direct to local authorities and not to Sustrans to award as it sees fit.

Previously it was a gravy train which suited the unaccountable, undemocratic Sustrans, free to set its own agenda by attaching strings to the schemes it chose to fund. But now councils will be able to set their own priorities and can’t hide behind claims that money can only be spent according to the Sustrans diktat.

For all that Edinburgh has spent on high-spec bike lanes ─ like the admittedly impressive Water of Leith cycleway from Balerno ─ the number of cyclists has stubbornly refused to rise to any meaningful extent. The only bang for our buck has been the sudden puncture of the case to pile more millions into the network.

That’s not to say that spending on cycling should cease altogether, but with a lower budget Sustrans will now focus on improving the existing cycle network and ensuring there are good active travel links to main travel points like rail and bus stations and tram stops.

And this is where so much more can be done to maximise what we already have without spending billions on ripping up roads to expand the vanity tram system, which still loses money and will for years to come.

We have underused suburban stations like Curriehill (109,626 passengers in the year to March 2024) compared to the 250,388 who went through Newcraighall. But then there is the ghost station at Edinburgh Gateway which only handled 225,374 passengers but was built with the capacity of Haymarket which welcomed 2,981,170 travellers.

There is also the South Suburban line, still carrying freight but no regular passengers since 1962, and the subject of regular speculation about reopening. I met a group of Heriot-Watt University engineering postgraduates last week who are looking into its feasibility, and whatever the pros and cons of the options the fact remains that a serviceable, unused track exists to move people about an expanding city.

With the expansion of Edinburgh around the City Bypass, the South Sub could be an artery through the middle of a densely populated ring, providing a direct rail line to the rest of Scotland which would not require travellers reaching Waverley ─ already at capacity ─ or Haymarket first.

A new station at Cameron Toll could connect to a short link bus to the Royal Infirmary, one of the main justifications for the continued enthusiasm for the tram expansion, potentially putting people living near the Gateway or Edinburgh Park within easy reach of the hospital.

Surely the South Sub offers a much cheaper alternative with far greater potential and infinitely less disruption. The mystery is why is this not being taken at least as seriously as the plan to build a North-South tram line for over £2 billion, for which the business case alone will cost well over £40 million.

Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian