Princes Street fire: Hopes of temporary service between city centre and Newhaven are dashed
‘Recovery of the building is progressing well’ - Cllr Stephen Jenkinson
Hopes of a temporary tram service for Leith ahead of the reopening of Princes Street appear to have been dashed.
All trams between Edinburgh city centre and Newhaven have been suspended since July 9, when the fire in the former Debenhams store forced the closure of Edinburgh's premier street.
Transport convener Stephen Jenkinson was keen to find a way of restarting services, but has now said it is "unlikely" that will happen.
Frustrated passengers who normally rely on the tram to get around now face waiting for Princes Street to be reopened, which the council is aiming to do by August 26.
Because the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning, all tram vehicles were in the depot at Gogar, so services east of Princes Street had to be cancelled and have been unable to restart.
The lack of trams has reportedly led to crowded buses which some people say they have been unable to get on, meaning they could not get to work on time. And businesses in Leith say they have seen a dramatic drop in custom.
The condition of the former Debenhams building was deemed so precarious that even a tram driving past at slow speed to get to the other side of the city centre could cause vibrations which would put it at even higher risk.
The council considered transporting tram vehicles by road to Newhaven in order to run a temporary service for Leith, but acknowledged "logistical challenges" and "significant" costs. And Edinburgh Trams chief operating officer Willie Hamilton ruled out the option as "not a practical solution".
Work is currently under way on a steel framework to secure the Princes Street facade of the fire-hit building, which has been described by officials as "8 to 12 metres in height of unrestrained masonry".
A briefing to councillors on July 31 said: "Once this steelwork is in place, it will be possible to bring vehicles, including trams, through the site so that they can operate a part service from Newhaven to the city centre."
Cllr Jenkinson said he wanted tram services running in Leith again as soon as possible.
But Edinburgh Trams made clear its view that running a service between Newhaven and the city centre would not be viable without ongoing access to Princes Street because it had to be able to take trams back to the Gogar depot for both routine and unexpected maintenance. And they said if there was a breakdown there would be no way of clearing it without access from the Gogar depot.
Cllr Jenkinson now accepts there is little prospect of a temporary service being introduced until Princes Street is back to normal.
He said: "We considered trying to get trams over to Leith so we could have a partial service, but that is unlikely to happen or be required.
"Recovery of the building is progressing well - it's weather dependent, but I am hopeful we can get the city moving and Princes Street up and running as quickly as possible and trams running fully again."