Princes Street fire: Council considering moving trams by road to enable Leith service

Council chiefs are "actively considering" transporting tram vehicles by road to bypass Princes Street and get a service running for Leith.

Tram services from the city centre to Newhaven have been suspended since July 9 while Princes Street has been closed between Frederick Street and South Charlotte Street following the fire that ripped through the former Debenhams store.

Trams are currently suspended between Newhaven and the city centre

The council has said the closure will last "into August" as engineers work to make the building safe and preserve as much of it as possible.

Edinburgh Trams has been unable to run even a limited service on the Leith side of the city because all the tram vehicles were in the depot at Gogar at the time of the fire.

And the damaged building is said to be in such a fragile state that even running an empty tram along Princes Street could cause vibrations which would harm it further.

Transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said work was currently under way to stabilise the facade and the plan was, once that had been completed, to carry out vibration tests and then hopefully get the go-ahead to move six trams along Princes Street at low speed, which could then be used to provide a service between Picardy Place and Newhaven.

However, it is thought that might mean at least another "couple of weeks" before any tram service could be restored. So another option being considered is to take the six trams by road.

Cllr Jenkinson said the idea was "under active consideration". It is thought such an operation might be able to get a service running more quickly. But Cllr Jenkinson said there were “logistical challenges” and there could be a “significant” cost attached.

He said: “What they are currently working on is securing the facade of the building, carrying out vibration tests, and once these are passed that will enable them to crawl trams past so we can provide a service, running back and forward from Newhaven, probably to Picardy Place.

“That’s what they’re looking at, along with other options, including moving the trams by road. But there are significant logistical challenges in moving six trams from Gogar to Newhaven by road, which is likely to have a significant financial cost associated with it.”

He said the council would need to secure suitable vehicles, arrange for cranes to lift the tram vehicles onto the lorries, plan a suitable route for the wide load to follow, and then have a crane to lift the trams off and onto the track at the other end.

He said the options would all have to be weighed up, but crawling the trams along Princes Street sounded the most straightforward plan if it was not going to mean a long delay.

Cllr Jenkinson caused controversy last week by saying if it was up to him he would knock down the building and get the city moving again, though he said the situation was not as simple as that.

Earlier in the week, senior Tory councillor Jason Rust called for "more urgency" in reopening the city centre following the fire. He said people were facing “tremendous inconvenience” in going about their daily lives and trying to get to and from work.

And he warned: “As we approach the Festival and Fringe and the influx of tourists the situation is only going to become more fraught."

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