Edinburgh Tram developments

[computerSaysNo]

Oh no those platform announcements were pretty awful. I don’t think they were recorded, but rather just computer generated ones using recordings of individual words, then spliced together. The Trams really should have their own proper announcements, even if it is the same person who does the onboard announcements too.

I haven't heard any new announcements but the old/existing ones are awful. I agree they sound like a really basic text-to-speech has been used like Google Translate. The intonation and word emphasis is all wrong and I've found that makes it more difficult to make out what is being announced. Especially when they try and do "upbeat" announcements during events and you get the right words but in monotone

 

[chiltern trev]

Taylor Swift concert at Murrayfield .

I am interested to know how many extra trams, until what time, etc were provided after the concert, i.e. after about 22.30.

Seems like a concert of 70000 attendees exiting at 23.00 en masse represents at challenge.

 

[oldman]

This is what they announced

Additional services are being laid on before and after the global superstar takes to the stage, with trams running until at least 1.00 am for each concert. Check our 'X' account here for service updates.

The last tram service departing towards the airport from Scottish Gas Murrayfield is at 02.22

The last tram service departing towards Newhaven from Scottish Gas Murrayfield is at 01.10

That is two hours later than normal last services.

 

[Bus9120UK]

Taylor Swift concert at Murrayfield .

I am interested to know how many extra trams, until what time, etc were provided after the concert, i.e. after about 22.30.

Seems like a concert of 70000 attendees exiting at 23.00 en masse represents at challenge.

Dozens of buses operated by Lothian were provided operating extras on regular routes and shuttle buses to Ingliston P&R. The trams would've never been able to cover all demand!

 

[roadierway77]

Taylor Swift concert at Murrayfield .

I am interested to know how many extra trams, until what time, etc were provided after the concert, i.e. after about 22.30.

Seems like a concert of 70000 attendees exiting at 23.00 en masse represents at challenge.

They must have had most of the fleet out, and service ran until 1am. Was definitely needed, each tram leaving Murrayfield was rammed.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I had The misfortune to be in in Edinburgh City Centre at midnight on Saturday morning and can confirm that there were certainly plenty of trams and more than plenty of passengers using them
Regardless of all of that though. And I dare say the trams probably did a good job. Edinburgh is just not built to handle that number of people in the course of a weekend
For me, the only saving Grace of the the root is when it comes to filling and emptying that stadium in a reasonably timely manner

 

[snookertam]

Yes, but it's not exactly a conspiracy.

Trams are more efficient at moving more people, faster. As has been pointed out, they require people to walk further at each end, however the average overall journey time for every passenger on the route decreases. This is because trams stop less, get caught up in traffic less, and their stops at peak times are quicker, as they soak up passengers through several doors at once.

So the bus route being redrawn to channel people onto trams is basically a function of efficiency, especially down busy corridors like Leith Walk. Bear in mind the council charge the same for the busses and trams, and actually lose money in operating fees versus buses.

If this is the case, then it is the opposite of what should be happening. Public transport should be designed with user needs in mind, it shouldn’t be about user options being dovetailed into what the public transport provider prefers.

As others have stated, if public transport becomes a less convenient option door to door, people just go elsewhere. And once they’ve gone, they are twice as difficult to win back. Just see how difficult ScotRail have found it to get passengers back onto the trains.

 

[waverley47]

If this is the case, then it is the opposite of what should be happening. Public transport should be designed with user needs in mind, it shouldn’t be about user options being dovetailed into what the public transport provider prefers.

As others have stated, if public transport becomes a less convenient option door to door, people just go elsewhere. And once they’ve gone, they are twice as difficult to win back. Just see how difficult ScotRail have found it to get passengers back onto the trains.

I don't really understand your point.

What is less convenient, and what is it less convenient than? What would your ideal network look like? What changes have been made that mean that people are abandoning Lothian Buses and Trams for private cars?

Public transport is designed to offer the most possible benefit for the most possible people, within the limits of what already exists or what can reasonably be budgeted for and built. If Mrs Miggins in Morningside has a ten minutes longer bus journey to visit Leith, but a thousand people in Leith now have a more reliable, and higher capacity link with the city centre and the airport, isn't that what public transport is for? Or am I missing something incredibly obvious?

 

[edwin_m]

A network based on connections is also simpler and easier to understand, and each route is likely to have a better frequency than if there are a large number of routes attempting to connect everywhere to everywhere else. And because such a network could never achieve that fully, the low frequency would make it very unlikely that those with no direct route could do the journey with a reasonable connection.

 

[Cross City]

I notice when there is city centre disruption the trams often turn back at Haymarket Yards sidings rather than at Haymarket itself. Any particular reason for this?

 

[waverley47]

I notice when there is city centre disruption the trams often turn back at Haymarket Yards sidings rather than at Haymarket itself. Any particular reason for this?

There isn't a crossover at Haymarket station to turn them around from the platforms there. The next crossover that trams can be dispatched from is at West End.

 

[Cross City]

There isn't a crossover at Haymarket station to turn them around from the platforms there. The next crossover that trams can be dispatched from is at West End.

Can they not just use the crossover at Haymarket Yards and still run to the actual Haymarket stop?

Obviously not, because they don't. Was just something I was curious about.

 

[waverley47]

Can they not just use the crossover at Haymarket Yards and still run to the actual Haymarket stop?

Obviously not, because they don't. Was just something I was curious about.

I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure there's no provision for wrong line working in passenger service. It's certainly not a signalled move, and I doubt in the strongest possible terms that the safety case makes a provision for unsignalled moves