North Edinburgh tram extension could be shelved

Plans to build a new tramline linking the north and centre of Edinburgh are likely to be shelved.

City of Edinburgh Council proposed running a new route connecting Crewe Toll and the city centre via either Roseburn Path or Orchard Brae.

However, a report before the local authority's transport and environment committee cited "public acceptability issues" over disputes about the two proposed lines.

A separate south Edinburgh extension connecting Princes Street with the Royal Infirmary and BioQuarter development is set to go ahead as a "priority".

A consultation on the plans for the line extension was launched in August last year.

It outlined two alternative routes as part of the latest phase of the Edinburgh Trams project.

One proposed sending the tramline along the Roseburn Path, a cycling and walking route which previously formed part of the now-defunct north suburban railway line.

Council officials recommended the path as the "preferred route" for the proposals, which were revised to include a line running alongside a pedestrian path.

However, those plans were at the centre of a row with campaigners, who claimed the proposed pedestrian route was "too narrow" and risked destroying local trees and wildlife.

Cost estimates for the Roseburn Path route were put at about £2.5bn.

The second option proposed sending the tramline via Orchard Brae and across the A-listed Dean Bridge at a cost of about £2.9bn.

That would have required work to ensure the 193-year-old structure, which forms part of Edinburgh's Unesco World Heritage Site, could bear the weight of the vehicles.

The council report found there were "public acceptability issues with both alternative routes".

It said a "strong business case" had been made for the project and the local authority should "retain ambition to deliver a mass transit connection between Granton and the city centre".

However, it added further work was required on route options before this section could be progressed.

The southern section of the line, connecting the city centre and the hospital, is estimated to cost about £1.7bn, according to the committee report.

That is proposed to go along Princes Street and connect with North Bridge, which recently reopened following an eight-year restoration project.

It would then head towards Newington and on to its terminus at the Royal Infirmary and via Cameron Toll.

The report also found that route to "complement" work on Edinburgh's south suburban railway, which has been used by freight trains since stations closed on the line 64 years ago.

A feasibility study on restoring passenger services on that line is current being taken forward by Transport Scotland and Network Rail.