Wednesday 11 March 2009

Trams - a list

Here's what I've been told that the Tram Project has still to find a way of addressing but that I don't have details on:

1. Constitution Street has burial grounds beneath it. There may be some legal considerations to the movement of human remains.

2. The conduit tunnels that were used for the old cable-driven trams that surprised tie but not anyone else who lives in Edinburgh - still awaiting an engineering solution.

3. The walk-along sewer that runs the length of Princes Street does not have the strength to carry the Tram.

4. There's a turntable from the previous tram system embedded in the roadway which has to be lifted.

5. The ground at Haymarket where the track is intended to go off-road is mudstone and needs to be stabilised.

6. There's an unexpected quarry at Haymarket.

7. The ground at the flood plain at the Gogar Burn needs stabilised (who thought it was a good idea to build on a flood plain anyway?)

8. They still haven't found a way to turn the tram from North St Andrews Street into Queen St (too steep an incline combined with too sharp a drop).

9. There's not enough money.

10. They still haven't worked out how to shield the tram's electrics from the electrics used to power the signals on the train track it will run alongside.

Well planned, chaps, carry on! I wonder how secure the yard where the tramtracks have been stored is - I wonder whether those track sections are still there. What about the structural integrity of the viaduct that carries the guided busway and is intended to carry the tram? What else can go wrong? I'm off to see if I can lay a bet on the trams not running before 2015.

Mind how you go!

2 comments:

subrosa said...

I just thank my lucky stars I don't live in Edinburgh. All those who wanted this are hopefully suffering more than the ones who weren't even asked.

Key bored warrior. said...

The FM quite correctly highlighted the fact today in reply to Harvie that not one supporter of the tram project in the chamber has spoken in support of it since it was dragged through Holyrood.

Harvie thought he was being very clever in trying to slag of his pet hate project the M74 extension. Talk about lambs to the slaughter.