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But a new campaign, as carried in the News, Tram Trains for Edinburgh, is aiming to change that. And it has my full support. The campaign builds on a set of proposals published earlier this year by civil engineering masters students at Herriot-Watt University. The plans would see circular passenger services running from Gorgie to Portobello along the South-Suburban rail line, the proposed route including stops at Morningside Road, Blackford Hill, Newington and Cameron Toll. With Edinburgh’s population set to grow in the coming years, our public transport system needs to expand too. This offers a solution that won’t mean more cars on already limited road space. Furthermore, it will make east-west journeys across the city by public transport much easier. It will be a particular boon for residents in south Edinburgh, who will have new direct access to other parts of the city like Tynecastle and Portobello. Hearts fans in south Edinburgh would be just a few stops away from home games on the train - now that’s something I can get behind. And here’s the clincher: most of the infrastructure already exists. The South-Sub line is already in active use for freight traffic and the occasional diverted passenger train. Moreover, by using tram trains, which can run on both tram tracks and rail lines, the line could be incorporated into the existing tram network, bringing together the disparate strands of Edinburgh’s public transport system into one, unified network. Tram trains are already used across much of Europe and have been running in Sheffield since 2018. The technology and much of the infrastructure already exists - it’s a no brainer but for some remodelling of connections between the tram and train lines. In related transport news, the consultation on the future of the tram network in Edinburgh is still open for submissions. The proposal is for a new north-south tram route linking Granton to the Bio Quarter via the city centre. I know from my constituency mailbag that there are strong views on this among local residents. Please do submit your views to the consultation. While on the subject of vehicles, the antisocial use of dirt bikes and e-bikes is a blight on our communities and something on which I’ve been campaigning for some time. I’m pleased to see that Dr Scott Arthur, the MP for Edinburgh South West, is convening a community meeting on this subject alongside Scottish Labour’s Holyrood candidate Catriona Munro. It’s been an issue for a while and I've written to the Scottish Government to ask for more resources and powers for the police to enable our local officers to tackle the problem. The incidents on the Meadows earlier this year received a lot of attention but it’s worth pointing out that this has also been a growing problem in Gilmerton and other parts of the city too. Our local police officers need support and I will keep pushing for the Scottish Government to give them the resources and powers they need.
