Anturas is delighted to see that passengers can now travel from Edinburgh Airport to Newhaven. Our Director Rob Leech reflects on his role as client Project Director for Trams to Newhaven and provides a reminder why projects like this are so important for our city….
Today [7th June] is a fantastic day for our great city and I must start by saying a massive thank you to everyone who has worked extremely hard to deliver Trams to Newhaven. Despite seismic global events in the shape of Covid and the war in Ukraine, all those involved have remained focussed and brought an energy to bear that has got us to where we are today, delivering on time and on budget. This is not just those of us involved directly in project delivery, it also applies to our local communities, elected representatives, Council officers and myriad partner organisations who have worked collaboratively and supported us on the journey, thank you.
As an SME, headquartered in Edinburgh and with a number of our team calling this city ‘home’, the project holds a special place for us in our portfolio. On a personal level, I have been involved with the project since inception in 2014 and seeing trams running down Leith Walk today was extremely heart-warming. This is not because the city has a shiny new asset (although it does look good!), but because we are living through a potentially existential crisis in the form of climate change and I passionately believe trams play a fundamental part in changing the way we live and move around our city in a more sustainable way.
Within Edinburgh, transport is the single biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon, and central to the damage being done to the environment. If the city is to meet the challenge of becoming net carbon zero by 2030 (which will require a herculean effort from all those involved), we need mobility systems that by 2030 are carbon emission free, efficient, accessible, affordable and allow people to spend more time improving their quality of life. We also need modern transportation systems that support the economic vitality of the city and the regions, by improving competitiveness, and helping support sustainable growth. While completing the line to Newhaven is an important step, more investment is needed in high capacity sustainable transport to expand the tram network complementing the excellent initiatives underway to electrify our bus fleets and improve walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure.
So, while today is quite rightly a day of celebration and thanks, it also a day for reflection on the challenges we face. Transportation and trams are only part of an incredibly complex jigsaw in the fight against climate change, but with the policy framework now in place at a national, regional and city level, let’s use today as a springboard to start a discussion on how we can turn policy aspiration into delivering game changing projects in Scotland at pace.
