Edinburgh Trams are running

And here's a link to the Trams homepage so you can see where it goes. :) Here's a quick link to the fares.

quick link to the fares

You mean that after all that tax money that went into the huge boondoggle you still have to pay again???

Well, some one has to pay for it! The real scandal is the network in Edinburgh will not be completed and restoring them to Glasgow, which had one of the best tram networks in Britain, now won't happen either.

Edinburgh may have spent a lot of money and a lot of time on the Edinburgh Trams, but NYC's Second Avenue Subway projects is going to be centuries in the making--maybe think of it as a gothic cathedral? :)

It was first mentioned in the 1920's and by 1929 when a budget of $86 million was proposed, all went on hold due to the stock market crash. Also, evidently, the bids were lowball so a new date of 1948 was proposed and by 1939 the cost was up to $249 million. After the war, planning resumed and by 1949 the new price was $504 million. A bond issue or $500 million was actually approved in '51 with a start in the late 50's.

Most of the $500 mil. was used for maintenance to the current system leaving only $126 million for 2nd Avenue. The NY Times said that it was unlikely that there would ever be a 2nd Ave line. Then federal money and state money started to allocated. In 1972 work was actually started. However, it was thwarted by the NYC financial difficulties of the mid '70's. Anyone remember the headline, "Ford to NYC: Drop Dead"?

In 1995 planning was started on a shorter line. After many meetings and now, of course, environmental impact statements, in 2006 the 2nd Avenue Subway was authorized. It is supposed to be done--or at least phase 1--by the end of 2016. And the budget in the end? $4.5 BILLION. And no money is authorized for the other phases....

And if you wonder if this line is really needed, consider the traffic on the Lexington Avenue line--"Every weekday, 1.3 million passengers — more than are carried in 24 hours by the transit systems of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco combined — cram onto the Lexington Avenue line." Here's the full NY Times article.

Pam

As usual , Pam's posts are brilliant , everyone should read this .

Would this be the quickest and least expensive way to get from Turnhouse Airport to Waverly train station?

As best I can tell the bus is a pound cheaper and takes about the same time....I think that we're going to need to get some feedback from people who have tried it and can attest to the time. I've seen bus travel times as short as 28 minutes and the trams promise within 40 minutes.

I think we need to wait and see.

Air link bus is a lot cheaper and unless you are staying on the Leith Walk area there is no point at all in paying more.