Transport in Edinburgh

[3] The airport serves a wide range of domestic and an expanding number of European, transatlantic and Middle East destinations, handling over 12 million passengers per year.

[4] The main terminal building was built in 1977 by the Edinburgh architect Robert Matthew, and was substantially extended and modernised in the late 1990s.

The possibility of a second runway built on land to the north of the current airfield, has been mooted, to cope with the forecast growth in air traffic.

[citation needed] Priority bus lanes on arterial routes into Edinburgh city centre, known as Greenways, because of the distinctive green tarmac used to surface them - were introduced in 1997.

Located in a ravine the heart of the city centre close to Princes Street Gardens, it serves over 14 million passenger journeys per year.

[13] It is a principal station on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Aberdeen, and is the terminus for many rail services within Scotland.

The South Suburban line was left in place, mainly as a bypass for freight services to avoid the city centre.

A further extension to the redeveloped waterfront areas of Leith, Granton and Western Harbour was shelved due to costs in 2011.

A few years after the trams started operation, approval was given for the existing line to be extended north onto Leith and Newhaven.

[19][20] Following a vote in the Scottish Parliament on 27 June 2007, it was agreed to continue with the tram project - despite the opposition of the SNP minority government.

Increasing levels of traffic congestion in Edinburgh are generally attributed to the city's strong population growth as well as an expanding economy.

The office and business developments at Edinburgh Park themselves generate a large amount of traffic in that part of the city, with the new Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters opening at Gogarburn ensuring that upwards of 20,000 people now work in this area.

[26] The Park and Ride schemes at Hermiston and Ingliston have been widely regarded as successful, with each attracting more than 500 motorists per day, preventing more than 50,000 car journeys into the city.

Paying would have been done electronically via the internet, text message or at specialised payment terminals in shops, where daily, weekly, monthly and yearly passes would have been available.

The proposal faced strong opposition from city centre retailers who were concerned about the impact it would have on their trade as well as a number of political parties.

[28] Recently the city has seen the introduction of the Edinburgh Trams, major improvements to Edinburgh Waverley including new platforms to cope with new routes and increased passenger numbers, a £25 million redevelopment of Haymarket railway station, as well as new railway lines opening to Airdrie and Bathgate, and from 2015 to Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders.

[29] Like most cities cycling is seen as a clean, environmentally friendly method of transportation, which needs little space, the provision of few, inexpensive facilities as well as a means of attempting to cut down on traffic congestion.

[29] Greenways, which are the car-free bus corridors on the main radial routes into the city centre double up as cycle lanes.

[32] Problems are reported for cyclists riding in bus lanes in central Edinburgh, such as Princes Street and Lothian Road.

[37] Cycling in certain public parks, like walkways across the Meadows, has been legal[38] since the passage of the Land Reform Act in 2003, although signage was not corrected until 2011 in some cases.

Peng Lee Yap, chairman of Friends of the Meadows, said "While this is clearly a difficult issue, it was felt that the positive way forward is the approach of Spokes to improve cyclists' behaviour.

These are the areas where the majority of city centre shops are located, as well as bars, restaurants, pubs and tourist attractions such as the Scott Monument, Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Palace.

As of June 2007, both the tram project and rail link to Edinburgh Airport (described below) were scrutinised by the Scottish Executive with a view to possible cancellation, largely on grounds of cost.

The Auditor General for Scotland was asked to consider the issue of value for money and gave a favourable response for the tram project.

The rail link would also pass under the runway and split westward near Kirkliston towards Glasgow and Stirling and eastward to Fife and the North, and would require the construction of a new subsurface railway station in front of the terminal building.

[43] A parliamentary bill was submitted to the Scottish Parliament[44] which needed to be considered and approved before construction could take place.

Proposals were put forward by Fife Council in 2004 for a passenger ferry service to operate between Kirkcaldy and Leith.

Subject to funding Edinburgh and Fife councils, the companies hoped to construct a dedicated hovercraft terminal near the promenade at Portobello and begin passenger operation by 2012.

[52] Currently ScotRail operate a shuttle service, with two to four trains per hour from 06:00 to 23:45, between the two cities on the Glasgow to Edinburgh (via Falkirk High) line, with journeys taking around 50 minutes.

[54] The UK Government has also conducted a feasibility study into ascertaining whether a high-speed Maglev network between Edinburgh and London would be economically beneficial and thus cutting down on the growth of domestic air traffic between the two cities.