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TRAMS START ON 31 MAY – BROUGHTON PREPARES TO WELCOME THE WORLD

Submitted by Editor on

The first commercial tram service linking the world to Broughton will depart from the Gyle Centre at 5.00am on Saturday 31 May.

Between now and then, Edinburgh Trams staff hosting 'roadshow' events along the route will familiarise locals with matters such as buying a ticket and understanding the timetables.

Transport Minister Keith Brown, Transport Convener Lesley Hinds and Transport for Edinburgh Chief Executive Ian Craig announced the start date at 8.45am this morning in a smirr-swept location west of the city.

'When the revised delivery date was announced back in September,' said Brown, the target was to have the infrastructure contract completed and handed over to the operator by March 2014. Transport Scotland has helped deliver that and played a pivotal role in supporting City of Edinburgh Council and contractors to get the tram project back on track.'

Hinds declared herself and Edinburgh Trams 'ready to roll'.

Craig said, 'We're delighted to be the operator of Edinburgh Trams and, through full integration with Lothian Buses, we're looking forward to delivering a transport system of the highest quality'.

Spurtle arrived late at this event, having mistakenly followed the advice of a Lothian Buses driver and alighted about a mile-and-a-half too early, somewhere deep in the middle of nowhere.

Photographs taken, we decided to explore the nearby Gyle Centre. It soon became apparent why people might want to leave at 5.00am.

However, it is not all bad. We were particularly impressed at the quality of sales staff, who dressed to impress and were more than willing to dispense, or in this case receive, expert lawnmower advice.

Now that the trams are nearly here, are you looking forward to the arrival of millions of visitors? Or do you fear they may swamp Broughton's way of life and steal our jobs? Tell us by email spurtle@hotmail.co.uk or Facebook Broughton Spurtle or Twitter @theSpurtle

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  1h

hahahaha - I read that as ready to troll at first!

  1h

Thanks for supporting Cash For Kids Day!

  2h

Hi Alan, can u correct spelling of Lesley (ie not Leslie) Hinds, please? Thanks!

 2h

don't let her tell you what to do. Be your own tram.

  now

Apologies! Spelling adjusted and now back on track.