Engineers start installing overhead wires and underground cabling for Edinburgh’s tram system city centre section this month.
Cables will be installed on Princes Street and on St. Andrew Square during a series of night shifts. Overhead cabling will start in mid-June from York Place at Broughton St, working west towards Haymarket. The full programme which includes underground cabling is scheduled for completion in the Autumn.
Says Transport Convener Lesley Hinds, ‘Good progress continues all along the tram route and we’re now approaching a stage, in the city centre, where road works are nearly finished. This will be a welcome sight to traders, residents and visitors to the area this summer. This cable installation programme is the final major piece in the construction jigsaw but it’s a significant project which requires time.
‘Contractors will carefully hang power wires overhead at the correct tension and they’ll pull miles of power cables and communication lines through underground ducts. Once this is done we’ll be closer to the rigorous testing phase which will fully prepare the system and the people of Edinburgh Trams for service next year.’
