AN army of staff will be on duty today for the first big crowd test of the capital's new tram system as 50,000 music fans head to a major concert
AN army of staff will be on duty today for the first big crowd test of the capital's new tram system as 50,000 music fans head to a major concert
Edinburgh Trams will have a "significant" amount of extra workers on board to cope with the One Direction fans who will be heading to Murrayfield stadium tonight.
Tram operators had earlier staged a trial run with hundreds of volunteers and over its first weekend it has ferried 40,000 on journeys along its eight-mile route, which includes a stop at the rugby ground.
About 25,000 tram tickets were bought on Saturday and 15,000 on Sunday over the first two days of operation.
The next test comes tonight as the £776 million system, which took six years to complete, faces the influx of fans going to see the boy band.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Trams said: "We'll have a significantly increased staff presence to guide people and to help them use our service."
The new network was initially intended to be larger than it is now, stretching to the waterfront at Leith and Newhaven. It currently only runs between York Place and the airport.
Many Edinburgh residents grew increasingly frustrated with the project as they had to endure roadworks and traffic congestion, while others remain angry at the scheme's over-budget cost.
As the project encountered delays and cost overruns, the other lines fell away, leaving the single route linking the city centre and the airport, but a review to be published later this year could lead to the extension of the tram system under the original plans.
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