tubechallenge.com

Challenge: To finally experience tram travel in Edinburgh after all these years of building the network.

Date attempted: Fri 25th July 2014.

Starting station: St Andrew Square.

Finishing station: West End.

I turned up at around 5pm at St Andrew Square tram top. Having had a day out on a bus rover ticket, I just wanted to finally experience tram travel in Edinburgh before heading back to my friend’s flat in Tollcross.

I then discover that the whole tram network has been down for a couple of hours due to a broken down tram. So I wait for some time, and then give up.

And begin to walk along Princes St, where there is a tram waiting at the Princes St stop. I decide to get on it, and sit there, not knowing when the network will be up and running again.

And after ten minutes, it was! Began moving. Then stopped. There’s a lot of traffic using Princes St in the rush hour. Inched along slowly…

After several minutes, we finally reached the next stop – West End. So I disembarked, not much nearer to my destination than when I started, but hey, it was the experience that mattered.

Duration? Dunno – about half an hour in total.

So, when will someone undertake a full-network Edinburgh Tram record? (My advice is not to attempt it in rush hour…)

RobbieM wrote:I then discover that the whole tram network has been down for a couple of hours due to a broken down tram. So I wait for some time, and then give up.

Things never go right on a Full Network, do they?

RobbieM wrote:So, when will someone undertake a full-network Edinburgh Tram record? (My advice is not to attempt it in rush hour…)

I was thinking of giving it a go, but I'm struggling with the route planning.

I went to Uni in Edinburgh. One of these days I must go back.

Geoff claims to have done (and won) this according to his Twitter feed.

hopeful traveller wrote:Geoff claims to have done (and won) this according to his Twitter feed.

Maybe he's written about it somewhere on this site, but now the post just reads "Trains"...

Well, I along with a couple of others today also complete the Edingburgh a Tram challenge... Time to be confirmed shortly.

Matthew a Frost, Chris Green & Charlotte Green 39min 08 secs

moley wrote:Matthew a Frost, Chris Green & Charlotte Green 39min 08 secs

Well done - curiously, which were your starting and finishing stations?

RobbieM wrote:

moley wrote:Matthew a Frost, Chris Green & Charlotte Green 39min 08 secs

Well done - curiously, which were your starting and finishing stations?

Now that would be saying.

Now, would anyone like to try this particular challenge tomorrow?

Date attempted: Monday 9th June 2025

Start station: Airport
Finish station: Newhaven

Start time: Dunno, but it was about 12:50pm.
End time: Dunno, but it was about an hour later.
Time taken: Dunno, but it was about an hour.

To be fair, when I started the journey, I wasn’t expecting to travel the whole lot in one go, but that’s how it turned out. However, I thought I should record it here, as I don’t think anyone has recorded a time for the newly-extended network?

So I’ll take ‘about an hour’ as a forum record until someone else beats it!

You seriously dug up a thread from 11 years ago to post this vague nonsense?

I applaud you sir!

Lunaticonthegrass wrote: ↑12 Jul 2025, 23:14 You seriously dug up a thread from 11 years ago to post this vague nonsense?

I applaud you sir!

Your applause is accepted!

And your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to turn the vague into concrete. Hop on a plane to Edinburgh Airport, travel by tram to Newhaven and back. Easy! You have two attempts at getting a good time. Then it’s a quick flight back to Brum. Easily doable in a day!

I have visions that Robbie has been patiently waiting in Edinburgh for 11 years for someone to join him, and finally gave up and decided to make an attempt on his own!

greatkingrat wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025, 14:36 I have visions that Robbie has been patiently waiting in Edinburgh for 11 years for someone to join him, and finally gave up and decided to make an attempt on his own!

Aagh! I’ve been rumbled!

To be fair, it was only actually 2 years (and 2 days) after the record had been reset by the extension. Not eleven.

But 2 years was still a long time for me to pitch my tent at the airport, waiting for a co-challenger. Security were very suspicious…