PASSENGERS would use light rail carriages to travel across both Edinburgh's tram and train networks under bold plans, The Scotsman has learned.
The tram-trains would operate on routes such as the planned Borders rail line, then run on tram lines in Edinburgh.
TIE, formerly Transport Initiatives Edinburgh, sees the move as integrating the networks to bring more people into the city.
Th
e hybrid vehicles operate on rail lines in Germany and the Netherlands, with the first UK trial to start in two years.
They are cheaper than trains, have better acceleration and could carry more passengers.
They are also lighter, so they use less fuel, produce fewer emissions and cause less track wear.
However, there are potential safety issues over hybrids and trains sharing the same tracks in Britain to be resolved.
TIE said tram-trains could operate – along with trains – over the whole Borders line to Tweedbank, near Melrose. They would connect with the planned Edinburgh airport-Newhaven tram line via the south suburban rail line, an orbital route currently used only by freight trains.
Jim McEwan, TIE's business development director, said it would not be bound by the first tram-train trial in England and may present plans to the Scottish Government sooner.
The two-year pilot, on the Huddersfield-Sheffield line from 2010, will involve tram-trains sharing part of the line with trains. It may be followed by tram-trains running on the tram network in Sheffield.
The SNP failed in an attempt to scrap the tram scheme when it came to power last year, vowing not to provide additional funding to the £500 million pledged by their Labour-Liberal Democrat predecessors.
The £600 million plans also received £45 million from the city council, but are up to £55 million short. However, Mr McEwan told The Scotsman: "Let's start exploring this as an option. We can't wait until 2011 when trams will start running."
The Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency said that it had no plans for tram-trains on the Borders line but would look at proposals if they met train service requirements.
The full article contains 355 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
