Edinburgh Trams are prepared for a busy rugby weekend

Edinburgh Trams is geared up for another busy rugby weekend, but they have some advice for you – and so does the Chief Medical Officer.

This coming weekend Scotland faces France in the Six Nations and that means it is all hands to the tiller at the tram company. With its own tram stop, events at BT Murrayfield are a key fixture for the tramway. 

The sell-out Calcutta Cup match created the perfect storm for the trams with extreme weather, and a vehicle parked on the tracks post-game causing disruption to service.  Today, Edinburgh Trams share their top tips to help customers get the best out of taking the tram to and from events.

On an event day Edinburgh Trams will transport up to 42,000 fans to and from BT Murrayfield.  Edinburgh Tram’s staff are stationed at key points across the route at Ingliston Park and Ride, Haymarket, and of course Murrayfield where crowd numbers peak right before kick-off and once the final whistle has blown.

The Operations Control Centre within the tram depot works with the Event Manager on the ground, making sure people are deployed where its most needed, and more importantly that there are trams to keep the city moving. 

Lea Harrison, Managing Director of Edinburgh Trams said: “To move up to 42,000 customers in one day takes a solid plan, a brilliant team to enact it, and nerves of steel.” 

Tram Driver, Sharon Peat said: “We double the service to an average of a tram from every 3 minutes, the maximum the system can support, so please be patient with us.  With a maximum of 8,000 customers per hour and BT Murrayfield’s 67,000 capacity. That’s a lot of trams!”

Ticketing Assistant, Robbie Newton has been working events since he joined Edinburgh Trams. He has his own words of advice: “Buy your ticket in advance, and make sure you keep it safe.  We love to hear your feedback but remember to be kind, we’re working our hardest to get everyone moving as quickly as possible.”

Mr Harrison added: “We want the memorable moments to stay inside the stadium and have developed some handy information on our website and social media for our customers to help them to and from BT Murrayfield on busy event days.”

Edinburgh Trams will be operating the usual event service this Sunday, and in light of the recent advice from the Government and Health Protection Scotland are encouraging colleagues and customers to maintain good hygiene.

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood visited Murrayfield ahead of Scotland’s Six Nations match against France. She was joined by players Sam Skinner and Chris Harris and SRU medical chief Dr James Robson.

Scottish Rugby is working with the Scottish Government on a major public health initiative and encouraging fans to practice good hygiene.

Dr Calderwood said: “I’ve looked at the scientific evidence very carefully, and what’s emerging is that there’s actually very little impact on virus spread from mass gatherings, particularly if they are in the open air. This is not a risk to the Scottish population in hosting this match.

“Scotland is very definitely still within the containment phase. We have six confirmed cases at the moment which means we still have an opportunity to keep the containment phase for a longer time. That’s very important because a delay of weeks or even days will still make a difference of where we end up, and how many cases we end up with.

“We are asking everyone, all of the time to be careful about their own hygiene. There’ll be hand sanitisers in the stadium and we still have an opportunity in Scotland to stop this virus spreading if we take simple, straightforward measures. Soap and water will stop the spread of the virus, and 20 seconds is the optimum time to get rid of any viruses.

“I would ask anyone who is unwell or who has symptoms particularly a cough or a high temperature to stay away. People have a responsibility.”