Friday March 27th 2026
Edinburgh Tram
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Edinburgh’s trams carried 12.5 million passengers in 2025, marking an increase of 3.3 percent from 2024, according to a report going before councillors on Thursday.
Almost 1.5 million were carried in August alone, with August 9 seeing an all-time record of just under 77,000 riders in one day for the Oasis concert.
The report also stated that an instance in 2024 where the city was able to run all 27 of its trams at once successfully had led to ‘enhancement of service’ during major events.
It credits part of the increase this year with the introduction of tap on, tap off fares on the trams, where passengers can use bank cards to travel rather than buying a ticket.
The report added that strong visitor numbers during festivals and events in 2025, along with ‘record-breaking’ summer demand, had contributed to it.
Trips on Edinburgh’s trams have increased year-over-year since their introduction in 2014, with the exception of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The extension of the line through Leith, which opened in June 2023, coincided with a large increase.
Figures for 2022-2023 sat at 5.3m journeys, while 2023-2024 saw 10.1m. The figure for 2024-2025 was 12.2m.
Edinburgh Council is currently in the process of planning a new tram route between Granton and the southeast of the city.
It would use the track along Princes Street in the city centre, while using a route following Roseburn Path or Dean Bridge and Orchard Brae to run towards Granton.
Meanwhile, it would take a route through Newington to reach Cameron Toll, where it would proceed south to the Royal Infirmary.
A future extension of the route could take the service further from the city or into Midlothian, with possible options including Shawfair and Queen Margaret University.
Over 11,000 people responded to a consultation on the new route, which ran between August and November of last year.
Consultation documents released in August suggested that the total cost of the new route would stand at just under £3bn.
Councillors will consider the report at Thursday’s meeting of the council’s Transport and Environment Committee.
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