Edinburgh trams to carry public from April THE public will get their first chance to ride on Edinburgh's trams from next month after an inaugural passenger run today on the first completed section. Community and business groups who have asked for a trip will travel on the first, two-mile completed section of the £776 million scheme between Gogar and Edinburgh airport from April. City council transport convener Lesley Hinds said giving the wider public the same opportunity would also be considered, along with possibly opening that section before the currently planned summer 2014 launch of the entire route. The news came as Ms Hinds joined transport minister Keith Brown for a four-minute journey over the western end of the route - marking the first passenger tram trip beyond previous runs within the depot at Gogar. Ms Hinds said she hoped the full eight-mile line to York Place in the city centre could be opened early, but it was too soon to say how far this could be brought forward. She said construction work on the long-delayed project was running up to four months ahead of its current schedule and was due to finish by the end of the year. This will be followed by up to six months of tram testing, which Ms Hinds said she hoped to shorten. Ms Hinds added that she hoped that enabling people to try out the trams would win them over after years of disruption and delays caused by the project. She said: "They are smooth, quick and roomy, and will be more attractive to people who would not go on buses." Mr Brown, who opposed the tram route, said he was keen to see it speedily completed after the delays, but remained resolutely against any further lines. He said: "I do not think there is an appetite to have an expanded tram network. "I'm not hearing anyone saying to me: "Can we have more trams in Edinburgh."" Mr Brown said the city council would have to go it alone if it wanted to build extensions, despite a second loop line via Granton previously being approved by MSPs. He said: "The council would have to finance that. We would not be part of it. I voted against this project. Now it is here, the most important thing is getting the trams running. An avowed fan of Edinburgh's buses since childhood, the minister also said he still thought trams looked "incongrous" in the city. Edinburgh airport chief executive Gordon Dewar said a covered walkway from the airport terminal would be extended to the tram stop, which has been moved further away from the building to accommodate future expansion. He said there would always be a tram at the stop for passengers to walk on to, so they would never get wet waiting on the platform, which has only a very narrow canopy. Mr Dewar said trams would take 25 minutes to reach the city centre compared to the current 45-minute bus journey at peak times. The tram project has suffered years of delays and massive cost increases, principally because of a bitter dispute between the now-scrapped council tram development firm Tie and the tram line builders - which the council ultimately lost. Far more underground pipes and cables also had to be moved from below the tram route than had been planned for.