Disabled rugby fans in Edinburgh unable to attend matches as Murrayfield Stadium tram stop lift outages reach all-time high

A tram stop lift which has been out of action for more than a month this year alone has left those with accessibility needs feeling “excluded” from Murrayfield Stadium.

The frequently faulty lift at Roseburn Street, opposite the national rugby stadium, was unavailable for passengers for 35 days already this year, the equivalent of one day each week, according to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Evening News.

Greens MSP Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill was forced to miss out on a Scotland Women’s Rugby match at the nearby Hive Stadium when the lift was out of action earlier this month. She called the findings “hugely disappointing”.

The Edinburgh and Lothians MSP, who is a wheelchair user, said Edinburgh Trams staff offered to pay for a taxi to the stadium but the contract they used did not have any accessible vehicles available.

A local who reported the issue said they had seen multiple instances of people with accessibility needs struggling to navigate the stop’s stairs when the lift is unavailable.

Ms Kinross-O’Neill said: “The lift has been out of order for way too long, an unbelievable 35 days this year and counting. We are excluding disabled people from one of Scotland's national stadiums and this can't go on.

“We need to do better by disabled people and prevent this kind of exclusion.”

While the number of reported issues has fallen from a peak of twenty in 2023, the average time to repair the lift has skyrocketed with each outage taking twice as long to fix compared to last year.

Edinburgh Trams are currently working in conjunction with the City of Edinburgh Council to secure a replacement for the lift, which has been in place since the station first opened in 2014.

A spokesperson for the trams said: “The replacement lift will provide a more reliable and resilient solution, significantly improving the experience for customers who depend on step-free access and helping to ensure greater long-term availability.

“We would like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding while we work with City of Edinburgh Council to deliver this important improvement.

“In the meantime, anyone requiring assistance with journey planning or accessibility support is encouraged to contact us in advance, and our team will be happy to help make their journey as smooth and convenient as possible.”

It is unclear when the replacement lift will be installed or how long this process will take.

John Yellowlees, chair of the Murrayfield Community Council, said the lift was “essential for the smooth functioning of events” at the 67,000-capacity stadium.

It is understood that high-ups in the Scottish Rugby Union, who own the stadium, previously pushed for the lift to be repaired alongside the MCC ahead of last November’s rugby Autumn Internationals.

The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) has declined to comment.

“If something isn’t working it sometimes can’t be helped even if it is very frustrating,” Olivia Fulton, who plays for Scotland’s only wheelchair rugby league team, the Edinburgh Giants, said.

The Giants player has never used the tram and “would probably avoid it”, preferring to go with the crowds walking to the stadium.

Ms Kinross-O’Neill called on Edinburgh Trams to work with the stadium to notify ticket holders prior to their journeys if the lifts are out of order.

She added: “If I'd known I could have made alternative plans.”