The long-awaited inquiry into the the delays and costs of the first phase of the Edinburgh Tram project has today been published.
The inquiry scrutinised the reasons for the project finishing five years later than expected – and at double the planned cost.
The 961-page report reveals and criticises various organisations whose acts and/or omissions contributed to the project overrunning in terms of schedule and budget.
The report is available here.
On the report, Transform Scotland policy advisor Nigel Bagshaw said:
“Lord Hardie’s report details clearly the already well-known problems which beset the first phase of the Edinburgh tram project: the incredible mismanagement of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE), the irreparably flawed nature of the infrastructure contract, the failure of Edinburgh Council officials to protect the council’s financial interests, and the strategic shortcomings of Scottish Ministers. None of the findings come as any surprise, but the report does provide a solid, even cathartic, record of what went wrong and sets out very valid recommendations.
“The errors of the original project have already been taken on board and avoided in the recent extension (completion) of the line from York Place to Newhaven and the inquiry report should be seen not as an argument against future lines in Edinburgh, or indeed other Scottish cites, but as a template for delivering them successfully as planned.”
Transform Scotland played an important role in advocating for light rail to be added back into Scotland’s public transport mix, as well as keeping earlier phases of the Edinburgh trams project on course when various misguided political interests sought to cancel the scheme.
