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First Day Outside the Gate
Thanks to George Broom for the above photograph
On the 12th December at around 14:00 hrs one of the LRTA members spotted a tram being manoeuvred out of the depot gate by a shunter vehicle and shortly afterwards it was moving by power collected from its pantograph. As promised by Mr A Richards last February, test running has started before Christmas 2011. The diagram below was published by TIE in October, showing the track on which testing and intensive shake-down running will take place to gain experience.
Meanwhile civil engineering work continues along the remaining sections of the (much reduced) route. Although work along Princes Street has been suspended for the annual New Year activities. Edinburgh Trams has published a full timetable of traffic orders for planned street closures and diversions for the next two years. Hopefully after the intervention of Mrs Sue Bruce, CEO of City of Edinburgh Council, and now with the backing of the Scottish Government, the timetable has a better chance of being adhered to than has been the experience in the past. The scheduled completion date has now been quoted as late summer 2014.
Signifiant Arrival
Thanks to TIE for the above photograph
On Monday 17th October the first tram vehicle was delivered in three parts to the Gogar Depot, having made the journey from Irun via IJmuiden and Newcastle. It was railed, and assembled inside, to be followed on the 19th by the tram stored in Broxburn. Now there are two vehicles stabled in the depot being readied for testrunning. It had been announced on the Edinburgh Trams website that the overhead wire in the depot area would be energised as from the 11th October, and the testrunning area between the Gogar Roundabout and towards the Royal Bank bridge from the 29th November, with test running scheduled to start on 2nd December after initially test running within the depot area.
Temporary crossing for the private road to Castle Gogar, with the RBS bridge span in the background.
These tracks are scheduled to have grass between them. The Gogarburn grounds used to house a Lothian Health
Board mental hospital, but were sold to RBS to build their world headquarters, which provided an office for Sir Fred Goodwin.
At the time of the photograph the tracks within the depot area (within the green fence) should be energised,
but the track leading off to the right past the Gogar Roundabout is still being laid, and waiting to be embedded
in more concrete.
View from the bridge off the Gogar Roundabout leading to the road down to the depot, and the planned railway
station and Edinburgh International Gateway tram stop.
Substantial earthworks are now being carried out on the other side of the Gogar Roundabout and through the Gyle business estate. It is clear that the City of Edinburgh's new Chief Executive, Mrs Bruce, has had a significant influence in getting a settlement of the tram project disputes. Further utility diversion work is also being planned in the city centre. It has been rumoured that the Transport Secretary, Mr Keith Brown, is to visit the depot in the near future. Hopefully that might render the government more favourable towards the trams.
Return to "Normal"
The recent events with the Edinburgh Tram Project show just how much of a political football the project has become. To some extent this is not surprising, as even with Scotland being one third of the UK land mass, the Scottish Government (SG) receives only one tenth of the appropriate budget, and there is much demand for transport improvements throughout the country, hence strong feelings arise when one project absorbs such a large part of the budget, particularly when the SG has been denied borrowing powers.
Following the decision by City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) on 26th August to adopt the Tory-backed Labour motion, to run line 1 from the airport only to Haymarket, the SG threatened to withhold the remaining £72 million on the grounds of a "change of project scope". This resulted in a special CEC meeting called for 2nd September to reconsider the earlier decision. Cllr Cardownie led the SNP group with an impressive and well argued speech, justifying the group's U-turn (to benefit the city) and gave support to the LibDem motion rather than abstain, so the motion was carried to take the line to St Andrew Square. Labour still proposed the Haymarket amendment and the Tories opted for complete cancellation of the project. The off-road part of the line will be at a fixed cost, but where tracks need laid on the road, contingencies will still have to be allowed for, depending on the problems presenting at the time of excavation. Funding sources still needed to be finalised, and this was to be done by the start of the Edinburgh Autumn holiday weekend (17th Sept). Most inconsiderately, negotiations between the Chief Executive, Sue Bruce and the SG did not finish until the LRTA members were gathering in The Hague for the AGM. Fortunately all was settled, so funding is in place for construction to proceed to completion between the airport and St Andrew Square (reversing at York Place).
The display of brinkmanship, following Treasury Secretary John Swinney's instruction a year ago to Edinburgh SNP councillors not to oppose the tram project, might
lend credence to the concept of letting the Unionist parties create the mess that the project had become, and in the run-up to the
council elections in May 2012 portray the SNP as the shining knight coming with a rescue package for the project.
Cynical . . . ?
Meanwhile, Transport Scotland is to take an active interest in the project, something many felt should have been done earlier, and TIE
has been officially disbanded, with its project management task taken over by consultants Turner and Townsend. Many TIE staff had
already left the organisation.
An immediate increase in activity has been noted. Apart from at Haymarket station, there is visible progress at the Gogar Depot area.
While the tracks passing the depot will be rail exposed on concrete bed (hopefully with sleeper alignment improved), the track to the west, towards the RBS bridge will be grassed, although laid on concrete foundations.
The concrete foundations should be an item for the forthcoming inquiry. During the AGM in The Hague it was noticed that rather than track being laid on a foundation of concrete, with the sleepers set in more concrete, despite the very soft ground, the tracks were laid in compacted sand. The heavy concrete approach will surely have had cost implications in the Edinburgh project.
On the 17th September, Princes Street was again closed for ten months for remedial work to the road surface to repair the damage done by the average load of 400 buses per hour. Contrary to reports in the press, the tracks are not to be replaced, but only the road surface and filler between the track and road surface. The photographs below taken on 30th September show much of the damaged material already removed, and stacked to the side like peat cuttings.
Council Insanity!
At the full council meeting of City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) the illogical and economically unviable decision was taken to construct the line only from the airport to Haymarket, instead of St Andrew Square, as was previously (30th June) decided was the only sensible option. Deputations had been heard from drivers' union representatives of Lothian Buses and the Chamber of Commerce, in favour of terminating at Haymarket and St Andrew Square respectively. The economics were explained, approx. £700million for the Haymarket option, with guaranteed annual operating loss of £4 million, versus £776 million and an operating profit for the St Andrew Square option. Bizarrely the guaranteed loss option won, which was the Labour amendment supported by the Tories, and the LibDem option, supported by the Greens lost out. The SNP abstained citing as their reason not wanting to be associated with the poor management of the project. After the outcome of the vote Mr J Carson, who stood as an anti-tram candidate at a recent council by-election, and whose CV includes project management on the highly overbudget and many years delayed Dutch High Speed Line, was seen celebrating with the Lothian Buses union reps. Do Lothian Buses look forward to the £4 million subsidy they will need to provide for the trams? Would they not rather support a proper integrated transport system taking advantage of each mode's strengths? The remit for Turner and Townsend will also suddenly have changed with this CEC decision, and what cost implications will that have?
This is probably the worst possible outcome for the city and citizens of Edinburgh. Will the planned repairs of bus damage to Princes Street take place or will the tracks be lifted, ensuring extra costs and months of disruption with nothing to show at the end, except bus congestion in the city centre? There will be cancellation fees, as the construction consortium will have started to prepare for continued work on the project. Labour Transport spokesperson Councillor Lesley Hinds's myopic amendment will cost the city dearly.
Some track-laying has started at Haymarket, but the line as now proposed means there will no street running section.
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Meanwhile, Mr A Brotchie caught these forlorn vehicles waiting patiently . . . at Irun in the Basque country.
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More upbeat is the report on Edinburgh horse tram 23, now stored at the Vintage Bus Museum, with thanks to Alan Brotchie for these photographs, and thanks to Douglas Scoular for his woodwork.
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More pictures, owned by Stuart Montgomery, are available at this flickr link.
Tense Times
It was reported in the press that four more senior staff are resigning from TIE, as well as the CEO Richard Jeffrey and Mandy Haeburn-Little, Director of Communications. The last post has always been controversial as the encumbant earned more than the First Minister and received bonuses, for what appeared to be very little achievement. The CEO's resignation seems to conform to a standard two-year tenure as was the case with four previous CEOs. It has been suggested that Vic Emery's style of management is much more consensual, and this has already led to better relationships with the construction consortium, and hence the uptake of work.
At the full Council meeting on the 30th June, lasting five hours, three options had been offered for debate at different cost estimates,
(1) £740 million - to scrap the whole scheme.
(2) £700 million - complete the line from the airport to Haymarket.
(3) £770 million - complete the line from the airport to St Andrew Square.
Additionally, the SNP group proposed a referendum so that Edinburgh council tax payers would vote whether
to scrap the scheme. This was after the Edinburgh Evening News had surveyed its "contributers" and found that
78.6% were in favour of abandoning the project. This proposal was rejected.
Voting was entirely along party lines rather than any logical thought being given to the facts, and fortunately
option 3 - to construct the line from the airport to St Andrew Square was chosen. However, this is not yet the
final state, because for this council meeting, as with previous council meetings, the costs were
considered to be too rough, and another report has been demanded for 25th August with "more
precise fixed costs". It is difficult to understand how a major civil engineering project such as this
can have its costs fixed to the extent demanded. No such demands were made on the 5 mile M74 extension,
which was opened three years late and three times over budget at £692 million, although it was claimed to
be under budget and ahead of schedule. It probably depends on when the baseline is determined.
There could still be further threats to the project, as May 2012 council elections will be held, and as the
LibDem star is definitely on the wane, a council hostile to the trams is likely to emerge next May. However,
the Scottish Government has become more pragmatic, seeing Edinburgh's and Scotland's reputations on the
line now that the project has come as far as it has. Even the pro-SNP media are not showing 100%
anti-tram sentiments. Although there is a very silly printing shop near Haymarket.
A more positive tram project continues with the restoration of Horse Tram 23. As Lothian Buses are redeveloping their Longstone Garage, alternative accommodation has had to be found, and the tram was moved in the middle of May to the Lathalmond Vintage Bus Museum and volunteers continue to work. From the photographs below, and comparing these with the "garden shed" phase, progress is more promising than the City's electric tram infrastructure project.
Signs of Spring?
News has been given by both TIE and the Construction Consortium of a "truce" in the dispute. The good news is that the road surface in Princes Street will be repaired having sufferred from the effects of 400 bus movements per hour, but the bad news is that the road will be closed for long periods to traffic, raising again much public ill-feeling towards the project. Construction will also resume along the route to the West of the city. Alistair Richards had earlier expressed the hope at an LRTA meeting that this would allow a section of test-track to be available to the vehicles, to test their operational performance over time. The threats of legal actions have subsided, but the additional costs of the project still need to be identified and will be debated by the City Council on Monday, 16th May. It would be a relief if that were indeed a constructive debate and not an ill-tempered football match. In the Scottish Government elections on 5th May the harshest critic of the project did not win her constituency seat (the only Edinburgh seat which did not go SNP) and because of the constituency seats landslide for the SNP, she also missed out on the regional top-up list for Lothian. However, plenty other MSPs still need educated on the advantages of trams as the main component of the solution to congestion and a cleaner environment. It was disappointing that the Scottish Green Party had joined the others in proclaiming "Not a penny more" for the project just before the election.
While the construction dispute put a complete hold on everything, work had continued at the Gogar Depot, and a number of views is available of the depot site as of early May.
Video of LRTA Council Visit to Edinburgh
The LRTA council held one of its zonal meetings (comprising Scotland and the North of England) in Edinburgh on 30th March. The meeting, held in TIE's offices, was well attended by members from throughout the area, obviously hoping to hear some good news on progress. Unfortunately, silence prevailed on this subject, and Scotland still remains one of the few European countries whose capital city does not have a modern clean transport system.
The visiting council members were taken on a tour of the Gogar Depot still under construction, as shown in this video, which is available from the TIE website.
TIE Publishes New Trams Facts Leaflet
While Tram Facts 5 re-iterates many of the points raised in the past, and is available both in paper form and as a PDF from their website it is noticeable that it states quite clearly that line 1 will run between the airport and Newhaven. It also states that there will be 27 vehicles, while there are press reports that some may be leased to Croydon while there is a surplus for a shortened (incrementally introduced) line between the airport and St Andrew Square (or even Haymarket). The leaflet is available here in JPEG format.
Meantime there is no news from the mediation talks.
Progress on an Edinburgh Tram
The tram concerned has no involvement from TIE, Transport Scotland, or relevance to the new project. However, it is a restoration project of an original Horse Tram from 1885, and shows the determination and quality of workmanship which would be good to see on Auld Reekie's streets with another tram project. Thanks to Alan Brotchie and his associates for the Before and After photographs.
New Chairman for TIE/TEL.
 | Mr Vic Emery has been appointed Chair of TIE/TEL for the next three years, taking over as from the 9th February. He has a background in major engineering and construction projects from BAE Systems, and claims experience in negotiation, motivation and partnership working - much needed qualities for Auld Reekie's tram project. |
Audit Scotland report published.
On 2nd February Audit Scotland issued its 44-page interim report on the Edinburgh Tram Project, available in PDF format. The conclusions were felt to be fairly neutral (whitewash?), but there were suspicions that only TIE was consulted, and not the construction consortium. Transport Scotland, the government agency, was recommended to take a more active role on the project, especially as it has the responsibility of approving the £500 million of taxpayers' funding for the project.
Mediation.
At a recent talk to the LRTA, Alistair Richards confirmed his continuing belief in the project, particularly with regard to the CAF vehicles, and their performance, and the mechanical engineering aspects of the project. It was also stated that co-operation and relationships between different parties were much healthier on the Gogar depot site than elsewhere, which was the reason that progress was being made, both inside the building with engineering maintenance equipment about to be installed, and outside, with track and bridge work.
The mediation procedure chaired by an independent mediator, started on 8th March, is rumoured to have finished/ended in a deadlock/suspended until after the parliamentary election. It is clear that the trams have become a political football.
Given the record of the three opposition parties in parliament indicating that party politics play a more important role than benefit to the country (eg the alcohol minimum pricing bill, the higher hypermarket business rates to counter the economic cuts, and the releases from Wikileaks), the idea is almost credible that with Labour councillors on the board of TIE there has been a deliberate holding back of agreements so that the project's successful completion would not take place during the SNP government's first term of office. The hopes raised at the council meeting of 18th December 2010 at which mediation was urged, and Finance Secretary John Swinney's determination to seek other sources of funding and his instruction to Edinburgh's SNP councillors to cease their opposition to the project seem to have produced no tangible results.
A Guid New Year, to an' an a'
Sentiments not readily associated with our City's tram project,
An' mony may ye see
begins to sound more likely, before we will see trams running!
After the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) meeting on the 16th
December, where the agreement was announced that the two quarelling sides (TIE and
the construction consortium (BSC)) would accept an independent mediator, hopes
were dashed when TIE refused to accept any Scottish based mediator. Now that a
mediator has been identified, talks about mediation will not start until March. A
short press release states that talks should be completed by mid-March. TIE stated
that this statement was only released to prevent further speculation, and dismiss
for example, rumours it was trying to stall mediation talks until after the
Parliamentary elections on 5th May. No more statements would be
released - TIE has acquired a reputation of public relations along the generosity
lines of the government in P'yông Yang, while BSC is prevented contractually from
making public statements. The council meeting was for the most part a
disappointing display of sterile Westminster style yaboo politicking betwen the
five party groups. But then the revised busines case, which should have shown the
details for a (further) truncated line, between the airport and only St Andrew Square
in the city centre, was mainly a rehash of the original business case, and found to be
very unsatisfactory by most councillors. Naturally there was a call for a proper
revised business case.
Unfortunately most tram critics forget (or choose to ignore) that advantages cannot be expressed in purely immediate capital and revenue costs, but that environmental, convenience, comfort and longevity (of vehicles, roads and people) should also be factored in. The damage done by buses to the roads is paid through the council tax, and at most bus stops such thrust-damage is evident.
Ironically, in early January, Danish Gehl Architects looking at the centre of Edinburgh's environment described Princes Street as a bus station, with over 400 bus movements an hour. This while there are still those who complain that the tram's overhead wires will obscure tourists' views of the castle, and oil prices are approaching $100 a barrel.
Another item discussed at the council meeting was the proposal to set up Transport Edinburgh Ltd (TEL), and campaigned against by Lothian Buses supporters. There was tentative agreement that this idea would be abandoned, and Lothian Buses would take over the running of the trams. But then the dead hand of Lothian Buses would allow their inefficient complacency to set in and not take full advantage of the opportunities offered by a tram network. Bus proponents always suggest that eco-friendly vehicles would be cheaper than a tram network, ignoring the fact that more buses cause more congestion, delays and road damage.
The construction aspect of the project is now like a neglected fire, with the only glowing ember being the continuing construction of the Gogar Depot, and all other construction work at a standstill.
The tram vehicle which spent the summer in Princes Street was moved to an industrial site outwith the city until probably April when the depot should be ready to receive all the vehicles.
There has been widespread criticism of the salaries paid to some of the senior staff at TIE. The most criticised aspect has been the fact that high bonuses have been paid, which would normally be linked to achievement. This has been more bad PR for the whole tram project, already associated with lack of achievement. We now need to wait to see what the new Chief Executive of CEC (Mrs Fiona Bruce) will achieve with the project. She has already stated her aim of getting the project completed as soon as possible, but then senior TIE staff have been and gone with the same good intentions. Although TIE is an arm's length council owned company, and has some councillors on its board, the ruling group in CEC claims it cannot control the TIE board. A new hyperlink has been added to the Edinburgh home-page to a Leith Links website, which conscienciously provides links to all press reports relating to the Edinburgh tram project. However, the letters/reactions pages demonstrate some extraordinary ignorance and prejudice,and cannot be taken seriously.
David Mackay, Chairman of Transport Edinburgh Ltd Resigns
Although CEC, (City of Edinburgh Council) are said to have known of his intention to step down, a press release by TIE
appeared in The Scotsman newspaper and on the TIE website announcing David Mackay's resignation with immediate effect. It can be
speculated that stress of the project, as well as internal rumblings at Lothian Buses will have
contributed to his decision to leave the organisation. There are strong feelings among Lothian Buses
staff, and indeed many bus users, against the merger of Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams. The charge being
that the buses will be used to subsidise the trams, and investment in buses will be sacrificed to pay for the
tram project. This ignores the subsidy of several bus routes by either CEC or other organisations.
The Forth Ports development firm has claimed that the trams are vital for the viability of the
waterfront regeneration and wants the line completed from the airport all the way to Newhaven. Perhaps
Forth Ports should have been more forthcoming with the funding it
originally promised to the project.
Meanwhile, at the SNP Annual Conference in Perth, John Swinney, the Scottish Government's Finance
Secretary, originally a strong critic of the tram project, is reported to have "ordered" Edinburgh's
SNP councillors not to oppose the trams. He wants the project to be completed as effectively and
quickly as possible, and is seeking ways to secure funding for the complete line.
Following on from the council meeting on 14th October rumours are strengthening that
there will be a "divorce" between TIE and the consortium, as both sides are maintaining entrenched
positions.
Progress on the Gogar Depot and Business Case Review
With what appears to be a worsening of relations between TIE and Bilfinger-Berger, the main civil engineering contractor, who were reported to have laid off 36 workers and stopped work on parts of the line, including the quite disruptive Gogar Roundabout underpass on the A8, the only work which appears to be ongoing is on the Depot. Thanks to Douglas Scoular for providing the accompanying photgraphs, showing clear progress since the last update. Meanwhile the business case review, which was to have been prepared for the September meeting of City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has been released for debate on 14th October. Much criticism and myth generation has already taken place of and around the paper. However, one of the proposals is that an integrated transport system is created for Edinburgh by merging TIE with Lothian Buses under Transport Edinburgh Ltd, TEL. This is of course not a new idea, and was first proposed many years ago, at the start of the present tram project. However, the CEC is now being accused of "Plundering Lothian Buses to pay for the trams" by some contributors to Speakers' Corner on Newsnet Scotland. It is also proposed, as expected, that phase 1a is constructed incrementally, as funding becomes available.
Depot Area Taking Shape
While progress on the Gogar Depot is
clearly visible, evidence of it elsewhere remains less obvious. The track in Princes Street is about a half mile,
and the only other section of track laid is about a mile over the former guided busway between South Gyle Access and the bridge being
built over the railway at Carrick Knowe. Rumour generation remains, with
some suggesting that the line will only ever be built between the airport and York Place (strongly
denied by TIE and the council's transport convenor), but with the roads between Haymarket
and Princes Street, and Leith Walk being returned to a more "normal" state, and a senior
Lothian Buses official having been heard to say that this seems to point to a staged implementation, it
appears as though TIE is preparing for a staggered introduction of the tram service in anticipation of the
report and revised business case due out in mid-September. This might be beneficial as the increasingly sceptical
public will hopefully have the chance to experience the benefits of a modern tram system, and begin to
demand investment in more lines such as line 3 to the RIE!
While there appears to be occassional work being done at the Newhaven end, most construction work
is definitely on the west line, as shown on TIE's
July publication, and the recently taken accompanying photographs.
New publicity issued by TIE.
Following the usual ill-informed online Twitter and Facebook postings after the Council meeting to debate the Tram Project update on 24th June, TIE issued this statement, which unfortunately did not appear online until Monday 28th June. A more upbeat publication is the July Photo Booklet, available in PDF format from the TIE website.
View of the A8, Gogar Depot and roundabout.
Photo by Ross Scoular.
Project Update Report debated by City of Edinburgh Council.
The update report published on 18th June for City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) (available in PDF format from the TIE website, but shown here online) was debated on 24th June. This report was the most comprehensive and open that has so far been available to the public, and outlined clearly the areas of widespread concern. Satisfaction is expressed about the performance of Siemens and CAF, but while the contractual dispute between TIE and Bilfinger-Berger (BB) was well known, its details were not, especially as the issues were effectively "sub judici". There were 85% more utility pipe and cable moves than originally scheduled for; there have been design related amendments; project-planning delays due to the extra utility moves required, the archeological finds, etc.. Some of the disputes have been settled financially, resulting in a settlement cost of £7·586 million instead of the £18·211 million claimed by BB, which has consistently refused to continue with any work while disputes were under discussion, a stance believed to be contrary to the terms of their contract and causing big infrastructure construction delays.
A new business case is to be presented in September, and options being discussed are
"A revised programme to achieve a best value outcome"
or
"Potential termination of the Consortium Agreement as a result of their failure to meet contractual obligations"
The second choice is complicated by the fact that Siemens and CAF, with whom satisfaction has been expressed, are also part of the consortium along with BB.
At the moment, CEC is looking into contingency funding options, but are not formally requesting additional funding, in spite of earlier reports indicating that the budget would be exceeded. They have stated that of the £545 million budget about £348 million has been used, but this is mainly for heavily up-front loaded expenditure. Ill-informed critics are misinterpreting these figures as indicating that the total cost of this project will exceed £1000 million in view of how little track is currently evident. However, the disputed infrastructure costs are claimed to make up less than half the total projected costs.
Unfortunately, developers such as Forth Ports have defaulted on part of their promised contribution, and it seemed ill-advised of CEC to allow a new hotel development in Leith Walk, being built to take commercial advantage of the tram line, to be let off any contribution to the project cost when other new developments will be compelled to do so, as in Dublin.
Despite false reports by the Evening News paper, strenuously denied by the CEC Transport Convener, and CEO of Edinburgh Trams, the commitment remains to build the whole of line 1 from the Airport to Newhaven. However, there could be a project revision to complete this route in stages according to funding availability.
The motion on the report was debated by CEC and passed with an addendum. (It is also available in PDF format from the TIE website). Suggestions by Cllr Cardownie and MSP Somerville, that a referendum on cancellation of the project should be called, were rejected, as CEC would need to repay all the government funding already received.
New livery confirmed.
As speculated, the new Lothian Buses livery is to be echoed by Edinburgh Trams, and the first vehicle was recently given the new livery, although it is much more subdued in typical Edinburgh understatement. Compare the photograph below with that of the mock-up shown in the 10th November 2009 update.
There is a strong perception that visitors are beginning to turn in favour of the prospect of modern transport for the City, particularly the older and younger generations. Those who remain opposed are probably not public transport users in any case. Experience of light rail abroad, and down south has also given people a taste for the mode of transport. There have now been over 31,000 visitors since the tram went on display on the 27th April.
The 30,000th visitor was a primary school teacher who brought her P2 class.
TIE has released another set of project photographs showing progress over the entire route.
First Tram on display at Princes Street stop.
Late in the evening of Sunday 25th April the first tram arrived in three components on low-loaders. They were unloaded and connected during the night. Commissioning continued for the official key handover ceremony on Tuesday, 27th and subsequent opening of the tram for public viewing. TIE published most of the photographs below on their Facebook site. The tram will probably remain in the centre of town until August, depending on visitor demand.
 |  Each of the three sections being run off the low-loaders. |
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| The three sections and their roof-mounted electrical installations are connected.
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| Internal commissioning and checking continues during the morning. | |
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| George Murray (LRTA Area Officer) in discussion with Kevin Keating (Operations Mobilisation Co-ordinator, Edinburgh Trams) and Inkarigan (Chief Project Engineer, CAF). | Showing the motor per wheel, with no cross-vehicle axle, to cut cornering "squeal". |
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| Jesus Esnaola from CAF presents Cllr Jenny Dawe with a symbolic key to the first tram to arrive in Scotland from the Basque country, having been used at Wildenrath for system testing. | Leader of City of Edinburgh City Council, Jenny Dawe by the controls. Visible are the two double screens acting as wing and rear-view mirrors. |
 After a week of being open to the public, in excess of 10,000 people have visited the tram. Most appear to have been impressed - memories of only shoogly four-wheeled tram vehicles having been dispelled. Hopefully the hostility and effects of the Princes Street disruption will dissipate. Meanwhile, there has been a welcome return by Lothian Buses to the traditional livery of madder and white in place of the "meningitis" livery introduced a few years ago. Hopefully the trams will also sport a version of the more dignified traditional Edinburgh colour scheme. | |
TIE Announce Arrival of First Tram.
The long awaited arrival of the first CAF vehicle was announced today by TIE in the attached press release.
Publications issued by TIE.
Even members of the local LRTA feel that as the western part of the line is mainly on green field sites, progress should be more evident. In the city progress of construction is suffering from the ongoing dispute. However, two more optimistic publications have been issued by TIE, one in the form of a small booklet, and the other is a briefing document from the leader of City of Edinburgh Council, Jenny Dawe.
Planning Application Drawing.
Planning application 09/02589/FUL dated Nov. 2009 obtained through Currie Community Council shows an extract from a drawing by Mott MacDonald of the layout of the area surrounding the Gogar Roundabout where the City Bypass meets the A8. Pedestrian access is shown in blue, and vehicular access in red, with the railway line to Fife accross the upper right. New roundabout turnoff is through a current police observation layby. Work is proceeding on the tunnel under the A8 to join the line towards the Gyle Tram Stop.
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| There is some concern about number of facilities to be crammed into the relatively small area surrounding the Gogar roundabout. Network Rail will be building the Fife line "Edinburgh International Gateway" train station/tram stop in a corner of the site. The A8 road underpass is having a tram and a pedestrian underpass built under it, and the low-loader access road as well as bus and car access to the train station is to have access via the roundabout. | |
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| Three weeks progress on the depot building at Gogar. The road in the background shows the gentle incline to cope with low-loaders transporting tram vehicles to the depot. | |
TIE statement following "rough" media debate.
Following a Board meeting on the 10th March, there was much press discussion about the contract dispute between TIE and Bilfinger-Berger of the construction consortium. Many rumours about dates, costs and line extent were published. Most of the public blog contributions to "The Scotsman" newspaper were seriously uninformed. Although unfortunately in terms of fair play, the consortium is not permitted to issue public statements according to the terms of their contract, TIE has released a statement on their website which it is hoped will calm the debate and dispel the rumours.
Below is also a more comprehensive map of the track relative to features of the city's roads, etc.
Further Construction Work.
TIE/Edinburgh Trams has released a technical drawing of the CAF vehicle. The provision of luggage space seems quite generous in comparison with that available on Trans Pennine Express trains from Edinburgh to Manchester Airport. Is this a reflection on some remaining loyalty to Mr Jeffrey's former post? The seating arrangement shows passengers' ability to maintain a watch on their luggage, giving them a sense of security about their possessions.
Meanwhile construction continues at the Haymarket Station site on the foundations for the tramstop between the train station and Haymarket Terrace. The track will turn left at the facing building (housing TIE's offices) to run off-road parallel close to the railway line.
More utility moves have been started at both the West End, between Haymarket and the Lothian Road/Princes Street junction, and at the Leith end of the line. Unfortunately this kind of essential work makes the tram project unpopular, as people do not seem able to see the long-term benefits beyond the relatively short-term disruption.
TIE has released a short video on their website of some of the test runs being performed at the Siemens Wildenrath test-track. Your client computer will need to have active javascript, and a movie flash player to see this.
More Details on the Trams.
In early December 2009 TIE/Edinburgh Trams published a factsheet on their website in PDF format. This is reproduced here in JPEG format.
Feedback from special interest groups has been incorporated into the refinement of the design, such as the special cantilever seat provided for the visually handicapped, so that a dog lead will not tangle with a seat support, when going between the door and the seat, and a dog can lie down without getting in the way of passengers' feet. For low-demand night running, part of the vehicle can be shut off, so that passengers feel safer. Smoked glass doors, with white bars will be used for this purpose.
Photographs below reproduced with permission of Edinburgh Trams
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The "Lothian Bus Tartan" seat material used on the mock-up has been discarded in favour of "leather" upholstery as used on the premium service Route 100 Airlink buses. This is to give visitors to Edinburgh the same impression on the tram as they presently receive on the Airlink buses.
To date four trams have been completed, two remain at Irun (1 and 4), while the second and third are being used for technical service evaluation at the Siemens Wildenrath test track. This will enable the signalling and control equipment (Siemens equipment will be used in Edinburgh) to be tested in conjunction with the trams. Some of the vehicles will be equipped to lubricate the vertical sides of the track to cut down on cornering squal. This will also be helped by the use of stub axles rather than full bogie width axles, to give a slipping differential effect as used on 4 by 4 vehicles, to further cut down on stress and noise from cornering.
Advance signalling control will give the trams majority priority at light controlled junctions. Clearly with the service frequency total priority would deny other traffic crossing opportunities, particularly in the city centre. As the plans are to run a service from Newhaven to Haymarket at 10 minute intervals, and a service from Newhaven to the Airport at ten minute intervals, the city centre will have a five minute interval service in each direction.
Meanwhile two problems have been highlighted with the tracks having been laid in Princes Street. Edinburgh Trams has issued a leaflet, and warning signs have been put up, to advise cyclists how to ride in the vicinity of tram tracks to avoid being caught by them. The bad weather towards the end of November has had an adverse effect on the road surface quality beside the rails, and gaps have appeared, particularly where the buses cause heavy cornering pressure as they turn into Princes Street. However, this is no different from the damage done to the road surface at most bus stops. But it has given more cause for complaint from the anti-tram lobby.
Serious disruption will be expected soon at the West End, when the stretch between Lothian Road and Haymarket will be constructed. Meanwhile, off-road track laying is continuing over the former 22 guided bus route. There are still contractual discussions taking place over the railway bridges along this stretch.
As can be seen from the map at the end of the recently published factsheet the planned Fife-line interchange stop beside the depot has been given the name of Edinburgh International Gateway to reflect its intended use as an interchange for railway passengers coming across the Forth Bridge heading for Edinburgh Airport.
Princes Street back in use.
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| Looking towards the island tram stop at the foot of the Mound, just after 10 am on Sunday morning. |
Edinburgh's famous main shopping thoroughfare has been re-opened on Sunday morning, 29th November to bus, taxi and cycle traffic, with all the fencing removed, allowing pedestrians to jaywalk again freely, according to the revised timetable. Despite being hampered by very strong winds and heavy rain, construction workers put in an enormous effort on extended shifts of night plus weekend working to get this part of the project finished in time for the Christmas shopping rush. It also means that the street will be available for the City's "Hogmanay Party", although that is more of a pop culture event, with the only traditional Scottish Hogmanay event being staged by the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, but as a patron I would hold that view!
It has been very satisfying that the project so far has had a very good safety record, with no injuries to passers by and very few to tram workers. While work on this part of the City Centre is now finished, until the power lines are introduced, work continues on other parts of the route, and progress is now good in parts where no utilities need moved, such as preparation for track laying on the former 22 busroute reserved guided track.
The route diagrams below show the effect that the current financial situation and politics have had on the tram project. The first diagram shows the original hoped for route layout when the project was launched. But phases 3 and 4 were soon dropped from the scope of the current plans, which is unfortunate, as at Newbridge, just west of the M9/A8 interchange, a new industrial estate is being constructed with no public transport facilities. Phase 2 was postponed earlier this year on financial grounds, as the disagreement between TIE and Bilfinger-Berger would require additional funding to be allocated to phase 1, and the effect on the property market meant that less funding was forthcoming from property developers for allocation to the line from Haymarket to Granton (stops 22 - 14).
Meantime, there has been keen interest from hospital management in line 3, from the City Centre to Little France and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh with its associated medical research park.
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| Original projected tram routes at the start of the project. |
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| Current extent of the project. Note the additional Fife railway line interchange stop between stops 8 and 9 on the West side of the city at the Gogar Depot. The green dots show track crossover locations allowing for short workings. |
Princes Street - Final Three Weeks
The intention is to hand Edinburgh's main thoroughfare back to the City council on 29th November, with a public campaign of
The buses are returning to Princes Street. As can be seen from the photographs below, progress is now quite rapid, involving also
night and weekend working.
Current estimate for completion of the whole project is thought to be February 2012.
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| The driving segment mock-up was moved from Ocean Terminal to outside the Caledonian Hotel in October. Its next move will be to the Gyle. | Access to the island stop at the foot of the Mound will be by pedestrian controlled lights. (Outside the Body Shop). |
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| An undocumented water supply tunnel for the New Town was unexpectedly found, diverted during earlier construction work when the National Gallery was built at the bottom of the Mound. The overall schedule for Princes Street was not allowed to suffer. | |
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| Night and daytime scenes show the track-laying progress at the pedestrian crossing beside the National Gallery in two weeks to 9th November. | |
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| Looking along the entire length of Princes Street, only some track still needs to be embedded, and it is mainly road and pavement finishing work that needs done. | |
Historical Project
In 2006 former Edinburgh horse tram body No.23 dating from 1885/6 was identified in a Borders garden, having been used as a garden shed for 106 years. The owners kindly donated it to the Edinburgh Horse Tram Trust, which is a group of volunteers intent on restoring the vehicle, hopefully in time to be able to participate in the new tram system opening ceremony. Some work has already been done, as the body has been moved to Edinburgh to be worked on by professional coachbuilders. As always with a voluntary project such as this, there is a great need for funds, and anyone seeking more information or willing and able to contribute is asked to e-mail Alan Brotchie.
Progress to date can be guaged from the accompanying photographs.
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| Interior of car as found. Paint being stripped prior to varnishing. | External inscription showing load capacity (18 in and 18 Out). |
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| External state of the car in early October, new bulkheads, platforms and stairs under construction. | New underframe constructed, using ex-Douglas, Isle of Man vehicle parts. |
Construction Status
Budget restraints of the current recession have resulted in the postponement of line 1B from Granton to Haymarket, leaving just the single line 1A to be completed. The dispute with Bilfinger-Berger has caused delays, and cost increases, although these are not as bad as suggested by the press and some irresponsible politicians. Much public ignorance still surrounds the whole project, including the persistent rumour that the line will only run to the Ingliston Park and Ride facility and not to the Airport itself.
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| Tracks will run over this road used also by private hire airport taxis. | Tram terminal will be within green netting within the shuttle bus area. |
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| Green netting (tram stop) as seen from terminal building, not as far as claimed by the anti-tram rumour mill. |
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TIE have announced that the project will still return Princes Street to the City at the end of November, although it has been admitted that elsewhere utility moves have taken longer than expected, as the old utilities had been in place generally for more than a century, and documentation was not as comprehensive as expected.
Progress on Princes Street trackworks.
Construction has been started on the Gogar Depot, after ground water problems due to an unexpectedly high water table had to be overcome.
Construction of the depot.
Meanwhile, Network Rail has conducted a public consultation about a new station, for which the design still has to be approved, to be built beside the Gogar Depot, to provide an interchange with the Fife rail line. Integrated transport interchange!? Whatever next!? This is a replacement concept for the rejected EARL (Edinburgh Airport Rail Link) scheme.
New Chief for TIE
Richard Jeffrey, who was previously the managing director at Edinburgh Airport for six years until 2007 and is also the president of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed as chief executive of tie and will take up the post in May..
Mr Jeffrey lodged an objection to the tram line five years ago when he was at Edinburgh Airport. The objection, which was on the grounds that the proposed tram halt was located in an area earmarked for potential future terminal expansion, resulted in changes to the plans and was settled after negotiations.
Tram works dispute settled
A resolution has been reached in the dispute, which has seen construction work in Princes Street halted for four weeks. Following talks, the work will start on Monday next week.
The dispute between project company tie and their contractors Bilfinger Berger has been ongoing since 21 February and was due to go to arbitration before independent assessors if the latest talks between City Councillors, tie and the consortium were unsuccessful. It is reported that work will begin 'within the present contract and within the present budget envelope'.
Tram mock-op popular
A mock-up of the new Edinburgh tram has been described as 'one of Scotland's busiest visitor attractions' by the city council after 22,000 people visited it in its first week on display The 130ft model is sited outside Jenner's in Princes Street.
The council said a poll of visitors showed 80 per cent were impressed, while TIE said that there was a real sense of excitement among people viewing the mock-up.
Princes Street track works delayed
Track laying works were due to commence in Princes Street on Saturday 21st February 2009 but with the road closures already in place the works have been delayed, according to 'transport initiatives edinburgh', because the Edinburgh Tram Project was given 48 hours notice before the commencement of the works that the tram project consortium, BSC, comprising Bilfinger Berger, Siemens and CAF wished to impose unacceptable conditions as a requirement to start in Princes Street.
The planned implementation of the approved traffic management diversion which involves the removal of all vehicular traffic from Princes Street will still go ahead and it is understood that the tram mock-up will still be exhibited on Princes Street from Monday 23 February. Located outside Jenners, and will be open for visitors until Saturday, 14 March from 11am-6pm.
Stay of execution for tram route to find funding
Plans for the extension to complete line one onwards from Leith to Newhaven and Granton passing through the Waterfront development area which has been under threat is to be given a four-month stay of execution to try to set up funding package to cover a GBP50 million funding shortfall.
If successful work would then begin within months on the Haymarket-Granton "spur" providing the Scottish Government agrees to allow the council to borrow against business tax revenue expected to be generated on the waterfront.
Council give go-ahead to tram
The tram proposals have won the backing of all parties in the City Council except the SNP .
The decision means councillors have now approved the business case and selected the preferred contractors for the project which is BBS, a group comprising Bilfinger Berger and Siemens Group, which was chosen by the council-owned Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (Tie).
It follows the announcement that Spanish firm CAF will supply the trams for the scheme.
Tram scheme survives SNP transport review
The tram system is now expected to be built after Scotland's Nationalist government bowed to the wishes of the Scottish Parliament, which voted 81-47 in favour of the scheme yesterday afternoon (27 June) when MSPs backed a parliamentary amendment by Labour's Wendy Alexander yesterday to go ahead with trams, but within the budget set by the previous Scottish Executive. This came after Audit Scotland had reported that it was satisfied with the robustness of the tram business case although it ha been expected that the executive would stand firm against the tram despite the chances of defeat in parliament.
Watchdog to review trams project
Scotland's spending watchdog, Audit Scotland, has been asked by the Scottish government to urgently review the planned trams and airport rail link for Edinburgh.
Audit Scotland is to submit its report by 20 June while the SNP minority administration is expected set out its position to parliament before the summer break.
Preparatory work delayed
The recent elections in Scotland have brought the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), which is committed to scrapping the tram plans, to power albeit only in a coalition with other parties which support the tram.
So far it has been unclear what the future holds for the trams, although it was thought that the plans might well go ahead as part of the political deal, but there is concern that the project could be halted simply by starving it of further funding.
It has now been announced that the GBP60 million scheme to divert cables and pipes from the capital's streets before tram lines can be built, which was due to start in a couple of weeks, has been put off until at least July. So far it is impossible to say when the issue will be decided, and it may not now be debated in the Scottish Parliament until next month.
Business groups have expressed alarm at the potential loss of the trams, especially as it is reported that up to GBP100 million may have already been spent as part of the preparatory work.
Preparatory work to begin
The Scottish Executive has given approval for preparatory work to start on Edinburgh’s new tram line with the release of GBP60 million of funding. The money will fund the moving of water mains and gas pipes from the path of the tram.
Meanwhile, the procurement process to manufacture and supply trams for the city has entered its final phase with just two of the contenders, Alstom and CAF, remaining on the shortlist.
Alstom-built trams operate in Dublin and many french cities while CAF built the trams for Bilbao, as well as the trains for the Heathrow Express.
Council approve tram scheme
The return of trams to the streets of Scotland's capital after nearly 50 years edged nearer as councillors gave overwhelming approval yesterday to the project's final business plan.
The plan, which was supported by 56 out of the 57 councillors present, will now be submitted to the Executive for final approval in February 2007. If given the go-ahead, which seems highly likely, the first trams would travel along Princes Street in December 2010.
Construction work is hoped to start in April with the relocation of utility pipes and cables underneath the path to be taken by the trams.
It is estimated that more than 30,000 people a day would use the trams in their first year, rising to around three times that number within 20 years.
Business case presented
TIE (transport Initiatives Edinburgh) has presented its business case, compiled by leading transport consultants Steer, Davies and Gleave, to Councillors, This shows that the tram scheme is viable and would deliver hundreds of millions of pounds worth of benefits, has a CBr of 1:63, and also predicts the service will be making an operating profit within two years of its 2010 start date.
The business plan revealed there is enough money in place to build the main Leith to Edinburgh Airport line, and there may be enough left over to complete a spur route to the Granton Waterfront development. The report reveals the cost of the trams has risen by £33m to £592m. However, that new figure includes a 12 per cent contingency fund, which is designed to cover any further increases. If increases do not occur then TIE would have enough money to build both the airport line and the Granton spur, otherwise TIE is still confident of raising the extra funds it would need for the Granton line - which could be up to another £47m - largely from developers.
The report will soon be sent to Scottish ministers and it is hoped they will authorise work to proceed.
Operator chosen
Transdev, the french company who also operate the Nottingham system, has been chosen by transport initiatives edinburgh (tie), as the operator for the new Edinburgh light rail system and on 14 May the Managing Director (Europe) of TRANSDEV, Joel Lebreton visited Edinburgh to sign the deal. The company will now work alongside tie and City of Edinburgh Council to plan and then construct Lines 1 and 2 (North Edinburgh Loop and West Edinburgh Line).
Parliamentary Bills lodged
Two Bills to construct the Edinburgh tram system, Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Bill and Edinburgh Tram (Line 2) Bill, were introduced to the Scottish Parliament on the 29th January 2004. Details of the Bills can be found on the Scottish Parliament website (click on above links).
French study visit
'tie' (transport initiatives edinburgh) is organising a visit to the French city of Lyon in March for community and business groups to alleviate concerns about the effects of introducing the tram sytem. The cost of the visit is being shared between tie and private sponsors.
Shortlist for tram contract:
The shortlist to operate the proposed tram system has been announced as follows:
It is expected that the winner will be announced early in 2004. Whoever wins will be involved in the design process and also will be contractually obliged to negotiate with the other bus and train operators to ensure that a fully-integrated transport system is established.
Bidders for tram contract:
Lothian Buses, the main bus company in Edinburgh, is not bidding but may get involved in the trams scheme, probably as a partner with one of the bidders.
The contract will be to operate and maintain trams to run on lines one and two, rather than get involved in construction. The winning company could also get the contract to operate line three, which will run from the city centre to the south-east and the new Royal Infirmary. TIE has said that the shortlist of companies that had pre-qualified would be decided in the next fortnight.
