Edinburgh tram inquiry - final report published

A "litany of avoidable failures" was to blame for the delayed Edinburgh Trams project, a public inquiry has concluded. 

 

The 957-page report of the inquiry chaired by Lord Hardie, to determine why the initial Edinburgh tram project incurred delays and cost over-runs, was published on 19 September.  

 

In 2008, the line from the airport to Newhaven was estimated to cost £545M and to open in 2011. However a truncated line from the airport to York Place finally opened in 2014 at a cost of £835.7M while the Newhaven extension only opened earlier this year - 12 years later than planned. The complete line cost £1.043bn - nearly double the original estimate.  

 

Most of the criticism in the report is directed at Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE), the arm's length project management organisation set up by the City of Edinburgh Council, though the Council itself and ministers in the Scottish government are also party blamed.  

 

Amongst the 24 recommendations are several relating to business case assumptions, particularly that contract negotiations should not take place until the design, approval and utility diversions have been firmed up, along with all appropriate risk assessments having been completed.  

 

The full cost of the inquiry was £13M and it took more than 9 years to complete. All the parties identified are taking time to digest the findings before making statements on their position.