Tram bosses admit Evening News was right - shorter line will still cost £545 million

Published on Friday 10 December 2010 13:32

TRAM bosses have confirmed the troubled line will only be built as far as the city centre - less than six months after rubbishing an Evening News story that predicted exactly that.

• The new business case for the beleaguered tram project reveals bosses plan to run it only from the airport to St Andrew Square and not to Leith – just as we said

Tram firm TIE said it hoped to deliver the section of the route from Edinburgh Airport to St Andrew Square within the 545 million budget originally earmarked for the entire line by the end of 2012.

While it said it remained committed to building the full route to Newhaven, further funding remains unclear.

Critics said the confirmation left Edinburgh with "half a tram line for the price of a whole".

Back in June, when the Evening News revealed plans to build the route only as far as St Andrew Square/York Place, TIE accused us of printing "significant untruths". Chief executive Richard Jeffrey said our story was "factually incorrect" and based on "opinion and hearsay".

But in the new business case for the project, the council-owned tram company now admits that "incremental" delivery will see the section between the airport and St Andrew Square up and running first.

The report states that this section of the route is "capable of being delivered within the current funding commitment", with the council required to find an extra 7m for the money lost in developers' contributions by not building the whole line.

HOW TRAM CHIEFS SLATED OUR STORY

"A report by the Evening News today incorrectly states that the tram line will end in the city centre in a new deal to be struck with Bilfinger Berger"

GORDON MACKENZIE

Statement, 23 June 2010

"Your article 'Leithed Out' yet again contains significant untruths . . . Paragraphs 1 and 2 were factually incorrect, the rest of the article is opinion or hearsay"

RICHARD JEFFREY

Letter to the Editor, 23 June 2010

Deputy council leader Steve Cardownie said: "The Evening News was absolutely right about this - it's been one of the worst-kept secrets of all time.

"We will be looking at this new business case very critically. The original promise of a line between the airport and Newhaven and possibly a spur to Granton have now proved to be fanciful in the extreme."

The city's transport convener Councillor Gordon Mackenzie - who issued a statement accusing us of "sensationalist" reporting after our original story - revealed today that contractors had in fact been unwilling to build the route past Haymarket for the money available.

Cllr Mackenzie said: "We expect to get to St Andrew Square within the 545m. The contractor has not shown any appetite to do any more than that and it will be a challenge to get as far as St Andrew Square.

"We will have to look at the finances as we go along, but the commitment is there to build the whole route.

"They (the contractor] don't want to go further than Haymarket because they don't want to get on to any on-street sections."

SNP Lothians MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville, an outspoken critic of the project, said: "Edinburgh is set to get half a tram for the price of a whole.

"The people of Leith have put up with years of disruption, misery and damage to business for nothing in return.

"This project is over 250m over budget already. That is a disgraceful situation."

Alan Rudland, chairman of the Leith Business Association, said the new report was a "shabby outcome" for traders in his part of the city.

He said: "I honestly believe it will be 30 years before we see trams in Leith and I still haven't seen anything to the contrary from TIE.

"That's unacceptable after all the years of hassle we've had."

Tram chiefs now appear to have dramatically rowed back from their desire to sack contractor Bilfinger Berger. All talk now is of some form of settlement being reached.

John Carson, a former head of maintenance at Network Rail, said: "TIE have come to the realisation that they should have two years ago – they need to work with the contractor.

"If this project is going to be built in its entirety, then it's going to cost well over 1 billion. I don't think they will get it past Haymarket for 600m."

A spokesman for TIE said: "We fully stand by our response to the Evening News following the story in June this year, which misconstrued the option of a phased delivery with termination at York Place.

"The story was a speculative one and we had a duty to respond to it. Our commitment has always been construction of the tram route in its entirety.

"A phased delivery remains one option available and the purpose of the recently refreshed business case was to illustrate how strong the economic case is."

A source close to the consortium, of which Bilfinger Berger is part, said: "All we ask for is a clear, concise and correct administration of the contract."

MAKING A CASE

The new business case states that: "A first incremental opening of tram services from airport to St Andrew Square yields near-term benefits, provides a rail link between the city and airport and is believed to be capable of being delivered within the available 545 million.

"A tram operating from the airport to St Andrew Square also secures a high proportion of the economic benefits anticipated and, crucially, is capable of being integrated with Lothian Buses."

It adds: "It is important to consider the affordability and value. If agreement to deliver the project in an incremental basis cannot be achieved . . . the alternative of project cancellation or postponement presents considerable downsides.

"It is envisaged that completion of the airport to St Andrew Square section can be completed by the end of 2012/start of 2013." The contractor has not shown any appetite to do any more than that and it will be a challenge to get as far as St Andrew Square.

"We will have to look at the finances as we go along, but the commitment is there to build the whole route.

"They [the contractor] don't want to go further than Haymarket because they don't want to get on to any on-street sections."

SNP Lothians MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville, an outspoken critic of the project, said: "Edinburgh is set to get half a tram for the price of a whole.

"The people of Leith have put up with years of disruption, misery and damage to business for nothing in return.

"This project is over 250m over budget already. That is a disgraceful situation."

Alan Rudland, chairman of the Leith Business Association, said the new report was a "shabby outcome" for traders in his part of the city.

He said: "I honestly believe it will be 30 years before we see trams in Leith and I still haven't seen anything to the contrary from TIE.

"That's unacceptable after all the years of hassle we've had."

Tram chiefs now appear to have dramatically rowed back from their desire to sack contractor Bilfinger Berger. All talk now is of some form of settlement being reached.

John Carson, a former head of maintenance at Network Rail, said: "TIE have come to the realisation that they should have two years ago - they need to work with the contractor.

"If this project is going to be built in its entirety, then it's going to cost well over 1 billion. I don't think they will get it past Haymarket for 600m."

A spokesman for TIE said: "We fully stand by our response to the Evening News following the story in June this year, which misconstrued the option of a phased delivery with termination at York Place.

"The story was a speculative one and we had a duty to respond to it. Our commitment has always been construction of the tram route in its entirety.

"A phased delivery remains one option available and the purpose of the recently refreshed business case was to illustrate how strong the economic case is."

A source close to the consortium, of which Bilfinger Berger is part, said: "All we ask for is a clear, concise and correct administration of the contract."

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