Letters: Apply tram brakes before cost hits £1.5bn

In the discussion about the future of the trams, there is little focus on the rationale for such a system. Edinburgh has severe problems with car traffic, masked to some extent by the current economic climate.

The proposal to improve the city's transport provision by funding it with a congestion charge was a viable solution to this long-standing problem. At the moment, the proposed tram line to St Andrews Square seems the best we can hope for, but it will not address the underlying problem nor meet expected demand from waterfront developments.

As an interim solution a bus-based system running from the airport to Leith could be implemented using the off-road tram infrastructure, much of which is built, and the already identified tram pathways through the city's streets.

This would provide an operational transport system sooner and it could be extended to serve Tram Line 3 to the Royal Infirmary. The infrastructure could be upgraded to cater for trams as and when finance became available. And the introduction of congestion charging would provide finance and a cushion against the rapid rise in car traffic when there is an economic upturn.

Archie Burns

Independent transport consultant

Pittville Street

Edinburgh

YOUR article (24 June) makes some assertions that I fear the report and its authors Tie/Edinburgh City Council could not substantiate.

Three years ago I predicted that the project was out of control and would cost more than 1 billion.

But Tie claimed the project was on time and on budget. Unlike Tie, I have moved on, and my current prediction is that it will cost almost 1.5bn to complete the tram system to Newhaven. Simple arithmetic confirms this.

Tie, meanwhile, seems to have been allowed to write its own death warrant; will this result in some death-bed confession? I fear not.

Like all previous reports its latest is devoid of certainty on delivery, and there are many obstacles in the way, which would lead me to predict it will cost more than 900 million for the tram system to St Andrew Square.

For instance, there are 300 fibre-optic cables in Shandwick Place which Tie has no notion about moving. They are protected by law, owned by disparate telecom companies whose resolve would make moving them akin to herding cats. The cost and delay of this is not factored into Tie's 770m price tag.

The revelation by veteran Liberal Democrat John Barrett that the utility diversions are less than 70 per cent complete raises other questions such as the completeness of the service diversions in the streets on the way to the Square.

The entire project, in my opinion, should be stopped and the assets mothballed, an option not considered in this report.

John R T Carson

Kirkliston Road

South Queensferry

WE hear lots about the capital costs of Edinburgh tram options. What about future running costs? They may be the best argument for scrapping the whole project as soon as possible.

We should not risk the loss of our present good bus service just to avoid embarrassment over the tram farce.

David Stevenson

Blacket Place

Edinburgh

Does anyone seriously believe that the single tram line from Edinburgh Airport to the Leith waterfront will be completed for less than 1 billion? On past evidence it will cost twice that.

Edinburgh's topology is not suited to trams. It appears that having a tram system has become a totem, applauded by greens and Chambers of Commerce alike.

I hope the SNP government will have the courage to stick to its guns and stop this folly in its tracks.

Hamish Dewar

Craiglockhart Grove

Edinburgh

Who is councillor Gordon Mackenzie? An avatar for all that is wrong with the tram "project". What is Gordon Mackenzie going to do next? Spend more of our money on this folly. Why is Gordon Mackenzie still in a job and when is Gordon Mackenzie going?

Howard Lewis

Hailes Avenue

Edinburgh