Sums don't add up over Edinburgh trams

Her comments about the eventual patronage hide the fact that, even if Line 1 is completed, there will be losses of several millions to fund over the foreseeable future. The approved business case suggests that these could be as large as 8 million year on year. She asks for evidence, I suggests she speaks to TIE.

From the outset the contracts awarded to various construction companies have been, on the council's insistence, surround by confidentiality clauses effectively gagging any response from these contractors. It was not that long ago that Messrs Mackay and Gallagher were reassuring the Edinburgh public that all of these contracts were fixed price and that they, Mackay and Gallagher, would fight the German contractors in the trenches. Gallagher has gone and Mackay has suddenly gone quiet.

Senior members of the council are now briefing journalists to expect settlements to the contractor in the order of 70 per cent in its favour. The value of these claims currently stands at 80m plus and is likely to grow substantially as the work does "not" progress.

Given that TIE claims to have completed 99 per cent of all utility diversions, why was it necessary to award a further two contracts to Farrans and one to Clancy Dowcra for extra work on the supposed completed service diversions?

With regards to progress, recent information released under the Freedom of Information Act puts large sections of the works two years late. These include the section from Russell Road to Edinburgh Park. The recent announcement that Shandwick Place will eventually be closed for a further 18 months would put that section of the work up to 32 months late.

How much more evidence does Ms Dawes need before she wakes up to the fact that Edinburgh stands on a precipice staring into the abyss?

Even if the whole project were abandoned today, it would be difficult to settle the outstanding issues within the budget of 545m. Given that the council will persist with this project, my original estimate of 1 billion looks more and more conservative.

JOHN R T CARSON

Kirkliston Road

South Queensferry

Jenny Dawe, leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, extols her perceived virtues of the capital's trams by comparing the size of one of these vehicles to an Olympic-size swimming pool.

By choosing this odd yardstick, has Ms Dawe deliberately and pointedly steered clear of the more common practice of comparing length with double-decker buses – five of them in this instance?

Edinburgh commuters might well prefer the option of jumping on to one of five buses going to different destinations, rather than one leviathan tram travelling on one single route.

JAMES L SHEARER

Cargilfield View

Edinburgh

Thanks to Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, we now see the trams will cost not 600 million but will more than 1 billion.

The Gogar interchange was estimated at 20 million, but estimates have now doubled to 40m. First Minister Alex Salmond was defeated in Holyrood in trying to block the trams. He said they would be too costly and has been proved right.

Glasgow should thank Alex Salmond for quashing the plans to build a rail link to their airport.

Will this be Edinburgh's disgrace? Shops are going out of business, Edinburgh has a black hole of 90m, 750 workers are facing the chop, while roads and pavements are in a poor state. They should have been a priority and I think our schools could have done with some of this money.

Edinburgh had one of the best bus services in the country. So I hope those who backed the trams' plan are proud of themselves.

HARRY F G BAIN

William Street,

Edinburgh