Tram track record

I AGREE with TIE chief Richard Jeffrey (Letters, 13 August) that it would be unreasonable to expect a major project like the Edinburgh trams to be implemented without the promoter “ever putting a foot wrong”.

Unfortunately, in this case we are talking about rather more than a foot. To be more specific, we are talking about a project where the cost per mile has risen from around £27 million to at least £50m in five years, the route mileage has shrunk from 19 to 12 miles, there is no completion date in sight, and virtually all on-street construction work has ceased indefinitely.

Meanwhile, in Manchester they are racing ahead with their tramline extensions, on time and on budget, despite these including extensive utility diversions and on-street track-laying which have been the downfall of the Edinburgh project.

If lessons are to be learned, one must surely be that the project manager should have a proven track record of efficient implementation of similar tram projects elsewhere, something which TIE simply does not have.

ROBERT DRYSDALE

Primrose Bank Road

Edinburgh