Edinburgh Trams



Edinburgh Trams is a tramway system which has been under construction in Edinburgh, Scotland, since 2008.

There have been several delays and cost over-runs in the construction of the tramway. The new tram system was originally scheduled to enter revenue service in February 2011. By March 2010, project delays had resulted in the prime contractor revising their estimated completion date to 2014, and by the end of 2010 only 28% of the infrastructure had been completed.

On becoming operational, the trams will be operated by Edinburgh Trams Limited, a company wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council. Originally costed at £375 million in 2003, the budget was later increased to £545 million; in May 2011, it was revealed that £440 million had already been spent on the project. A report issued the following month estimated that the partial completion of the tram line from the airport to the city centre would cost £770 million. A further report issued in August 2011 estimated that the final cost for the proposed line would be over £1 billion, including £228 million interest payments on a 30-year loan to cover the funding shortfall.

The project has suffered from contractual disputes between the contractors and Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (tie), the tram project management company. After mediation talks in early 2011, a deal to enable contractors to return to work on priority locations was arranged in May 2011. Later in the year, tie was relieved of its responsibilities and wound down, being heavily criticised for its handling of the project.

Until June 2011, the proposed network consisted of one line running east-west across the city from Edinburgh Airport to Newhaven, with future extensions subject to further funding. , this line has been reduced to the section from the airport to St Andrew Square in the city centre, due to cost over-runs. On 29 November 2011 it was announced that the City of Edinburgh Council's City Development Department had agreed that the line should be slightly extended from St Andrew Square to York Place.

In August 2011 the First Minister, Alex Salmond, announced that a public inquiry will be held into the project at an unspecified future date.

History
Edinburgh's previous tram system, Edinburgh Corporation Tramways, ran from 1871 until it was decommissioned on 16 November 1956. Since then public transport services consisted of buses and a limited network of local rail lines. Towards the end of the 20th century, there was revived interest in tramways and light rail transport, and several British cities such as Manchester and Nottingham introduced new light rail transit systems. Various schemes were proposed in the 1990s, and a plan to build a line along Princes Street and Leith Walk to Newhaven pier was unveiled in 1999 by the City of Edinburgh Council, Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise and the New Edinburgh Tramways Company (NET). Following years of transport studies in Edinburgh, two bills were submitted to the Scottish Parliament to reintroduce a tram network to Edinburgh. Both bills were passed in March 2006, and received Royal Assent in April/May.

In May 2004, the 15-year operating contract for Edinburgh Trams was awarded to Transdev. Trading as Transdev Edinburgh Tram Ltd, the transport company was expected to operate and maintain the tram network, and support the project planning.

Critical scrutiny
The future of the Edinburgh Trams project came under threat in 2007 when the Scottish National Party (SNP) published in its manifesto for the Scottish Parliamentary election its intention to cancel the scheme, along with the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link, in order to save a total of £1.1bn.

In the debate on the Government's Transport program various opposition politicians made statements defending the Edinburgh Trams project. In particular, Labour MSP Wendy Alexander said "The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change claimed that the costs were out of control, but they are not."

Following a vote which it lost in the Scottish Parliament, the SNP-led minority Scottish Government agreed to continue with the line from the Airport to Leith on condition that no more public money would be supplied if the project overran. A report by Audit Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, confirmed that the cost projections were sound.

Initial costs for the scheme were £498 million, with £375 million funding from the Scottish Government and £45 million by Edinburgh council.

On 25 October 2007 the City of Edinburgh Council gave approval to the Final Business Case. Approval was given by the Council on 22 December 2007 for tie to sign contracts with CAF for the supply of the vehicles and BBS (a consortium of Siemens and Bilfinger Berger) for the design, construction and building of the network. Contract negotiations were concluded in April 2008 with construction of the network commencing in June 2008.

Project revisions and delays
During the period 2008-09, the tram project was criticised for delays to the infrastructural works, in particular the closure of Princes Street. Transport Initiatives Edinburgh underwent some organisational change at this time; in November 2008 Willie Gallagher stepped down as executive chairman of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh. David Mackay, then Chairman of Transport Edinburgh Limited, took over as interim chairman until he was replaced in May 2009 by Richard Jeffrey.

In April 2009, Phase 1b of the tram construction project was cancelled due to financial problems. Ongoing contractual disputes also delayed track-laying work in the city centre. In December 2009, there were media reports that the project budget was running over £545 million, and that the tram system was likely to come into operation at least seven months late, putting the launch date back to February 2012 or later. Reports in January 2010 suggested that certain important milestones of the construction schedule had slipped by up to two years. In March 2010, Bilfinger Berger announced that the construction work would be delayed by a further 30 months, with an estimated completion date in 2014. However, this estimate was disputed by the Council, which claimed a completion date in 2012 was still feasible.

The operating contract with Transdev was also cancelled in December 2009 in order to reduce costs; the trams will instead be operated by Edinburgh Trams Limited, a company wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Funding crisis
Following further disputes and delays to the project, it was reported in March 2010 that Edinburgh City Council were considering cancelling the contract with Bilfinger Berger. By June 2010, the cost of the project had risen to £600 million or more. City Council project managers were reported to be in crisis talks, considering a number of options including: borrowing an extra £55 million to fund the increased costs; phasing the introduction of the tram line, so that trams would initially run only between the Airport and Haymarket; and terminating the contract with Bilfinger Berger. The Council asked tie to draw up detailed costs for truncating the tram line at four possible termini: Haymarket station, York Place, the foot of Leith Walk or Ocean Terminal.

In May 2011, it was announced that contractors would return to work at priority locations (Haymarket Yards, Gogar roundabout and the depot) while the future of the project was decided. In addition a 10-month programme of remedial work on the Princes Street tram lines laid in 2009 was announced. The same month, Richard Jeffrey resigned as Chief Executive of tie after two years in the job. Shortly after Jeffrey's resignation, four non-executive directors and the communications director of tie also resigned. This was followed by the introduction of a voluntary redundancy scheme aimed at halving the headcount of the company. In August 2011, it was announced that further redundancies would be made following the appointment of international consultancy Turner & Townsend to take over management of the project from tie. Tie itself was disbanded as a company and the directors were awarded severance payment totalling £406,635.

On 30 June 2011, the City of Edinburgh Council voted to continue with the project (albeit only between Edinburgh Airport and St Andrew Square), with costs having risen to an estimated £770m, leaving the Council with a shortfall of more than £200m. The option of scrapping the project was considered, but rejected. On 25 August 2011, the Council voted to cut the line further to run only between the airport and Haymarket, reducing the expected cost to £715m. However, a week later, after the Scottish Government threatened to withhold £72 million of funding, they reversed this decision, restoring the terminus at St Andrew Square. On 29 November 2011 it was announced that the eastern terminus of the tram line would be at York Place instead of St Andrew Square; the intention had been to build the tracks to a reversing point at York Place (but without a stop for passengers). By extending passenger services from St Andrew Square to an additional stop at York Place this would enable Broughton Street, Picardy Place and the surrounding area to be better served (at comparatively little additional cost).

Construction


Until August 2011, the tram system construction project was overseen by Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (tie), a company wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council, who were responsible for project-managing the construction of the tramway.

Once the draft business case had been accepted by the Scottish Government, initial construction work and the movement of underground utilities commenced in Spring 2007, based on a design by System Design Services (SDS, a joint design contract led by Parsons Brinckerhoff and Halcrow).

In May 2008 final contracts to build the tram system were awarded to BSC, a consortium of Bilfinger Berger/Siemens (BBS) and tram builder CAF, and construction of the tram infrastructure commenced.

The initial system is to use a mix on-street running and (west of Haymarket) segregated off-road track, with conventional tram stop platforms. Stops will be fitted with shelters, ticket machines, lighting and CCTV. The network will be operated from a depot at Gogar, close to the A8 roundabout, just north of the Gyle tram stop.

The route of the tram line requires the construction of new bridges to cross the railway lines at Edinburgh Park and Stenhouse and a tunnel under the A8 near the Gogar roundabout. Existing bridges at Balgreen, Roseburn, Coltbridge and Craigleith will also have to be widened, and the Murrayfield Viaduct must also be adapted for trams to pass under it. The works to build a tram interchange at Haymarket station involved the demolition of a Category C(S) listed building, the former Caledonian Alehouse on Haymarket Terrace.

The on-street sections of track are being laid into a special foundation with cobbled road surfacing designed to be sympathetic with the existing style of Edinburgh streets. Trams are to be powered by overhead cables which will be suspended either from specially erected poles or from buildings. There are to be nine electrical substations which will be both underground and above ground.

Construction phases


The original proposal consists of three lines, of which only Lines 1 and 2 received parliamentary permission (see Original proposal below). Funding the construction of the entire network was not possible, and for this reason the construction of the remaining two lines was split into four phases:


 * Phase 1a would incorporate the construction of an 11.5 mi line from Newhaven to Edinburgh Airport via Princes Street, combining parts of Lines 1 and 2.
 * Phase 1b would involve the construction of a 3.5 mi line from Haymarket to Granton Square via Crewe Toll, comprising most of the remainder of Line 1.
 * Phase 2 would link Granton Square and Newhaven together, completing the Line 1 loop.
 * Phase 3 would have the airport line extended to Newbridge, completing Line 2.

Funding problems and political disputes have led to these construction plans being further scaled back. In April 2009, Edinburgh City Council announced the cancellation of Phase 1b of the project, citing problems caused by the global recession, saving an estimated £75 million. The decision meant that the construction of the line to Granton would not go ahead for the foreseeable future. By September 2011, the Phase 1a line had been reduced to the section between the airport and St Andrew Square only, abandoning the city centre to Newhaven section of the line. The short extension from St Andrew Square to York Place was announced on 29 November 2011.

Contractual disputes
In February 2009 work on the Princes Street section of the works was stopped due to contractual disagreements between tie and the construction BSC consortium. BSC reportedly submitted a late request for an additional £80 million funding which tie was unable to meet. Dave Anderson, Edinburgh City Council’s Director of City Development, expressed the view in an interview with the BBC's You and Yours radio programme, that the contractors' claims were unjustified as they had agreed to fixed-price contracts and to bear the project risks. After negotiations, BSC agreed to commence construction work in March 2009 within the original budget, although ongoing disagreements remained. Work recommenced and line construction went ahead. In August 2009, tie began legal proceedings against the BSC consortium over delays to the project, and track-laying works on Leith Walk, Shandwick Place and Haymarket were suspended pending the outcome. At issue were a number of alleged changes to BSC's work specification, including track works on Princes Street and £5 million additional costs on foundation work near Murrayfield Stadium. The BSC consortium also alleged that tie had not diverted the underground utilities in time for track-laying to begin, thus breaching contractual agreements and costing the consortium additional staffing expenditure. In January 2010 the independent arbiter found in favour of tie on some points, but on most of the disputed issues the arbiter ruled in favour of BSC and awarded the consortium 90% of their additional costs, estimated to be worth up to £80m.

Delays in track laying and depot construction have affected tram vehicle testing. By September 2009 the construction work was reported to be nine months behind schedule, and CAF was due to deliver the first newly-built tram vehicles from its factory in Spain. With a key project dependency out of synchronisation, tie held discussions with Transport for London about delivering the trams to Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon to conduct operational tests on the Tramlink network. In the end, tram vehicle testing commenced in March 2010 on the Siemens test track in Wildenrath, Germany, and in August 2011 Tramlink ordered new trams from Stadler Rail.

The tests included artificially recreating the steep gradients of Leith Walk and using weights to simulate the heavy passenger load expected during a Murrayfield match day.

Criticism
Ongoing delays in the tram works have been criticised by local businesses, who claim their income has been adversely affected by long-term road closures in the centre of Edinburgh since 2008, and by Edinburgh residents who have voiced dismay over the delays. Construction project delays have also been criticised for causing an obstruction across the city during the 2009 Edinburgh Festival and Fringe. Construction was halted once again in January 2010 due to freezing temperatures.

Cycling groups in the city have voiced safety concerns after some cyclists suffered accidents when their bicycle wheels became caught in tracks. They also reported that the road surface around the tracks was crumbling, raising further safety problems. In response, tie carried out road repairs and Edinburgh Trams agreed to fund special training for local cyclists. Further safety concerns have been raised by residents along the tram routes about the suspension of overhead electric cables from residential buildings, with some property owners refusing to give permission for the cables to be attached.

On September 2011, Princes Street was closed again to all traffic for around 10 months to allow repairs on the crumbling tarmac around the tram lines before they have even been used.

City centre residents filed a complaint with the UNECE Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee in December 2011, arguing that traffic diversions through residential streets during the protracted construction of the tramline has resulted in increased pollution and noise, to the detriment of residents' health. The Council countered that monitoring was ongoing and no sites data breached EU limits.

Further road closures in the West End were implemented on 23 March 2012. The roadway from Haymarket up to and including Shandwick Place is now closed to traffic until July 2013.

Although not indicated on the Edinburgh Trams web site, the notice to residents stated that part of the works to be carried out, in the order of seven weeks, is the re-excavation of all the services and utilities moved during the previous extended partial closure of this thoroughfare. The necessity for this work was not identified by Edinburgh Trams.

Delivery
The first electric wires were energised in October 2011 above newly laid track within the depot at Gogar. Testing of trams began in December 2011 on the first part of the line to be completed (adjacent to the depot at Gogar, approximately 500m in length). On 15 December 2011 the depot was officially handed over from the contractors to the City of Edinburgh Council.

Original proposal


The original 2001 proposal for Edinburgh Trams envisaged three routes across the city, Lines 1, 2 and 3; the first being a circular route running around the northern suburbs, with the other two forming radial lines running out to Newbridge in the west and to Newcraighall in the south respectively. All lines would run through the city centre. After Line 3 was shelved, Lines 1 and 2 were combined and split into three phases, with Phase 1 being further divided into Phase 1a and 1b. only the construction of part of Phase 1a (a single line running from the airport to the city centre) is envisaged, with the development of additional phases shelved due to lack of funding and (in the case of Line 3) Scottish Parliamentary approval.

Line 1 (North Edinburgh)


Line 1 was planned to be a 15.25 km circular route with 22 stops running around the northern suburbs, following a route from the City Centre, St Andrew Square, York Place, Picardy Place, down Leith Walk to Leith and Newhaven. The line would then run along the waterfront to Granton, where it would then loop back, taking over the disused Caledonian Railway route between via Crewe Toll to Wester Coates and Haymarket. Upon reaching Haymarket, trams will return to on-street running mode and head back along Princes Street.

Line 1 comprised 2.3 km of on-street track integrated with other traffic, 2.7 km of segregated track running along existing roads, and 10.5 km separate tramway. The on-street sections of track would be in the centre of the road in some locations and at the kerbside in others. On the disused line to Granton, the tram line would be integrated with cycle and pedestrian pathways along the Roseburn wildlife corridor.

In the initial Phase 1a of the project, only the Newhaven-Leith Walk-Princes Street section of this route will be operational, with trams then continuing west to the airport (Line 2 route). Further construction of the Line 1 loop (Phase 1b of the project) was cancelled in 2009 due to financial constraints, postponing construction of the Haymarket-Granton section of this line indefinitely. Phase 2, which would complete the loop with a line from Granton Square to Newhaven, also remains unfunded.

Line 2 (West Edinburgh)


Line 2 would have been an 18 km route from the City Centre out to Edinburgh Airport via Edinburgh Park, with a branch line to Newbridge and a total of 19 stops. The airport route was subsequently incorporated into Phase 1a of the project. The branch to Newbridge is dependent on funding becoming available for Phase 3 of the construction project.

In Phase 1a, from St Andrew Square to Haymarket, there is a 1.4 mi line of on-street track integrated with other traffic along Princes Street and Shandwick Place. At Haymarket station, the tram line will diverge from the road and run down a segregated tramway via Haymarket Yards. The Line 1 branch north towards Granton (Phase 1b) would be located at the bridge over Russell Road. The Phase 1a line will continue west, past the Haymarket rail depot and Murrayfield Stadium. Trams will then move onto a dedicated track running parallel to the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line, briefly crossing south of the railway to serve Sighthill and Edinburgh Park, before heading north, parallel to the City Bypass to the Gyle. The tramway will then pass under the A8 road just the east of the Gogar Roundabout, turn west over green belt land, and then north behind the Hilton Hotel and alongside the Gogar Burn to a terminus within the existing airport bus station.

The planned branch to Newbridge would begin at the Ingliston stop, continuing west past the Royal Highland Showground, before crossing onto the central reservation of the A8. It would then turn south via Ratho Station to rejoin the Glasgow main line. At Harvest Road trams would switch to street-running mode again, sharing the road with traffic to the Newbridge industrial estate before crossing the A89 road and terminating at the Newbridge roundabout.

A preliminary guided bus service along part of the future route of Line 2, Fastlink, opened in December 2004. This concrete track, which runs parallel to the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line from Saughton to Edinburgh Park, was intended to be converted to a tram track, eventually replacing the guided bus service with the tram line.

On 27 September 2007, the Scottish Government announced the cancellation of the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link, a separate project to link mainline rail services to Edinburgh Airport. As an alternative, the government plans that an additional stop is built adjacent to a proposed Gogar railway station be constructed. This newly-built rail station and tram stop would provide interchange on the Fife Circle Line with airport tram services. Costs for this have not been stated and would be in addition to the currently budgeted-for amount.

Line 3 (South East Edinburgh)


The proposals also featured a third tram line, which would run from the City Centre to the southern suburbs. The route was not finalised, but proposals indicated a preferred route would cross North Bridge and the Royal Mile, heading south past the University of Edinburgh, along Nicolson Street. An alternative route suggested trams could bypass the congested Nicolson Street and Clerk Street section by turning right into Nicolson Square and heading south along Potterrow. Southbound trams would return to Newington Road via West Preston Street, and a northbound track would run along Causewayside. A segregated track was proposed to cross Cameron Toll, and after crossing the Inch Park, trams would then run down the Old Dalkeith Road towards the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and finally terminating at Newcraighall railway station park and ride. An extension to Musselburgh was also considered. City councillors also suggested that a route via London Road might be considered as an alternative extension to the network.

Line 3 was not approved by the Scottish Parliament and has not been funded. Funding for the line depended on Edinburgh voters agreeing to a congestion charge, which was rejected in the Edinburgh road tolls referendum in 2005. Following the referendum defeat, Edinburgh City Council applied to the Scottish Government for £198 million funding for the line, but this request was turned down. As such, the proposal is on hold indefinitely and does not form part of the approved phases, but the land needed for the line will be protected for at least 10 years.

Other proposals
In addition to the three routes selected by transport planners, other proposals were put forward for inclusion in the tram network. Local campaigning groups have suggested that it would be possible to re-open the Edinburgh South Suburban Railway as an extension to Edinburgh trams. This proposal was rejected by the Scottish Parliament on ground of cost and the line will not be re-opened for the foreseeable future.

Vehicles


The contract to build a fleet of 27 trams, sufficient for both the Phase 1a and 1b lines was awarded to the Spanish rail equipment manufacturer CAF and is worth up to £40 million.

CAF was selected by competitive tender from a list of four rail vehicle manufacturers, the others being Alstom, Bombardier, and Siemens. CAF has supplied light rail vehicles for a number of other European tram networks, including EuskoTran in Bilbao and MetroCentro in Seville, Spain, and for the Antray system in Antalya, Turkey. The company also supplied new NIR Class 3000 trains for Northern Ireland Railways and (with Siemens) built rolling stock for the Heathrow Express service in London.

The Edinburgh trams, built to meet tie's specifications, will be bi-directional, 42.8 m long and built with low-floor access to meet UK Rail Vehicle Access Regulations for disabled people. Passenger capacity will be 332 with 80 seated and 250 standing and the trams will be fitted with CCTV.

A number of special requirements have been specified for the tram vehicles: they will have to cope with the steep slopes of Edinburgh streets, operate with low noise and offer a visual fit suitable for a World Heritage Site. The particular requirements were specified by tie with the aim of designing an advanced tram system tailored for the needs of Edinburgh.

A full size mockup of the front of the proposed tram was constructed in 2009 and put on display on Princes Street for the public to view, later moving to Constitution Street at the foot of Leith Walk in April 2009. There is also a tram front mock up at the Gyle Shopping Centre next to the bus stop.

On 28 April 2010, the first real full-length tram was delivered to Edinburgh, and was put on display (on its rails) at the Princes Street stop at the bottom of The Mound until November 2010. It was subsequently moved to open storage in Broxburn.

Livery
To create a visual continuity between the tram fleets and local bus services, Edinburgh tram vehicles will have the same livery as that of Lothian Buses. The prototype CAF trams seen to date have all been decorated with the "harlequin" design which was introduced on Lothian Buses in the 1990s. Following the announcement of a rebranding of the bus fleet in April 2010, Lothian Buses are reintroducing their traditional madder and white livery, and the Edinburgh tram fleet will now be painted in a matching colour scheme.

Ticketing and fares
Ticketing and fares will be fully integrated with Lothian Buses. The fare for a single journey on the tram network will be the same as on Lothian Buses, expected to be over £1.40 when the network opens. Day tickets and Ridacards will be valid on both the trams and buses.

At the request of Lothian Buses installation of 30 ticket machines at key bus stops began in 2007. These allowed passengers to purchase tickets before boarding their bus reducing dwell times and giving more time for tourists to select the right ticket for their journey. The ticket machines were to have been modified to issue tram tickets once the service began. However, due to lack of popularity with users the machines were scrapped in 2011. It is still planned to install similar on-street ticket machines at tram stops before the tram service opens.

Journey times and frequency
The tram is proposed to operate every 10 minutes, with a journey time claimed of "approximately 20 minutes from Haymarket to the airport", with service from 06:00 to midnight Monday to Saturday (07:00 start on Sunday).

Currently the Airlink bus services the Princes St–Airport route. Departures are every 10 minutes between 7am and 12:40 am. 24 hr service operates, departing at 15 and 30 minute intervals before and after this main period respectively. Journey times are 30 minutes from Waverley railway station (about 10 minutes East of Haymarket) to the Airport.