The £592M Edinburgh tram is set to pass its final hurdle, as Edinburgh councillors prepared to approve the submission of the business case as Surveyor went to press.
But Scottish Nationalists and some residents’ groups pledged to fight on following the decision of the full council on 21 December.
Transport Initiatives Edinburgh said the scheme represented good value for money, with £1.63 of benefits for every £1 – better than the re-opening of the Borders railway, which the Scottish Executive has committed funding to. It estimated the tram would be running at a profit by its second year, with 11M passengers forecast for 2011, when it is expected to start operation, due to increase to 16M by 2012.
TIE expects Transport Scotland to provide £500M of the total £545M phase one capital cost, which would be the bulk of a planned loop serving Edinburgh’s city centre and the airport. A further £47M would be needed to deliver a planned spur to Granton, a rundown area on the Firth of Forth which the council has earmarked for major development.
The cost estimates will be confirmed once the main contract to build the scheme has been let, expected by next July. Some elements are known – the £40M contract with Alfred McAlpine for utility diversions, and four bids have been received to provide the vehicles.
Work could start on site as early as next March. However, while TIE insists that the ‘silent majority’ wants the tram – an opinion poll it commissioned suggested that 48% supported the scheme while 37% opposed it (Surveyor, 20 July) – noisy opposition to the scheme continues.
Some residents believe the route is too limited, and are concerned about the potential impact on Transport Edinburgh Ltd (TEL), the council-owned bus company.
But Willie Gallagher, TIE chairman, said: ‘The business case shows how the integration of tram with bus through timetabling, common ticketing and interchange facilities will support TEL as a profitable business.’
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