Edinburgh tram project suffered ‘litany of avoidable failures’, inquiry finds

Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (Tie), the delivery company set up and wholly owned by City of Edinburgh Council, has been accused of incurring a “litany of avoidable failures”, which caused delays and increased the costs of building Edinburgh’s tram. 

The tram line runs an 8.7 mile (14km) route from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre. The line opened in 2014, five years later than planned and £400m over budget. 

The delays and cost increases of the line triggered the launch of an inquiry, which has been looking into the scheme for the past nine years.

The concluding inquiry report highlights the principal causes of the project’s failure, including a departure from the initial procurement strategy; a failure to work collaboratively with the council and other partners; delays in design production due to poor performance by contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff; and an underestimation of the costs of the project and the risks involved. 

“Poor management and abdication of responsibility on a large scale have had a significant and lasting impact on the lives and livelihoods of Edinburgh residents and the reputation of the city,” said Lord Hardie, who chaired the enquiry.

Hadie added that “Tie’s failures were the principal cause of the failure to deliver the project on time and within budget”, but said that the council “must also share principal responsibility with Tie for the delays in design”.

The report found the cost of the first section of the tram was about £836m – a higher figure than the £776m estimated by the council. The complete line cost £1.043bn.

In light of the findings, the council apologised, stressing “serious mistakes were made” during the scheme. Nonetheless, Cammy Day, the council’s leader, also stressed the success and popularity of the tram line.

“There’s no getting away from the fact that the original project caused a great deal of disruption to residents and businesses, as well as damaging the city’s reputation, and on behalf of the council I want to apologise for this,” he said. “I won’t, however, apologise for building a tram system or for our ambition to develop it further.”

Mairi McAllan, Scotland’s current transport minister, has dismissed the report’s findings, stating that the inquiry “took too long, was too costly and in some instances the evidence heard does not support the conclusion drawn”.

The report concluded with 24 recommendations to avoid similar failures in the future. It also called for new laws that would allow for civil and criminal sanctions against individuals or companies that knowingly submit reports that include false statements to councillors.