Worldwide Tram Tracker: Edinburgh Tram: City to Airport

Edinburgh Trams is a story of budget blowouts and a half delivered project, but it did result in a tram line from Edinburgh airport to the city. Transport Edinburgh Limited now operates the line after having to deal with disputes with the main contractor, Bilfinger Berger. The project was inherently risky, as new archeological discoveries were found quite often and timelines dragged on during the GFC, causing funding problems. A new inquiry has been announced in November 2014 to compel people to provide evidence on what caused a budget blowout from GBP375 million to GBP776 million, before interest is taken to account.

The line opened in June 2014 from Edinburgh Airport to York Place in the City. In September 2014, it was estimated that annual trips on the new tram would be around 4.7 million. The original plan included trams to Leith, Newhaven and Granton, which are waterfront areas to the north of Edinburgh, that are in need of rejuvenation. The line to these areas was cancelled early in the project in 2009. It will be interesting to see if the original plan is eventually fulfilled.

Bilfinger Berger is a German based company that is also involved in the construction of a light rail project in Cologne, which is expected to be completed in 2017. This project has also had its own problems, with the collapse of an old archive building that caused deaths when tunnelling was being done along the light rail route.

Bilfinger Berger denies wrongdoing

Edinburgh tram vehicles were manufactured in Spain by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, which is the same company that produced the light rail vehicles for Inner West Sydney.

Flickr Photos of Edinburgh Trams: