Trams depot work 'running two years behind schedule'

A KEY element of the city's £545 million tram project could be around two years behind schedule, a leading construction expert warned today.

The claim by John Carson, a former director of maintenance for Network Rail, is strongly disputed by tram firm TIE, which said work at the Gogar depot was only nine months delayed, as revealed by the Evening News last month.

Mr Carson, the former head of Miller Civil Engineering, said the final business case for the project showed construction work at the tram depot should have started at the end of February last year.

He said work to move 141,000 cubic metres of earth in preparation for the construction phase had begun 16 months late and still had around seven-and-a-half months to run, meaning building work faced a combined delay of more than 23 months.

Last month, tram chiefs admitted work at Gogar was already nine months behind schedule, potentially pushing the completion date into 2012.

But Mr Carson today said the "incompetent" leadership of the project now meant the end date could be closer to 2014, with a final price tag of closer to £1 billion. He said: "Things are so far behind because of the incompetence and arrogance of the council, who thought they could deliver a project of this size."

The tram company said the engineering expert had taken the information "out of context" and was presenting a skewed picture of the progress that had been made. Work at Gogar had begun in April and was progressing well TIE said.

Susan Clark, deputy director of the tram project, said: "As indicated to Mr Carson in our response to his query, the construction programme for the construction of the tram depot at Gogar is currently nine months behind. Progress on the site is going very well, with excavation being carried out ahead of programme. This part of the work is not on the project's main critical path, therefore its impact on the overall delivery of the tram project can be minimised.

"Taking information out of the overall context of the larger programme can lead to misinterpretation which is why the overview of the factual information is essential. We are working hard with the tram consortium to revise the current programme and as announced in the Evening News, we will be announcing the revised opening date in due course.

"It is expected that the delay to the project as a whole will be a matter of some months."

The site next to Gogar Roundabout will house the tram depot, a tram stop and all of the main signalling and electrical equipment for the tram line.

The Evening News understands that engineers have encountered a series of problems on the site, including complications on diverting a huge water pipe which runs under the A8 close to the Gyle Shopping Centre.

Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, the council's transport convener, said: "Speculation, based on small pieces of specific programme information out of context of the whole programme, is unhelpful and misleading."

The first tram cars are expected in Edinburgh next April, and once the depot is completed, a stretch between Gogar and Edinburgh Park will be used for trials.