THE Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has ordered a public inquiry into the chequered history of the Edinburgh trams project.
Trams started running in public service on 31 May, several years behind the original schedule. Although costs have spiralled, only part of one line has been completed. The plans had envisaged three routes, but most of these have remained unbuilt, so that the service only links the city centre with Haymarket and the airport. Other destinations such as Leith and Newhaven have been deleted from the map, although some construction had been carried out in Leith.
Mr Salmond said a judge would be in charge of the inquiry, which will have no power to compel witnesses to co-operate, although it is hoped that evidence will be given by councillors and officials from the former council-owned developer TIE, as well as the contractors.
It was disputes between TIE and the contractors, Bilfinger Berger and Siemens, which accounted for many of the delays and cost overruns. It is reported that the arguments were only ended by a special payment of at least £66 million, which helped to boost the final cost of the 13.5km airport line to £776 million.
The fleet is also about twice the size needed, because enough trams were ordered to serve the original, larger network. Efforts to lease the surplus vehicles to other operators have failed.
The leader of Edinburgh City Council Andrew Burns promised full co-operation at the hearing, but no date has yet been announced.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "The advantages of a non-statutory inquiry are that it can be carried out quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively to ensure that lessons can be learned for the future."