A year ago, it seemed possible that the Edinburgh trams project could end in tears. Almost everyone involved with the construction of the network was at loggerheads with each other. For most of last year, no work was carried out on building the line.
To try and break the deadlock, the parties agreed to mediation. It was a long and tortuous process. The chief executive of tie (Transport Initiatives Edinburgh, an arm’s-length company set up by City of Edinburgh council to manage the project) resigned. A large number of his senior staff followed. Many of the rest were made redundant in the autumn.
An outside project management company was brought in, along with Transport Scotland, to make sure that construction was brought back on a newly agreed schedule.
One of the few areas where work had continued throughout the dispute was the control centre at Gogar on the outskirts of Edinburgh. This morning, the building was handed over to the council, ready to manage the tram services when they start running in two years’ time – the first real milestone to be reached.
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