Edinburgh tram system a joke.

Tommo21

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The initial cost of the Scottish parliament building was around 55 million and ended up around 430 Million. Don’t ask how this difference can be justified on an eyesore of a building.

Now we have a new tram system that, I guarantee, will run to hundreds of millions over budget and it’s not long started. Edinburgh council is now taking legal action against the contractor and the odd time I pass princess street there seems to be one guy working for four guys standing, it’s a total joke.

So, here is my solution. Abandon the project NOW and fill in the holes……job done.
 

SS2

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It is a total farce Tommo. The city is a mess, the roads are worse than ever and our beautiful capital city will wear the scars of this, both physically on its roads and financially in its accounts, for many years.
 

Boabski

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edinburgh is a total nightmare for going into these day, it was bad enough with the traffic wardens on you like a shot now with this tram system being built streets are shut off, diversions here and there , total nightmare
 

Adi2Dassler

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The trams in Edinburgh are an utter disgrace and an embarrasment to the council.They used to have an embargo on any road works during August, for obvious reasons, but this year is a total disgrace.The top of Leith Walk is a joke, as is Princes Street.
I have a wee business in Great Junction Street and i can confidentally say that TIE have reduced Leith to a ghost town.I'm a pretty laid back guy, but when it comes to TIE my blood boils :mad: :mad:
 
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birdieman

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The voice of the common man is never heard. We are supposed to be democratic but those in power make these decisions over and above the publics heads. If the public in Edinburgh had been consulted it would have been an overwhelming no to trams I reckon.

Why does it always feel its just Britain that can't do these things on budget or on time.

If it's environmentally beneficial to replace diesel powered buses with electrically driven trams then fine but the exorbitant cost of implementing it could have been better spent on windfarms or tidal energy projects couldn't it? Making electricity isn't particularly clean either as most of our electric comes from burning fossil fuels in power stations doesn't it?

Anyway it's time they ran a cable car from Princes Street up to the Castle battlements isn't it! :)

World's gone mad! :(
 

CliveW

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Having been born and bred in West Lothian, I spent a vast amount of time in Edinburgh before moving North.
Recently I was in Auld Reekie and I couldn't believe the disruption. I cannot understand the need for trams in Edinburgh. There are bus lanes so freeing up conjestion can't be the reason. As I understand it the trams will run from The Gyle to Princes Street and down to Leith. What about the rest of the City? In the 1960s there was a circular railway running round the city which would be far better than the tram system. Edinburgh is too hilly to have trams as was proved when they were scrapped in 1956!
 

DCB

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It's a knee jerk reaction by the cooncil for not allowing their plans for road tolling to go ahead. I'ts retribution.

Anyway, as CliveW has said, E'mbra is built on hills, 7 of them apparently, so there's not much flat land to put a nice wee tram system on. It's just not a feasible plan that will give a good return on the money spent. If you don't live on or around the tram route, you've had it.

Tommo for Lord Provost I say, get the holes filled in and stop there. It would be cheaper in the long run.
 

DMC

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The problem with Edinburgh, 1 half of the people are English, the other half want to be.


Spoken like a true Weegie :D

Whatever they are or wish to be,they will be stuck with the tram system and the upheaval for many months to come.
 

John_Findlay

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We can actually blame the Green Party and Robin Harper in particular for this fiasco. They were the ones who demanded it be pushed through in return for supporting the new SNP Government. No-one else wanted the blooming things. I don't remember voting for them, do you?

So next time you see that little timelord with his multi-coloured scarf feel free to give him a slap for me as I live down at the bottom of Leith Walk and my road has been blocked off without any notice 5 times this year, not to mention the times the water has been disrupted. I bet he has pushed up the travel expenses for taxis considerably in the last couple of years too! Very eco-friendly.

Oh, and why did they get rid of them in the first place? They kept running people over. They're not known as silent killers for nothing.

As for the workies involved, have to agree with Tommo. I counted 12 in one section at the top of Leith Walk the other day. One was using a digger, the other 11 were on their mobile phones to their Swiss Banks moving their accounts from Liechtenstein for tax purposes. What a fantastic use of my money, I thought. I'm so pleased.
 

THJahar

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I'm from manchester where our tram system has been absolutely superb, it's fast easy and comprehensive. So it sounds like a shame that Edinburgh have ballsed it up as if it was done right you'd never use your car to go into the city (I never do)
 
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