Latest on Edinburgh trams

The Edinburgh City trams project took another U-turn last week, after The City of Edinburgh Council voted to extend the project as far as St Andrews Square, in the centre of the New Town.

The decision reverses the previous plan to provide an abridged service which would terminate at Haymarket.

The verdict comes after the Scottish Government announced it would withhold £72 million of funding, citing the plan to terminate the service in Haymarket as a “significant departure from the original concept”.

SNP councillors voted in favour of a Liberal Democrat-led motion to extend the line, just a week after the council voted in favour of a shorter route to cut costs.

City of Edinburgh Leader, Jenny Dawe welcomed the move, stating: “Continuing the tram route to St Andrews Square was the only sensible option for Edinburgh. I look forward to seeing a new work programme which enables our trams to be built and operational as soon as possible.”

However, the decision has been criticised by Lothian Buses. BBC News reported that Lothian Buses' employees stormed out of discussions when it became clear that the St Andrews Square option would be favoured.

Pat Rafferty, Regional Secretary of Unite Scotland, a union for passenger transport employees which created a charter for bus workers' rights, stated: “This world-class public service will now be saddled with the debt of the trams fiasco”.

This new decision now leads the way for Council Chief Executive, Sue Bruce, to negotiate with contractors. The council estimate that the revised line could be operational by 2014.