Exclusive:Concrete cracks found in 75 places along Edinburgh tram line extension to Newhaven

News of the damage comes a year after the three-mile line from the city centre was opened at a cost of £207 million.

The as-yet undisclosed cost of the repairs will be borne by Sacyr Farrans Neopul (SFN), the consortium of construction firms which built the route from York Place,

The work is being done overnight when trams are not running.

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Leith resident Allan Lloyds said he had spotted “widespread damage” to the tram line’s concrete track bed.

He said: “In some areas, the concrete crumbled along the rail before the extension opened.

“Some of this damage was ‘repaired’ by cutting and drilling bolts into the track bed, and pouring new concrete on top.

“However, these repairs are now also falling apart, leaving large holes and exposed bolts.”

The City of Edinburgh Council said repairs had been made at about one third of the 75 damaged locations but some of these had suffered further cracking.

It said the remedial work was normally carried about between 1am and 4am, “outwith tram operations”.

Transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson said: “We’re aware of a number of defects and incomplete works that remain outstanding from the construction of the York Place to Newhaven section of the line.

“These works and the associated costs are covered under the two-year defects liability period and we’re working with the contractor SFN to resolve these promptly.

“We’ve carried out around 25 repairs to date on these. We’ve been monitoring the repairs and the majority of them have stood up to traffic volumes, but a small number of locations are showing new signs of cracking.

“Depending upon the overall success of some trial repairs that we have undertaken, that solution may be used by the construction contractor to rectify the remaining concrete defects of that nature, in due course.”

Mr Jenkinson said such cracking was to be expected.

He said: “I’d emphasise that some cracking is a normal occurrence as part of the drying process, alongside vibration from tram and vehicle movements.

“The tram infrastructure is regularly inspected as part of normal business by Edinburgh Trams and the tram infrastructure maintenance contractor.”

However, Mr Lloyds said he thought the council could not yet be certain that the remedial work would not affect tram operations because the repairs were still at the trial stage.

He also accused the council of a “lack of transparency” over the issue after asking it for information about the damage since March.

In 2021, repairs were made to part of the original tram line, between Princes Street and Shandwick Place, “to ensure safe operation of the system” after the concrete became “degraded”.

The work happened seven years after the eight-mile line opened from Edinburgh Airport.

Less than a year before the opening, cracks were also found in the concrete under an elevated section of the line near Edinburgh Park tram stop.