Becoming more like Alfie

The wise and learned amongst us say that every great journey begins with a single step. And in keeping with this fine bit of Fortune Cookie wisdom, today saw the first steps in that great odyssey that is the Edinburgh Tram Project (Let's gloss over the fact that £60m has already been spent on it and we are probably a wee bit down the tracks already).

It is Alfred McAlpine who have taken up the reigns for these first few furlongs and it seems they have been breaking new ground in the preparatory work they are completing at Leith:

Michael Connelly of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (Tie) said the Ocean Terminal work would last for nine weeks.

He said: "This is quite a unique contract that Tie has let to Alfred McAlpine Infrastructure Services.

"It is the first time in any project of this nature where all utilities will be moved in one fell swoop.

"So you won't have that common experience where one utility is moved, the road covered up, then being dug up again for another utility move."


Please tell me that it didn't take until 2007 before someone realised you would only have to dig the roads up once to move all electricity, gas, phone and water cables/pipes etc etc. These trams truly are taking us into the 21st century, though perhaps not in the way in which we had first thought.....