Letters: Tram bosses must take to the platform with answers

Do you agree that those behind the tram project must explain why it is costing so much?

The question of whether we should spend another 100 million, assuming that is sufficient, to produce a very shortened tramline or to quit when we are 440 million down is becoming urgent.

Some time ago (November 24, 2009) you published a letter of mine pointing out that, if prices of our public projects were similar to those in the rest of the world, the full original scheme should have cost no more than 105m.

Perhaps the best use of the time of politicians and contractors would be spent by them explaining why our government projects cost up to 13 times what they do in the rest of the world, something they sadly did not do after the parliament building fiasco or in relation to the Forth crossing, when the previous one cost only 320m in today's money.

I have never heard a reasonable explanation of why trams, which are inherently less flexible than buses and in the case of double-decker buses, seat fewer people per square foot, are better at reducing congestion. You don't have to dig up roads for buses.

Neil Craig, Woodlands Road, Glasgow

Capital city must be SNP's priority

With the appalling news that the long-suffering people of Edinburgh have to endure many more months of great upheaval and traffic chaos, just to add insult to injury, the city is compared to Tripoli (News, May 12), a place that is ravaged by war and ruled by fear.

It's about time the people of Edinburgh said enough is enough of this trams debacle and demanded that the re-elected and now more robust SNP government ensure restoring the capital of Scotland to its former glory and dignity is one of its first priorities.

If not, it could be that the proud and distinguished reputation of both Edinburgh and Scotland may be damaged beyond repair, which would hardly bode well for a country which seeks its independence.

Angus McGregor, Albion Road, Edinburgh

Standing up for suspended staff

As a trade union we do not comment on the details of disciplinary matters but such has been the publicity created by the recent suspensions in a council department (Seven more suspended in fraud probe, News, May 11), we feel there is a need to set some of the record straight.

Firstly, the suspensions are "precautionary" for the process of the investigation and do not imply any guilt.

Often such suspensions are as much to protect the member of staff concerned as for any other reason.

Secondly, the numbers and proportion of staff suspended, quoted in some media reports, are exaggerated and the majority of staff are carrying on working under difficult conditions to provide a crucial service.

And thirdly, comments about being "sent out to walk the streets" looking for notices to serve, most likely refers to a previous practice of proactively trying to identify any danger of loose masonry. Evening News readers will recall the tragedy and near misses in the past due to falling masonry.

John Stevenson, president, Unison city of Edinburgh branch, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh

NHS dedicated to brain unit plans

In response to your article 'Race to keep specialist brain unit in Capital is on' (News, May 11), I would like to reassure your readers that NHS Lothian remains confident that our new Department of Clinical Neurosciences will be built at Little France in the next five years.

We are committed to delivering new high-quality facilities for this important service. Our dedicated project team is currently working on the design of a combined hospital for children and young people and Department of Clinical Neurosciences on the site.

In March, the Scottish Government publicly reaffirmed its commitment to the delivery of the new children's hospital as quickly as possible.

We share this commitment and remain focused on delivering a state-of-the-art hospital.

Jackie Sansbury, chief operating officer, University Hospitals Division, NHS Lothian