Euan McGrory: Nearly at the end of the line with tram inquiry

The good news for those of you who are still with me is that we are finally a step closer to dealing with the issue and moving on. It is fair to say that Lord Hardie’s tram inquiry has taken much longer than most people expected and produced few surprises - although his summing up (the timing of which is yet to be confirmed) could still change that.

We know the contract was botched and the decision of the Scottish Government to wash its hands of the project left it without the expertise on managing large scale projects that it desperately needed. Of course the big question now is what happens next. The sometimes stultifying detail in which the failings of the last project have been gone over makes it hard to believe lessons have not been learned from the travesty gone by.

This has been a painful process, but an important one. I am proud that the Evening News is the only media outlet to attend and report on every day of the inquiry. The future of the trams remains a huge issue for Edinburgh as it struggles with how to cope with its fast-growing population.