Edinburgh trams on track for test trials at Gogar

Trials of Edinburgh's new trams have begun on a test track at Gogar, according to the city council.

The 500m track, at the tram depot near Edinburgh Airport, is being used to test the vehicles at speeds of about 30mph.

Five trams have already been delivered from Spain, with the remainder of the 27-strong fleet due to arrive next year.

The tram project is due for completion by summer 2014, at a cost of £776m.

The Edinburgh tram project is years behind schedule and massively over budget.

The latest cost estimate of £776m for running the line from the airport to St Andrew Square in the city centre is far higher than originally claimed for an entire network.

The first tram arrived in the capital in October.

Edinburgh City Council signed a new deal with its main trams contractor, Bilfinger Berger, in September, ending speculation over the future of the project.

It followed the Scottish government's announcement that Transport Scotland would step in to help manage the controversial scheme.

Ministers agreed to reinstate £72m of funding they had earlier withheld when Edinburgh Council decided to stop the line short of the city centre.