ALMOST five million journeys have been taken on Edinburgh's trams in the scheme's first year of operation.

The operator of the tramway in Edinburgh said the figure was some 370,000 ahead of the target set before launch. The service is also set to surpass revenue targets set out in its business model by around three per cent, said Edinburgh Trams.

The news came a day after a date was set for the first preliminary hearing of the public inquiry into the Edinburgh Trams service. Lord Hardie will chair the hearing in the capital on August 19.

The trams began operating at the end of May last year after six years of disruption and a long-running dispute between Edinburgh City Council and contractors.

The eventual cost of £776 million was more than double the sum earmarked for the project by the previous Labour-led administration

Edinburgh Trams said it received a 95 per cent overall customer satisfaction rating following an independent UK-wide survey by Passenger Focus and operated with 99 per cent service reliability.

It said this means that in terms of reliability and satisfaction levels they are "among the top performing public transport operators in the UK".

Tom Norris, director and general manager of Edinburgh Trams, said: "The first birthday is a very exciting day for all of us because it rounds up a hugely significant year for everyone involved.

"We've beaten our targets and we're on the right path. The success we've worked so hard to achieve is down to the commitment and hard work of everyone involved in delivering the service day in day out.

"We were absolutely delighted with the initial surge of interest when we launched, but even more grateful that the local and visiting public have continued to give us their support.

"We have developed the service over the first year and we'll continue to improve and adapt to keep our passengers happy, whilst being ready to take advantage of opportunities that come our way."

Edinburgh Trams has a fleet of 27 and currently employs 130 staff including drivers, ticketing services assistants (TSAs), control centre operators and maintenance engineers.

Between them, tram drivers and TSAs completed 77,525 journeys over the year covering 674,467 miles up and down the route. The depot was manned for 8,760 hours by staff on a rota system.

The tram line is more than eight miles long with 15 stops - 16 once the Edinburgh Gateway is complete - and a journey from the airport to the city centre takes approximately 35 minutes.

In 2014 the service contributed three million new passengers to the Transport for Edinburgh group with Lothian Buses also carrying an extra three million passengers more than in 2013.

The service carried 21,000 passengers on its first day and 130,000 in its first week.