Edinburgh Trams has been named Operator of the Year in worldwide industry awards.

The trams project, currently the subject of a public inquiry after bursting its budget and over-running by three years, was given the accolade in the 2015 UK Light Rail Awards.

The awards recognise excellence and innovations in the light and urban rail sector across the world.

Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “Everyone at Edinburgh Trams can take great pride in what they have achieved.

"The team have put in a huge effort to make Edinburgh’s new tram service a success and they deserve all the credit for this award.”

The Light Rail Awards were set up to together to brings the worldwide industry and includes 300 senior decision-makers around the globe.

Edinburgh Trams carried 4.92 million passengers during the first year of service, around 370,000 ahead of the target set before launch.

The service was said to have 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.

The firm has also been shortlisted in the Rail Operator of the Year category at the UK National Transport Awards.

International projects included Utrecht, Netherlands, Gulf Co-operation Countries rail projects, Aarhus, Denmark, and Jerusalem where the principles behind the methods used to keep the network secure where explained.

The trams started running in 2014 after six years of disruption in the Scottish capital.

The project cost £776 million. The original cost was £545m and the first trams arrived three years late.

The Edinburgh Trams Inquiry held its first earlier hearing this week.