Nottingham Express Transit
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| Locale | Nottingham |
|---|---|
| Transit type | Electrified Metro Tramway |
| Began operation | 2004 |
| System length | 14.5 km / 9 miles |
| No. of lines | 1 |
| No. of stations | 23 |
| Daily ridership | 8 million (per year) (April 2004-March 2005) |
| Track gauge | standard gauge |
| Operator | Arrow Light Rail |
Nottingham Express Transit (or in short NET) is the light-rail tramway in the Nottingham area in England. The first line opened to the public on 9 March 2004, having cost £200 million to construct. The scheme took 16 years from conception to implementation.
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[edit] Line 1
The route of the current line starts at Nottingham station to the south of the city centre, and extends north, passing the Lace Market, Nottingham Trent University, Forest Recreation Ground, and terminating at Hucknall.
This line is 14 km long, of which 4 km is on-street. A little north of the city centre is a section about 1 km long where northbound and southbound trams follow different streets and the lines cross at each end of this section to run 'wrong side'. From Wilkinson Street north (for about 8 km), the tramline runs alongside an existing railway, the Robin Hood Line. At Highbury Vale, about halfway along the line, a branch turns west to end 1 km later at Phoenix Park, while the main line runs north to Hucknall. There are park-and-ride facilities at several stations. The tram also has a connection with Central Trains at Station Street (for Nottingham railway station), Bulwell and Hucknall and also with Midland Mainline at Station Street. All the construction works on Line 1 were carried out by Carillion.
The system has 15 Incentro articulated low-floor trams similar to those used in Nantes, built by Bombardier Transportation (formerly ADtranz); the Flexity Outlook Eurotram was also considered, but rejected as its large single-leaf doors did not comply with British door-alarm regulations. The trams run on 750 volts DC and have a top speed of 80km/h (50mph). Tickets are sold on board by conductors. As of 31 January 2005, trams run every five minutes during peak times, running alternately to Hucknall and Phoenix Park. Plans are to extend this peak service from 7.30 to 18.30 every day.
The system is arguably the only 'new' tram system built in the UK to have been an instant success. Whilst others around the UK are now starting to carry the number of passengers that it was hoped for, Nottingham's system has exceeded the most optimistic predictions, carrying 9.7 million people in 2005. This assists the case for the construction of new lines, and Nottingham is an excellent showcase for integrated transport. As of 2006 it is also the only tramway in the British Isles to operate 100% low floor trams.
Due to truancy, NET has had to eliminate the child all-day ticket. It now costs £1.00 for a child single. The all-week child ticket has increased by £1 and it now costs £2 for an adult single before 9am.
The extension consists of two new lines [1] from the city centre terminus at Station Street. A bridge will be constructed across the top of Nottingham Station [2].
[edit] Line 2
The Clifton route will go to the south of the City. It will serve the densely populated residential areas, including the Meadows, Wilford / Ruddington Lane area and the Clifton Estate, terminating at a new park and ride site serving the A453. It will cross the River Trent on the Wilford Toll Bridge which will be widened to allow pedestrians and cyclists to continue to use it, and then use part of the Great Central Railway formation though Wilford.
The route is 7.6km, of which 63% is segregated. The journey time from the Old Market Square to the terminus will be 23.5 minutes.
Current outline designs show 13 tram stops, attracting approximately 3.9 million passenger journeys a year.
[edit] Line 3
The Chilwell and Beeston route will go to the south west of the city. It will serve the northern edge of the Meadows residential area, the ng2 development site, Queen's Medical Centre, the University of Nottingham, Beeston town centre and Chilwell, terminating at a new park and ride site serving the A52 road, close to junction 25 of the M1 motorway.
The route is 9.8km, of which 59% is segregated. The journey time from the Old Market Square to the terminus will be 30 minutes.
Current outline designs show 15 tram stops, attracting approximately 5.1 million passenger journeys a year.
[edit] Project Progress
Programme Entry approval was given on 25 October 2006 with the Government agreeing to provide up to £437m in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits. The local councils will also provide up to £141m in PFI credits. A Transport & Works Act is expected in 2007 which will likely trigger a public inquiry. The Government will then consider the project for Conditional Approval based on the inquiry report, and if this is positive procurement will begin. Final approval will follow when firm costs are known.
Work on these lines is expected to begin in 2010, in two phases, with trams running from 2013. The tram scheme aims to reduce the number of car journeys into Nottingham by four million per annum.
[edit] Route
[edit] Line 1
Main branch to Hucknall
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Phoenix Park branch
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Routes join
- Highbury Vale
- David Lane
- Basford
- Wilkinson Street (park and ride)
Southbound route
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Northbound route
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Routes rejoin
- The Forest (park and ride)
- The High School
- Nottingham Trent University
- Royal Centre
- Old Market Square
- Lace Market
- Station Street
[edit] Line 2
The proposed tram stops are:
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[edit] Line 3
The proposed tram stops are:
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[edit] Previous Nottingham Tramway Systems
- For the horse and steam tramways from 1877 to 1902 see Nottingham and District Tramways Company Limited
- For the electric tramways from 1897 to 1936 see Nottingham Corporation Tramways
[edit] Trams
The five-section articulated 100% low floor Bombardier INCENTRO vehicles are 33m long and 2.4m wide. Every tram carried a name from a very early stage. All names are of local people. Names are vinyl transfers on diagonally opposite corners of the tram exterior.
Names
- 201 - Torvill and Dean. Voted for by listeners of the local commercial radio station 96 Trent FM, Britain's best known ice skaters were born in Nottingham and won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1984 Olympics.
- 202 - DH Lawrence. A Nottinghamshire novelist, born in Eastwood, famous for "Lady Chatterley's Lover"
- 203 - William "Bendigo" Thompson. Voted for by viewers of East Midlands Today. A bare-knuckle fighter.
- 204 - Erica Beardsmore. Hyson Green-based supporter of Nottingham In Bloom
- 205 - Lord Byron. Voted for by viewers of East Midlands Today. Nottinghamshire poet.
- 206 - Angela Alcock. Voted for by readers of the Nottingham Evening Post. A local Oxfam donations collector who has raised countless funds for charity.
- 207 - Mavis Worthington. Voted for by readers of the Nottingham Evening Post. A Homestart volunteer.
- 208 - Dinah Minton. Founder of the Headway charity.
- 209 - Sid Standard (renamed from "Sydney Standard" due to public demand). Nominated by Nottingham Evening Post readers. He ran a bike shop in Beeston for 27 years and was President of the Beeston Road Club. It is believed that he rode more than 500,000 miles on his bike in his lifetime.
- 210 - Sir Jesse Boot. Voted for by listeners of BBC Radio Nottingham. Former owner of Boots the Chemist.
- 211 - Robin Hood. Voted for by viewers of East Midlands Today. Famous local legend.
- 212 - William Booth. Founder of the Salvation Army.
- 213 - Mary Potter. Voted for by listeners of BBC Radio Nottingham. Foundress of the Little Company of Mary Sisters.
- 214 - Dennis McCarthy MBE. Former presenter of BBC Radio Nottingham.
- 215 - Brian Clough. Voted for by listeners of Trent FM. Local football manager, won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest.
[edit] External links
- Nottingham Express Transit - official web site
- NET Phase Two - official web site for future extensions
- Take a virtual ride on the Nottingham tram
- Collection of Google Earth locations of Nottingham Express Transit stops (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.
| Local rail transport in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Metros : | Docklands Light Railway (East London) | Glasgow Subway | London Underground | Tyne and Wear Metro |
| Tramways : | Blackpool | Edinburgh | Manchester | Midland Metro (West Midlands) | Nottingham | Sheffield | Tramlink (South London) |
