Nottingham Express Transit

Nottingham Express Transit

Overview
Locale	Nottingham
Transit type	Tram[1]
Number of lines	1 (Lines 2 and 3 Under Construction)
Number of stations	23 (28 - Lines 2 and 3)
Annual ridership	7.9 million (2013/14)[2]
Website	www.thetram.net
Operation
Began operation	9 March 2004 (2004-03-09)
Operator(s)	Nottingham Trams Ltd.
Number of vehicles	15 Bombardier Incentro AT6/5
Technical
System length	14 km (8.7 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line (750 V DC)
Top speed	50 miles per hour (80 km/h)
System map Legend Hucknall Butler's Hill Moor Bridge Bulwell Forest Bulwell Phoenix Park Cinderhill Highbury Vale David Lane Basford Wilkinson Street Wilkinson Street depot Shipstone Street Radford Road Beaconsfield Street Hyson Green Market Noel Street The Forest High School Nottingham Trent University Royal Centre Old Market Square Lace Market Broadmarsh(proposed) Nottingham Station(for Nottingham )

Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is a light-rail tramway in Nottingham, England. The first line opened to the public on 9 March 2004, having cost £200 million (equivalent to £268 million at 2015 prices)^[3] to construct. The scheme took sixteen years from conception to implementation. There are extensions and additions under way or planned.

The tramway is operated and maintained by Nottingham Trams Ltd. on behalf of the Tramlink Nottingham consortium.^[4] It was operated by Arrow Light Rail, another consortium^[4] from 9 March 2004 until 16 December 2011.^[5][6] Arrow Light Rail had originally contracted to operate the system for 30 years; the addition of lines to the system led to retendering.

Network

Line 1

From Nottingham railway station, south of the city centre, north past the Lace Market, Nottingham Trent University, Forest Recreation Ground to Hucknall. There are 23 stops, with provision for a stop between Basford and Wilkinson Street close to the site of the British Gas works, and there is a proposal for a stop at the redeveloped Broadmarsh Shopping Centre adjacent to the projected new bus station.

It 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, crossing at each end to run on the 'wrong side'. From Wilkinson Street north for about 8 km, the line runs alongside the Robin Hood Line. At Highbury Vale, about half way, a branch turns west for 1 km to Phoenix Park, while the main line runs north to Hucknall. There are park-and-ride facilities at several stations.

Construction was by Carillion. It is arguably the only 'new' tram system in the UK to have been an instant success. Whilst others are starting to carry the number of passengers that was hoped for, Nottingham has exceeded the most optimistic predictions, carrying 9.7 million people in 2005. This bolsters the case for the construction of new lines. In 2006 it was also the only operation in the British Isles with 100% low-floor trams.

From 4 April 2005, trams run every five minutes during peak times, and every six minutes during the weekday daytime, alternating between Hucknall and Phoenix Park, dropping to every 10 minutes Monday–Saturday evening, every 15 minutes Sunday evening.

The tram connects with East Midlands Trains, CrossCountry and Northern Rail at Station Street, for Nottingham railway station; and at Bulwell and Hucknall, for the Robin Hood Line.

The main bus interchanges are at: Hucknall, for buses to the Hucknall Estates and Mansfield; Moor Bridge, for buses to Arnold; Bulwell Forest, for buses to the City Hospital; Bulwell; Cinderhill (via a short walk to Nuthall Road), for buses to Eastwood ; Wilkinson Street, for Medilink buses to City Hospital and QMC; Royal Centre; Old Market Square; Lace Market; Phoenix Park, for buses to Nuthall, Kimberley, IKEA and Ilkeston.

Future lines

Nottingham Express Transit
Legend
Robin Hood Line Mansfield and Worksop Hucknall Butler's Hill Moor Bridge Bulwell Forest Bulwell Phoenix Park Cinderhill(single track) Highbury Vale Babbington Junction David Lane Basford Wilkinson Street Wilkinson Street Depot Shipstone Street Radford Road Beaconsfield Street Hyson Green Market Noel Street The Forest High School Nottingham Trent University Royal Centre Old Market Square Lace Market Broadmarsh (proposed) Station StreetCurrent terminus Nottingham Grantham and Lincoln lines Nottingham Station Phase 2 Meadows North Meadows Centre "ng2" Queens Walk Wilford Toll Bridge (River Trent) Wilford Village Wilford Lane Gregory Street Compton Acres River Leen joins River Trent Ruddington Lane Queen's Medical Centre Silverdale (proposed) Fairham Brook joins River Trent University of Nottingham Southchurch Drive North Rivergreen Clifton Centre Holy Trinity Summerwood Lane Clifton Park & Ride University Boulevard Middle Street Beeston Town Centre ; Beeston Chilwell Road Castle College Cator Lane Bramcote Lane Eskdale Drive Inham Road Toton Lane Park & Ride Midland Main Line London & Derby

NET Phase 2 is for two extensions from Station Street.^[7] A bridge will be constructed across the top of Nottingham Station.

Phase 2

Phase Two is under construction and is an extension of the current Line 1 from Hucknall and Phoenix Park to Nottingham Station. Phase two will extend the line into Toton and Clifton. The new lines will be routes across the city - Line 1 from Hucknall will follow the same route into the City Centre until Nottingham Station (The Hub) - then it will continue to Toton Lane. Line 2 from Phoenix Park will follow the same route as it currently does into the City Centre until Nottingham Station - then it will continue to Clifton (A453).

The first powered test run on a very short section of the line took place by Alstom Citadis tram 222 in the early hours of Friday 22 August 2014, running from Station Street via The Meadows to Wilford, before returning to Station Street.

Phase 2 of the project has been plagued by delays and problems with construction and as of December 2014 is at least 6 months behind schedule,^[8] though TWA and Nottingham City Council have both not said when the opening date will be. There have been complaints from residents affected by works and traders whose businesses have been damaged by the late running construction. Despite further delays, no additional compensation has been made available for business owners.^[8]

Line 2

The Clifton route will go through densely populated residential areas to the south of the city, including the Meadows, Wilford/Ruddington Lane area and the Clifton Estate, to 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 through Wilford.

The route is 7.6 km long, of which 63% is segregated. The journey time from the Old Market Square will be 23.5 minutes.

Current outline designs show 13 tram stops, attracting approximately 3.9 million passenger journeys a year.

The full Line 2 service route from Phoenix Park to Clifton will feature 28 tram stops.

Line 3

The Chilwell and Beeston route will go to the south west of the city, serving 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, to a new park and ride site at the junction of the A52 road and Toton Lane, about one mile from junction 25 of the M1 motorway.

The route is 6.1 miles (9.8 km) long, of which 59% is segregated. The journey time from the Old Market Square will be 30 minutes.

The full line 1 service will go from the current terminus at Hucknall to Toton Lane via the City Centre.

Current outline designs show 15 tram stops, attracting approximately 5.1 million passenger journeys a year. The full line 1 service route from Hucknall will feature 37 tram stops, 15 of the 37 being on the new extension to Toton Lane. The journey time from Hucknall to Toton Lane will be 62 minutes.

Project progress

Programme Entry approval was given on 25 October 2006 with the Government agreeing to provide up to £437 million in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits. The local councils will also provide up to £141M in PFI credits. The two local councils (Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City Councils) voted on 22 February 2007 and 3 March 2007 respectively to table an application for a Transport & Works Act Order.

The City and County Councils’ application for the order were available to view from 26 April 2007 to 7 June 2007 when it was submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport for consideration. A public inquiry was held in December 2007. The project was given the go-ahead by the government on 30 March 2009.^[11][12]

Following the local elections in 2009, Nottinghamshire County Council indicated that it was no longer willing to contribute financially to the project, so Nottingham City Council decided to cover the shortfall and be the sole promoter. Nottinghamshire County Council confirmed that it would not obstruct the project.^[13]

Funding was approved by the government on 31 July 2009.^[14][15] Selecting and appointing the contractor was expected to take two years. Building work was expected to begin in 2011, in two phases, with trams running from 2014. However this deadline was missed and trams are not expected to run until at the earliest September 2015^[16] The scheme aims to reduce the number of car journeys into Nottingham by four million per annum.

The scheme survived the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review ordered by the government.^[17]

On 24 March 2011 the government confirmed that funding had been approved,^[18] and at the end of the month the preferred bidder to build the new lines and operate the whole network was announced as Tramlink Nottingham.^[18] The finalised contract was hoped to be signed by September,^[19] but it was signed on 15 December 2011.^[20]

Tramlink Nottingham is a consortium of Alstom, Keolis, Trent Barton owner Wellglade, Vinci, OFI InfraVia & Meridiam Infrastructure.^[20]

The future

During the development of NET a number of possible routes around the city were considered. There are no detailed plans for further expansion, but during the tendering process for Phase Two, documents contained nine possible routes:^[21]

• Hucknall to Linby.
• The park and ride at Phoenix Park to Kimberley and/or Watnall
• Nottingham to West Bridgford and then Gamston/Tollerton/Edwalton/Ruddington.
• Queen's Medical Centre to Arnold, via Basford.
• Nottingham to Gedling.
• Nottingham to Gamston.
• Chilwell to Ilkeston.
• Clifton to East Midlands Parkway or East Midlands Airport.
• Chilwell to Stapleford and/or Sandiacre.

The document raised the possibility of tram-train lines from Nottingham to Gedling and/or Bingham, and to Ilkeston.^[22]

Kimberley, Eastwood & Nuthall Tram Action Group (KENTAG) campaigns for an extension from Phoenix Park to Eastwood and Kimberley.^[23] In December 2012, Nottingham City Council agreed to seek money to conduct a feasibility study on the route.^[24] In a major setback for tram proponents, in December 2014 Broxtowe Borough Council voted to reject a proposal to help fund a feasibility study into a line to Kimberley, due to the problems and delays of Lines 2 and 3.^[25]

A further vote has been tabled for 6 January 2015. Richard Robinson, Labour Councillor for Kimberley, said the plan was always to bring the proposals back to the table. He said: "The vote in December was a roadblock put in our way, but we will over come it".^[26] Councillors have subsequently voted 19 to 13 in favour of Cllr Robinson stepping down pending the outcome of an inquiry after he admitted on Radio Nottingham to encouraging a pro-tram campaigner to flood local media with positive letters, while using aliases to make them appear local.^[27]

News that a station for the proposed HS2 line (the East Midlands Hub) is likely to be built on the site of Toton sidings, only a short distance from the planned Chilwell terminus has fuelled speculation that the line could be extended to the new station.^[28]

Tram fleet

The system started with fifteen Incentro AT6/5 trams, similar to those used in Nantes, built by Bombardier Transportation (formerly ADtranz) in Derby. The Flexity Outlook Eurotram had also been considered and rejected as its large single-leaf doors did not comply with British door-alarm regulations.

The trams have been named after famous local people.

On 8 March 2013, Nottingham Express Transit announced that all trams would be refurbished and receive a new livery and interior.^[29] The first tram to be refurbished was 215, refurbishment of all trams was completed by September 2014.

In preparation for the Phase Two extensions to Beeston and Clifton, 22 new Alstom Citadis 302 trams have been ordered. The first Citadis tram (216) arrived at the Wilkinson Street depot on 10 September 2013. Along with the current Incentro fleet, they will run test operation on the new lines from Summer 2014 to December 2014. The trams will also be tested on the current network when delivered.^[18] The first Citadis trams (216-221) entered passenger service for the day on 27 July 2014, as part of a trial for the new timetable which was then introduced on 26 August 2014.^[30]

Number	Class	Image	Top speed		Quantity	Built
			km/h	mph
201–215	Incentro AT6/5		80	50	15	2002–2003
216–237	Citadis 302		70	43[31]	22	2013–2014

Incidents

• On 6 October 2007, a 23-year-old man from Hucknall died after being hit by a tram when he stepped in front of it at Weekday Cross. His death was the first fatality since the trams were re-launched.^[32]
• In September 2008 a 17-year-old boy was struck in the leg.^[33] He momentarily stepped out in front of a slowing tram close to the Lace Market stop. After an investigation it was found that the driver was guilty of no wrongdoing. The boy was admitted to the Queen's Medical Centre where he was found to have suffered a break, a sprain and a few heavy burns, but no long-lasting damage.
• On 27 July 2009 the GMB held a strike in protest at a proposed paycut of 0.6% offered by Nottingham Tram Consortium. A maximum of five trams out of a normal service of 13 ran from 0600 until 1800 on the Hucknall route, with replacement buses running a shuttle from Phoenix Park.^[34]
• On 11 November 2011 a 44-year-old man from Barnsley died following an incident close to Wilkinson Street depot.^[35][36]
• On 28 November 2012, a 13-year-old girl was hit by a tram on the Bayles and Wylies footpath crossing, on the border of Bestwood and Hucknall. She was rushed to hospital but later died from her injuries.The local MP remarked '"I am mindful that this is not the first fatality on Nottingham's tramline and we obviously need to look at what's going wrong and how we can fix it'."^[37] This was the second fatal accident at this crossing within five years. It was subsequently closed and replaced by a footbridge.^[38]

See also

• Nottingham and District Tramways Company Limited (horse and steam tram service from 1878 to 1902)
• Nottingham Corporation Tramways (electric tram service from 1901 to 1936)
• List of town tramway systems in England
• List of town tramway systems in the United Kingdom

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nottingham Express Transit.

• Nottingham Express Transit - official web site
• NET Phase Two - official web site for future extensions
• Take a virtual ride on the Nottingham tram
• Infrastructure & Tram Spec Sheet

UK light rail systems Tramways Current Blackpool tramway Edinburgh Trams Manchester Metrolink Midland Metro Nottingham Express Transit Sheffield Supertram Tramlink Proposed EWAY London City Tram South East Wales Metro WWAY Cancelled Abbey Line Bristol Supertram CITI Belfast Cross River Tram Leeds Supertram Merseytram Penistone Line Tram-Train West London Tram Metro Current Docklands Light Railway Tyne and Wear Metro Proposed North and West London Light Railway West London Orbital Preserved Beamish Museum Black Country Living Museum East Anglia Transport Museum Great Orme Tramway Heaton Park Tramway National Tramway Museum Seaton Tramway Summerlee Museum Wirral Transport Museum Wirral Tramway

Local rail transport in the United Kingdom Metros Docklands Light Railway (East London) Glasgow Subway London Underground Night Tube Tyne and Wear Metro Tramways Blackpool Edinburgh Greater Manchester Nottingham Sheffield South London West Midlands Urban rail Belfast Bristol Birmingham Cardiff Edinburgh Glasgow Leeds/Bradford Liverpool London Manchester