Nottingham-to-Derby tram link backed by economic leaders
A
multimillion-pound project to extend the Nottingham tram system to Derby
is being backed as a "priority" by a local economic partnership.
The
tram, which currently serves the Nottingham area, would also run to
East Midlands Airport and the proposed HS2 station at Toton.
The suggestion is included in a briefing document on devolution from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.
The timetable and costs of the project are not discussed in the document.
Andrew
Braddock, chairman of the Light Rail Transit Association, who supports
the project, said the trams would be an efficient and effective way of
moving passengers from the HS2 station to the cities of Derby and
Nottingham.
He said: "I am not surprised by the move… as they
start to look at it… they will realise that creating an East Midlands
light metro network… is a good idea.
"There have been a rash of
modern new tramways across France as city mayors say... it's time we
took the streets back for the people.
"In Germany, they've had trams since the 1880s and were sensible and kept them."
A
transport review in 2013 estimated the cost of a new tram line at £20m
for each mile of track, putting the cost of a link from Toton to Derby
at about £200m.
Another cost estimate for a tram line from
Nottingham to Ripley in Derbyshire via Eastwood, Kimberley and Langley
Mill was put at £180m.
The document said the East Midlands
councils are determined to "reach a unified position on the strategic
transport interventions required to maximise the growth potential of the
region".
Other projects backed by the local enterprise partnership include:
- A University of Derby low-tax enterprise zone
- A fourth road crossing over the River Trent in Nottingham
- Road improvements to the A1 and A46 near Newark and changes to the East Coast mainline
