Why trams would have the edge over rail line

JUST to reply to a couple of points raised by Kev Taylor (“Rail line’s limitations can be easily rectified”, Mailbox, December 11):

The advantages of a tramway over a railway are that a tram can go round sharper corners and negotiate steeper gradients than a railway and can start and stop more frequently as is necessary in an urban environment.

The existing line had no stations at all in the city. A tramway could better handle the gradients involved within the city than a railway which is a reason the railway went so far south before joining the main line.

Kev mentions Ratby and Groby. Ratby was on the original George Stevenson railway line which went to the canal near to Frog Island. This was decommissioned when canals gave way to railways for the transportation of coal. Groby is too hilly anyway for a conventional railway, without heavy investment.

The Bardon Industrial Complex includes two quarries which send huge quantities of stone along the existing railway line. The complex also serves as a transport “hub” for companies operating nationally so transferring their operations to rail is not appropriate. Besides, there is no traffic congestion between the complex and the M1 which is directly linked by the dual carriageway A511, (although admittedly to the west the A511 needs massive improvement anyway).

In the last half-century the city has expanded a lot and most businesses are situated away from the centre, so a tramway would be an opportunity to improve the transport system both in Leicester and other parts of the county.

Nigel Mutimer, Coalville