Welcome
The UK’s eight existing light rail and tram systems are currently in rude health, as confirmed by the latest figures from the Department of Transport.
These reveal that the highest ever number of annual passenger journeys (252 million) and vehicle miles (21 million) were recorded in the year ending March 2016 (records began in 1983).
And these numbers are only set to increase, as light rail transit’s modal share of public transport journeys continues to rise from 2.7%, and ever more route miles are required to meet growing demand on many regional systems.
Our 16-page special celebrates the success of light rail transit (LRT) in the UK.
This is perhaps most apparent on the UK’s largest LRT system, Manchester Metrolink, which, 25 years after first opening, completed its ‘Big Bang’ expansion in February following the opening of its Second City Crossing.
On page 54, Richard Clinnick looks back at the impressive achievements of the past two and a half decades, but also at the northern city’s ambitious plans to grow its 57-mile network further still, and press ahead with new technological developments including tram-trains.
Hot on the heels of Manchester Metrolink is Birmingham’s Midland Metro, also undergoing rapid expansion at a cost of £1.2 billion over the next ten years, as it gears up to build lines from the city centre out to Wolverhampton, Edgbaston, Brierley Hill, Birmingham Airport and the city’s planned HS2 station at Curzon Street.
RAIL asks Transport for West Midlands Midland Metro Programme Director Phil Hewitt what benefits this will bring for the West Midlands region, and how it will be delivered by a fully integrated alliance of contractors, known as the Midland Metro Alliance.
Another system that has undergone significant expansion in recent years is Nottingham Express Transit (NET), now 20 miles long after a second phase more than doubled the size of the system when it opened in August 2015. Alstom formed a key part of the consortium that built Phase 2, and now operates the entire system, while the global supplier also bolstered NET’s fleet of trams by supplying 22 of its Citadis light rail vehicles. On pages 44-47, Alstom explains to
RAIL why it considers NET and Dublin’s Luas tram systems to be examples of the company’s finest works to date, and shining examples of how light rail can transform the urban environments of the cities it serves.
Last but not least, Systra outlines its four-pronged approach to reducing the cost of LRT, helping to make it a more attractive option to cities wary of the financial impact.
Using its wide-ranging global experience, the international consultancy offers sage advice on the cost-effective construction and operation of LRT.