Financial restructure secures 10 year future of Nottingham Express Transit

which operates the Nottingham Express Transit network, has been financially restructured to secure the future of the tramway for the next 10 years. NET has not re cove re d its passenger numbers following the pandemic, with Tramlink stating that it is now carrying around 80% of the passengers it carried pre-pandemic. This slow recovery, coupled with increased costs for electricity and long periods of hyper-inflation, have proved particularly challenging for the operator, which has renegotiated the terms of loans from its lenders to avoid further and ongoing breaches of banking covenants.

The new deal will allow Tramlink to focus on improvements including investment in new technology, the recruitment of additional revenue protection officers, and updates to ticketing systems. It will also look at possible expansions to the network.

Tramlink chief executive officer Tim Hesketh said: “Nottingham’s trams are an integral part of the city’s life, helping to connect thousands of people each day who rely on the network to travel to work, to their place of study, or for days out with family and friends.

“This new financial restructuring has been an ongoing project we’ve been working on for two years following the challenges we faced during the pandemic. There will be no changes to our customers in terms of how they use the trams as a result, and they can still expect the same great service from us. However, it gives us a secure financial position which will ensure that we can keep on providing the people of Nottingham with reliable, convenient and sustainable travel for many years to come, while also allowing us to make key improvements across the whole network.

“We’d like to thank the city council and Department of Transport for their support as we look ahead to a brighter future for the city.”