When it was Trams A Go Go!
It is 20 years since the Nottingham Express Transit system heralded the return of trams to the city. ANDY SMART looks back to a momentous time
CITY folk watch the sleek green Nottingham trams pass by with barely a second thought, so much a familiar part of their everyday lives have they become. But 20 years ago, the return of tram transport to Nottingham after a seven-decade absence was seen as a seismic change in city life.
The Post greeted the 1998 government approval for the multimillion pound project with the headline “Trams A Go Go”.
Transport Minister Dr John Reid made the announcement there was £167m to build the Nottingham Express Transit service between Nottingham and Hucknall, the realisation of a ten-year dream to tackle congestion.
According to a Department of Environment spokesman, it was “good news for jobs” and “an excellent example of a good integrated transport system because it has park and ride and easy connections into local rail and bus services, particularly the Robin Hood line”.
The estimate was that eventually the service would carry ten million passengers a year. That figure was surpassed in 2007-8 … and a second line, which had been on the drawing board since 2003, was confirmed.
Not everyone was happy. Traders complained about disruption to business, while people living near the route complained about the impact on their homes.
But in the 14 years since the first service ran, the trams, identified by the names of the great and good of Nottingham, have become an essential means of transport ... and one look at jam-packed park and ride sites like The Forest confirms the significant number of cars that are being kept out of the city centre.
The second phase from Toton Lane Park and Ride into Nottingham opened in August 2015 and today a fleet of 36 trams operate on 20 miles of track - and nine further routes have been identified for possible development.