Campaign for Better Transport is urging the Government to prioritise trams and light rail in its Integrated Transport Strategy, due today (28 November), and to do more to help speed up the introduction of new tram networks to British towns and cities.
Michael Solomon Williams, from Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Trams work. Wherever they have been introduced, they have proved popular with the public, had a positive effect on local businesses and complemented other transport modes. As European cities are showing, they are a holistic solution which can address congestion, reduce social isolation and revive hollowed-out high streets across the country.
“Moreover, with millions excluded from accessible rail, bus and tube travel – including disabled passengers and people with prams and heavy luggage – trams bring step-free access to reliable, high -capacity public transport.”
Once a staple of British towns and cities, by the 1960s Blackpool had the country’s last remaining tram system. But in recent years as urban transport authorities grapple with the effects of air pollution and congestion and stifled economic growth caused by lack of transport choice, cities across Europe are returning to trams as an affordable, efficient and zero emission mass transit solution.
Whilst the UK now has nine tram systems which carried 228.8 million passengers last year, it is falling behind Europe in terms of building new networks. France currently boasts 28 tram networks with three more being planned, while Germany has trams in 60 cities.
One of the main barriers to installing more tram systems in Britain is the cost. Building new tram systems in Britain is more expensive than almost anywhere else in the world thanks to an excessively long planning process, regulations that mean the project must cover 92.5% of the costs of moving underground utilities, and a lack of shared standards that limits the sharing of cost-saving lessons.
Campaign for Better Transport is urging Government to address these barriers by:
- Reforming the planning process for new trams to speed up delivery and lower costs.
- Sharing the costs of moving utilities fairly between the tram project and utility companies.
- Devolving the current Transport and Works Act approval process so elected mayors can start building tram networks quicker.
- Introducing shared standards between new tramways and encouraging a pipeline of projects.
To further help speed up the delivery of new tram networks across the country, Campaign for Better Transport and Create Streets are bringing together a network of experts from local authorities, tram manufacturers, housing developers, planning organisations and other interested parties to help demonstrate the value of new, extended and reopened tram and light rail networks and remove existing barriers to their introduction.
Image credit: iStockphoto.com/alex_west
