Nottingham Express Transit
Encyclopedia
Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is a light-rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

 tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

way in the Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 area in England. The first line opened to the public on 9 March 2004, having cost £200 million (£ as of ) to construct. The scheme took sixteen years from conception to implementation. It is operated by Nottingham Tram Consortium, a 50:50 partnership between Veolia Transdev
Veolia Transdev
Veolia Transdev is a French-based international public transport operator. It claims to be the world's leading such business. Its operations are spread across all the inhabited continents....

 and Nottingham City Transport.

Line 1

The route of the current line starts at Nottingham railway station
Nottingham station
Nottingham station, for some time known as Nottingham Midland or Nottingham City, is the principal railway station of the city of Nottingham and the Greater Nottingham area...

 to the south of the city centre and extends north, passing the Lace Market
Lace Market
The Lace Market is an historic quarter-mile square area of Nottingham, England.Once the heart of the world's lace industry during the days of the British Empire, it is full of impressive examples of 19th century industrial architecture and thus is a protected heritage area...

, Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...

, Forest Recreation Ground
Forest Recreation Ground
The Forest Recreation Ground is a recreation ground in Nottingham, England, approximately one mile north of the city centre. This urban space is bounded by the neighbourhoods of Forest Fields to the north, Mapperley Park to the east, Arboretum to the south and Hyson Green to the west.- History...

 and terminating at Hucknall
Hucknall
Hucknall, formerly known as Hucknall Torkard, is a town in Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, in the district of Ashfield. The town was historically a centre for framework knitting and then for mining but is now a focus for other industries as well providing housing for workers in...

. There are currently 23 stops, with provision for an extra stop between Basford and Wilkinson Street close to the development of the site of the old British Gas works, and a proposal for an extra stop at the redeveloped Broadmarsh shopping centre adjacent to the projected new bus station.

This line is 14 km long, of which 4 km is on-street. A little north of the city centre is a section about 1 km long where northbound and southbound trams follow different streets and the lines cross at each end of this section to run on the 'wrong side'. From Wilkinson Street north (for about 8 km), the tramline runs alongside an existing railway, the Robin Hood Line
Robin Hood Line
The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell are in Derbyshire.The towns and villages served by the route are listed below:*Nottingham*Bulwell*Hucknall...

. At Highbury Vale, about halfway along the line, a branch turns west to end 1 km later at Phoenix Park, while the main line runs north to Hucknall. There are park-and-ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...

 facilities at several stations.

All the construction works on Line 1 were carried out by Carillion. The system is arguably the only 'new' tram system built in the UK to have been an instant success. Whilst others around the UK are now starting to carry the number of passengers that was hoped for, Nottingham's system has exceeded the most optimistic predictions, carrying 9.7 million people in 2005. This bolsters the case for the construction of new lines. As of 2006 it is also the only light railway in the British Isles to operate 100% low floor trams.

As of 4 April 2005, trams run every five minutes during peak times, and every six minutes during the weekday daytime, alternating Northbound to Hucknall/Phoenix Park, dropping to every 10 minutes Monday–Saturday evening, and every 15 minutes Sunday evening.

The tram has rail connections with East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...

, CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

 and Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...

 at Station Street
Station Street tram stop
Station Street is a tram stop on the Nottingham Express Transit network, opened in March 2004. The stop is the southern terminus of the single line route, and is located on Station Street, directly opposite Nottingham railway station...

 (for Nottingham railway station), as well Bulwell and Hucknall for the Robin Hood Line
Robin Hood Line
The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell are in Derbyshire.The towns and villages served by the route are listed below:*Nottingham*Bulwell*Hucknall...

.

Bus connections are available throughout the system, with the main interchanges being at Hucknall, for TrentBarton Connect to get around the vast Hucknall Estates, and also the 141 for a fast connection to Mansfield; Moor Bridge for Trent Barton Rainbow 3 and NCT 70/71/L11 services for Arnold; Bulwell Forest for NCT 17 service to City Hospital; Bulwell for NCT 17/35/68/69/70/71/79/80/81/L6/L11 services; Cinderhill for Trent Barton Rainbow 1 to Eastwood(via a short walk to Nuthall Road) and NCT 35/70/71/72/79/L11 services; Wilkinson Street for Medilink (City Hospital to QMC) services; Royal Centre for TrentBarton and NCT services; Old Market Square for Trentbarton and NCT services; Lace Market for NCT 5/6/7/8/9/10/11/34/77/78/79/Citylink 1; Station Street for Premiere, TrentBarton and NCT services; Phoenix Park for the Phoenix Flyer to Nuthall, Kimberley, IKEA and Ilkeston.

Tickets are sold on board by conductors, assisted by conductors at The Forest tramstop during peak times.
An all-day tram ticket costs £3.20. A CityRider (all trams and NCT buses within the CityRider zone) day ticket costs £3.40. A Kangaroo (all trams, buses and trains within the Kangaroo Zone) day ticket costs £3.40. (The CityRider and Kangaroo Zones cover different areas, the main difference being that the Kangaroo Zone covers only Hucknall on the tram, not bus or train). In Hucknall, a Trent Barton Connect day ticket costs £3.60 (adult) £2.00 on tram, £2.10 on bus (child). An adult tram single ticket costs £1.60 but £2.50 before 09.30 Monday–Friday, in a push for the few that buy them in the morning peak to buy all-day tickets instead (passengers are advised to purchase a PayPoint
PayPoint
PayPoint plc is a British business offering a system for paying bills in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

 10-trip ticket to reduced this cost to £1.40).

Weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly EasyRider
EasyRider
The easyrider Citycard, , is a contactless smartcard introduced in 2000 in Nottingham, England, for use on Nottingham City Transport Services. It was originally named 'BusCard'. The name EasyRider was first used by NCT in 1981 for a pre-paid, paper-based system that was carried and used with a...

 touchcards in conjunction with NCT are also available, as are PayPoint
PayPoint
PayPoint plc is a British business offering a system for paying bills in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

 10-trip, 3-day, 15-day and 30-day tram-only tickets.

Concessionary fares are available only to Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County pass holders. Nottingham City pass holders travel for free, apart from between 0730-0930 Monday–Friday when full fare is charged. Nottinghamshire County pass holders travel free apart from before 0930 Monday–Friday when full fare is charged, and between 1600–1800 Monday–Friday when half fare is charged (70p evening, only single tickets available). All pass holders from other areas are charged at full fare as the free travel scheme applies only to buses outside of their local areas.

Child single tickets are £1.00; child all-day tickets are £1.70.

Prospective future lines

NET Phase Two is the collective term for the project to build extensions to Line One of Nottingham Express Transit (NET) NET Phase 2

The extension consists of two new lines from the city centre terminus at Station Street
Station Street tram stop
Station Street is a tram stop on the Nottingham Express Transit network, opened in March 2004. The stop is the southern terminus of the single line route, and is located on Station Street, directly opposite Nottingham railway station...

. A bridge will be constructed across the top of Nottingham Station
Nottingham station
Nottingham station, for some time known as Nottingham Midland or Nottingham City, is the principal railway station of the city of Nottingham and the Greater Nottingham area...

. NET Phase 2: stations

Line 2

The Clifton
Clifton, Nottinghamshire
Clifton is a council estate and village in the city of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England founded by Sir Robert Clifton. The estate has a number of shop-clusters and relatively good transport links with the city and surrounding areas. The village is on the A453 which is the main connection...

 route will go to the south of the City. It will serve the densely populated residential areas, including the Meadows, Wilford
Wilford
Wilford is a village close to the centre the city of Nottingham, UK, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been described as a semi-rural village in a city. The village is bounded to the north and west by the River Trent and to the east by the embankment of the now closed Great Central Railway...

 / Ruddington Lane area and the Clifton Estate, terminating at a new park and ride site serving the A453. It will cross the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

 on the Wilford Toll Bridge
Wilford Toll Bridge
-Wilford Ferry:Until the bridge opened a Wilford Ferry was in operation for some 400 hundred years. This ferry was the scene of a disaster in 1784, when in the midst of a gale an overcrowded ferry boat capsized, and six unfortunate passengers were drowned....

 which will be widened to allow pedestrians and cyclists to continue to use it, and then use part of the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...

 formation though Wilford.

The route is 7.6 km, of which 63% is segregated. The journey time from the Old Market Square to the terminus will be 23.5 minutes.

Current outline designs show 13 tram stops, attracting approximately 3.9 million passenger journeys a year.

Line 3

The Chilwell
Chilwell
Chilwell is a residential suburb of Greater Nottingham, in the Borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District until 1935.-History:...

 and Beeston
Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Beeston is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is southwest of Nottingham city centre. Although typically regarded as a suburb of the City of Nottingham, and officially designated as part of the Nottingham Urban Area, for local government purposes it is in the borough of Broxtowe, lying outside...

 route will go to the south west of the city. It will serve the northern edge of the Meadows residential area, the ng2 development site, Queen's Medical Centre
Queen's Medical Centre
The Queen's Medical Centre situated in Nottingham, England, is the largest hospital in the United Kingdom, and the largest teaching hospital in Europe.-History:...

, the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...

, Beeston
Beeston, Nottinghamshire
Beeston is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is southwest of Nottingham city centre. Although typically regarded as a suburb of the City of Nottingham, and officially designated as part of the Nottingham Urban Area, for local government purposes it is in the borough of Broxtowe, lying outside...

 town centre and Chilwell
Chilwell
Chilwell is a residential suburb of Greater Nottingham, in the Borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District until 1935.-History:...

, terminating at a new park and ride site at the junction of the A52 road
A52 road
The A52 is a major road in the East Midlands, England. It runs east from the junction with the A53 at Newcastle-under-Lyme near Stoke-on-Trent via Ashbourne, Derby, Stapleford, Nottingham, West Bridgford, Bingham, Grantham, Boston and Skegness before terminating on the east Lincolnshire coast at...

 and Toton Lane, about one mile from junction 25 of the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

.

The route is 9.8 km, of which 59% is segregated. The journey time from the Old Market Square to the terminus will be 30 minutes.

Current outline designs show 15 tram stops, attracting approximately 5.1 million passenger journeys a year.

Project progress

Programme Entry approval was given on 25 October 2006 with the Government agreeing to provide up to £437 million in Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...

 (PFI) credits. The local councils will also provide up to £141M in PFI
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...

 credits. The two local councils (Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City Councils) voted on 22 February 2007 and 3 March 2007 respectively to table an application for a Transport & Works Act Order.

The various documents which make up the City and County Councils’ application for the order were available to view at a number of venues from 26 April 2007 to 7 June 2007 when it was submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...

 for consideration. A public inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...

 was held in December 2007. The project was given the go-ahead by the government on 30 March 2009.

Following the local elections in 2009, Nottinghamshire County Council indicated that it was no longer willing to contribute financially to the project, so Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council is the non-metropolitan district council for the unitary authority of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire. It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. The deputy leader of the...

 decided to cover the shortfall and be the sole promoter of the project. Nottinghamshire County Council confirmed that it would not obstruct the project.

Funding for the work was approved by the government on 31 July 2009. Selecting and appointing the contractor is expected to take 2 years. Building work on these lines is expected to begin in 2011, in two phases, with trams running from 2014. The tram scheme aims to reduce the number of car journeys into Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 by four million per annum.

The scheme survived the Comprehensive Spending Review ordered by the Coalition Government
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...

 announced on 20 October 2010.

In March 2011, the government confirmed that funding has been granted to enable the construction of the two new lines. And at the end of the month, the preferred bidder to build the new lines and operate the complete extended tram network was announced as Tramlink Nottingham. The finalised contract is hoped to be signed by September.

Tramlink Nottingham is a consortium consisting of Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...

, Keolis
Keolis
Keolis is the largest private sector French transport group. It runs passenger railways, tramways, bus networks, funiculars, trolley buses, and airport services. The company, based in Paris, is majority owned by SNCF, the French state rail operator. AXA Private Equity and Caisse de dépôt et...

, trent barton
Trent Barton
Trent Barton is one of the very small number of significant independent bus operators in the United Kingdom. It was formed as the result of merging Derbyshire's Trent Buses with Nottinghamshire's Barton Transport....

, Vinci, OFI InfraVia & Meridiam Infrastructure.

Tram fleet

The system has 15 Incentro
Incentro
The Incentro is a model of tram manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is a five-section 100% low-floor articulated tram, built for bi-directional operation and capable of speeds up to 80 km/h...

AT6/5
AT6/5
The Incentro AT6/5 is a type of 100-percent low floor tram operated on the Nottingham Express Transit system in Nottingham, England.-Incentro AT6/5:...

 trams, similar to those used in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

, which were built by Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....

 (formerly ADtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....

) in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

. The Flexity Outlook Eurotram
Flexity Outlook
The Flexity Outlook is a family of 100% low-floor articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Flexity product line , Flexity Outlook cars fall into two distinct sub-categories with dramatically different appearances...

 was also considered, but was rejected as its large single-leaf doors did not comply with British door-alarm regulations.

The trams run on 750 volts DC and have a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). They are 100% low-floor vehicles articulated in five sections, and are 33 metres long and 2.4 metres wide.

From a very early stage, the trams have been named after famous local people. Vinyl transfers carrying the names are mounted on diagonally opposite corners of the tram exterior. Upon introduction they were also on the front (in direction of travel) right-hand side on the top of tram windows, in the same style as advertisements.
 Class  Image  Top speed   Number   Built 
 mph   km/h 
Incentro
Incentro
The Incentro is a model of tram manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is a five-section 100% low-floor articulated tram, built for bi-directional operation and capable of speeds up to 80 km/h...

 AT6/5
AT6/5
The Incentro AT6/5 is a type of 100-percent low floor tram operated on the Nottingham Express Transit system in Nottingham, England.-Incentro AT6/5:...

50 80 15 2002–2003


As part of the project to build Phase 2 of the system, Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...

, which is part of the new Tramlink Nottingham consortium, will provide 22 new Citadis vehicles to expand the fleet.

Incidents

  • On 6 October 2007, a 23-year-old man from Hucknall
    Hucknall
    Hucknall, formerly known as Hucknall Torkard, is a town in Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, in the district of Ashfield. The town was historically a centre for framework knitting and then for mining but is now a focus for other industries as well providing housing for workers in...

     died after being hit by a tram when he stepped in front of it at Weekday Cross
    Weekday Cross
    Weekday Cross, in the Lacemarket area of Nottingham, was the main market area in Nottingham. As the location of the town hall, guildhall and main market, it was the centre of the town, before the market moved to the Old Market Square....

    . His death was the first such fatality since the trams were re-launched in the city.
  • On 27 July 2009 the GMB held a strike in protest at a proposed paycut of 0.6% offered by Nottingham Tram Consortium. A maximum of 5 trams, out of a normal service of thirteen, ran for twelve hours from 6am until 6pm, on the Hucknall route, with replacement buses running a shuttle from Phoenix Park.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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