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Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is a
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
system in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, England. The concept of a modern tramway to reduce road congestion and promote
urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
was formally identified during the late 1980s while detailed planning was undertaken during the early 1990s. The project, then referred to as the ''Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transport'' (GNLRT), received Royal Assent on 21 July 1994 and central government financing was provided in subsequent years. In March 2000, a 30-year
Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...
(PFI) concession was awarded to the ''Arrow Light Rail Ltd'' consortium, which became responsibility for the design, funding, building, operation and maintenance of the line. On 9 March 2004, the system opened to the public; it was originally long and served 23
tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...
s, having been constructed at a cost of £200million, a sum equivalent to at price. Line 1 runs between Toton Lane and
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
, features a total of 33 or 34 tram stops, depending on direction, and has a journey time throughout of 62minutes. The tramway's early ridership exceeded expectations, with 8.4 million journeys in 2004-5 and 9.7 million in 2005–6, against targets of 8 million and 9 million respectively; its performance led to the scheme's second phase, under which the tramway would more than double in size, promptly receiving approval on 25 October 2006. Financial backing for the second phase was not fully secured until 2011, while the original concession to operate the tramway was terminated on 16 December 2011. A new consortium, known as ''Tramlink Nottingham Limited'', was finalised in December 2011. Construction of the second phase commenced in 2012, work was protracted and the extension was finally opened on 25 August 2015, roughly two years earlier than had been originally planned. Line 2 runs between Clifton South and
Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...
, features 27 or 28 tram stops, depending on direction, and has a journey time throughout of 47minutes. Presently, the tramway is operated and maintained by Nottingham Trams Ltd on behalf of the Tramlink Nottingham consortium. It has a total length of As of 2024, the
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
consists of 15 Bombardier Incentro AT6/5 and 22 Alstom Citadis 302. Various changes and extensions to the tramway have been mooted, from additional stops along the two existing lines to multiple whole new lines being constructed.


History


Planning and construction of phase one

Nottingham and the surrounding urban area is the UK's seventh largest and third fastest-growing urban area. Traditionally, Nottingham's economy was to a large extent based on
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
and
coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
, and in the second half of the 20th century the area was affected by the decline in these industries. High population density, a road system constrained by crossings of the
River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...
, and a concentration of retail and entertainment outlets in the city centre led to road congestion and high bus usage. In the late 1980s,
Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Nottingham, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. Nottingham has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous ...
and
Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes the city of ...
identified the possibility of using a modern tramway as a means of stimulating
urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
, as well as tackling road congestion. Plans began from around 1990, by Nottingham Development Enterprise, under Malcolm Reece. Studies in
Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
in France had shown that up to 20% of commuters switched from their car. Possible routes were developed by Bob McKittrick of Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick. The first route was to Hucknall, but would go through the Victoria Centre tunnel. Other routes would follow the railway to Carlton and the railway to Beeston; the consulting engineers' advice was to follow along railway routes, where possible. By 1991, the route under the Victoria Centre was dropped, to follow the present route. It would be twenty five years before the other routes would be built. The scheme was known as the Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transport – GNLRT. The Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transport Act 1994 received Royal Assent on 21 July 1994. At that point, the scheme required £68m of government funding. During December 1998, Minister of State for Transport John Reid confirmed the availability of £167million funding for a new tram system, to be known as Nottingham Express Transit, to run between Nottingham and
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
. In March 2000, the joint promoters, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council, awarded a 30-year
Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...
(PFI) concession to the Arrow Light Rail Ltd consortium, with responsibility for the design, funding, building, operation and maintenance of the line. The consortium was made up of
Adtranz Adtranz was a multi-national rail transportation equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the US. The company, legally known as ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation, was created in 1996 as a joint venture between ABB and Daim ...
(later subsumed into
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
), who were responsible for the trams,
Carillion Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018. Carillion was created in July 1999, following a ...
, who were responsible for the infrastructure,
Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...
and
Nottingham City Transport Nottingham City Transport (NCT) is the major bus operator of the city of Nottingham, England. NCT operates extensively within Nottingham as well as beyond the city boundaries into Nottinghamshire county. Publicly owned, it is today the second ...
(NCT). As originally built, the system was long and served 23
tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...
s. The construction cost a total of £200million, a sum equivalent to at prices.


Opening of phase one

Nottingham Express Transit began operation in March 2004, with a line operating north from a terminal at Station Street, just to the north of
Nottingham railway station Nottingham station, briefly known as Nottingham City and for rather longer as Nottingham Midland, is a railway station and tram stop in the city of Nottingham. It is the principal railway station of Nottingham. It is also a nodal point on the ...
, through the city centre, branching to serve twin termini at
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
and
Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...
. Once the line was complete, operation was sub-contracted by Arrow Light Rail to the Nottingham Tram Consortium (NTC), an equal partnership between
Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...
and
Nottingham City Transport Nottingham City Transport (NCT) is the major bus operator of the city of Nottingham, England. NCT operates extensively within Nottingham as well as beyond the city boundaries into Nottinghamshire county. Publicly owned, it is today the second ...
. The new line proved successful, leading to an increase of public transport use for the Nottingham urban area of 8% in the five years to 2008, together with a less than 1% growth in road traffic, compared to the national average of around 4%. The line itself exceeded expectations, with 8.4million journeys in 2004–2005 and 9.7million in 2005–2006, against targets of 8million and 9million respectively. By 2007–8, ridership had reached 10.2million journeys. This performance bolstered the case for the construction of new lines. On 27 July 2009, the GMB
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
held a
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
in protest at a proposed pay cut of 0.6% offered by Nottingham Tram Consortium. A maximum of five trams out of a normal service of 13 ran from 06:00 until 18:00 on the Hucknall route, with replacement buses running a shuttle from Phoenix Park.


Planning and construction of phase two

In January 2003, even before the first phase had opened, the two councils had decided to start consultation on a second phase to serve the urban areas south and west, with routes to Clifton via
Wilford Wilford is a village and former civil parish in the Nottingham district in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. The village is to the northeast of Clifton, Nottinghamshire, Clifton, southwest of West Bridgford, northwest of Ruddi ...
, and to
Chilwell Chilwell is a suburban area in the borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the west side of the town of Beeston and is south-west of the centre of Nottingham. History Roman buildings, pottery and coins have been found i ...
via Beeston. Approval for phase two was given on 25 October 2006 with the British Government agreeing to provide up to £437million in
Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...
(PFI) credits. The local councils will also provide up to £141million in PFI 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 and Works Act Order. The City and County Councils’ application for the order were available to view from 26 April 2007 to 7 June 2007 when it was submitted to the
Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...
for consideration. A public inquiry 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, the county council indicated that it was no longer willing to contribute financially to the project, so Nottingham City Council decided to cover the shortfall and be the sole promoter. The county council confirmed that it would not obstruct the project. Funding was approved by the government on 31 July 2009. Selecting and appointing the contractor was expected to take two years. Building work was expected to begin in 2011, in two phases, with trams running from 2014. The scheme survived the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review ordered by the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
, and on 24 March 2011 the government confirmed that funding had been approved. As part of this process, the concession to operate the existing system was terminated. A new concession put out to tender to design and build phase two, to operate and maintain the existing system in the meantime, and to operate and maintain the extended system once completed. Although Arrow Light Rail bid, they lost out to a new consortium known as Tramlink Nottingham Limited, made up of Meridiam (30 per cent), OFI InfraVia (20 per cent), Alstom Transport (12.5 per cent),
Keolis Keolis is a French transportation company that operates public transport systems all over the world. It manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus, and funicular services. B ...
(12.5 per cent), Vinci Investments (12.5 per cent), and the Wellglade Group (12.5 per cent). As with the previous consortium, operation was further sub-contracted to a consortium of Keolis (80%) and Wellglade (20%), with maintenance sub-contracted to Alstom Transport. As a result of Wellglade's ownership of Trent Barton, who operate bus services in the Nottingham area, the new concession was referred to, and approved by, the
Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economi ...
. The finalised contract was signed on 15 December 2011. The severing of the link between NET and Nottingham City Transport, which affected joint ticketing arrangements, may have contributed to a fall in passenger numbers on phase one. This started in 2008 with the recession of that year, reducing the total number of journeys to a minimum 7.4million by 2013. By 2014–15, passenger numbers had rebounded to 8.1million. Construction of phase two started in 2012. There were construction delays and by the end of 2014 it was at least six months behind schedule. There were complaints from residents affected by works and traders whose businesses have been damaged by the late running construction. Track laying was completed on 11 December 2014.


Opening of phase two

The two new bridges that form a major part of phase two were both officially named in 2014, in advance of their actual use by trams. The bridge across the Clifton Boulevard (A52) near the
Queen's Medical Centre The Queen's Medical Centre (popularly known as QMC, Queen's Med or Queen's) is a teaching hospital situated in Nottingham, England. Until February 2012, when it was surpassed by the Royal London Hospital, it was the largest hospital in the Unit ...
was named the Ningbo Friendship Bridge to acknowledge the links between the city of
Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...
, in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and the
University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...
. The naming took place on 11 June 2014, and was undertaken by the vice-mayor of Ningbo. The bridge constructed over
Nottingham railway station Nottingham station, briefly known as Nottingham City and for rather longer as Nottingham Midland, is a railway station and tram stop in the city of Nottingham. It is the principal railway station of Nottingham. It is also a nodal point on the ...
was officially opened on 17 October 2014 and named the Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge to acknowledge the technical support provided by Nottingham's twin city
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
. The opening event also unveiled a new tram named in honour of the late Jim Taylor who developed the initial vision for the tram system. The first powered test run on a short section of the line took place in the early hours of Friday 22 August 2014, running from Station Street via The Meadows to Wilford, before returning to Station Street. With the completion of track laying and electrification work in early 2015, testing began in earnest. The first section of phase two to open to the public was the new tram station above
Nottingham railway station Nottingham station, briefly known as Nottingham City and for rather longer as Nottingham Midland, is a railway station and tram stop in the city of Nottingham. It is the principal railway station of Nottingham. It is also a nodal point on the ...
, which replaced the Station Street stop as the southern terminus of the line on 27 July 2015. The remainder of phase two finally opened at 06:00 on 25 August 2015, with the route from Toton Lane Park and Ride into Nottingham running the first public service. During the planning and construction phases, the initial system (including both branches) was often referred to as line 1, with the line 2 name used for the new line to Clifton and line 3 for the new line to Toton. With the publication of the timetables covering through running between the initial system and phase two, this terminology was changed, with line 1 referring to the through service from Hucknall to Toton, and line 2 to the service from Phoenix Park to Clifton.


Network

The network consists of two lines that cross the city, running together on a common section for the middle part of their journey, including the city centre section. Line 1 runs between Toton Lane tram stop and
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
, features a total of 33 or 34 tram stops, depending on direction, and has a journey time throughout of 62minutes. Line 2 runs between Clifton South and
Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...
, features 27 or 28 tram stops, depending on direction, and has a journey time throughout of 47minutes. The system has a total length of . Trams on each line run at frequencies that vary between four and eight trams per hour, depending on the day and time of day. These services combine to provide up to 16 trams per hour on the common section.


Toton branch (line 1)

The southern branch of line 1 commences at Toton Lane, a large Park & Ride site that is to the west of
Chilwell Chilwell is a suburban area in the borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the west side of the town of Beeston and is south-west of the centre of Nottingham. History Roman buildings, pottery and coins have been found i ...
, north of
Toton Toton is a large suburban village in the Borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England. It forms part of the built-up area of Beeston, Nottinghamshire, Beeston, which in turn forms part of the wider Nottingham Urban Area. The population of th ...
and south of Stapleford, and is just along the Stapleford bypass (A52) from junction 25 of the
M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
. The line then proceeds through Chilwell, largely on its own right of way and serving tram stops at Inham Road, Eskdale Drive, Bramcote Lane and Cator Lane, before joining the street at High Road – Central College. From here it runs on street through Beeston, serving tram stops at Chilwell Road, Beeston Centre and Middle Street before reaching the tram stop at University Boulevard. Beeston Centre provides a specially designed interchange with local bus services. From University Boulevard, the line proceeds on segregated track alongside the road of the same name to the University of Nottingham tram stop, which serves the
University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...
's main campus. From here it uses the Ningbo Friendship Bridge to cross the Clifton Boulevard (A52) to the elevated stop at the
Queen's Medical Centre The Queen's Medical Centre (popularly known as QMC, Queen's Med or Queen's) is a teaching hospital situated in Nottingham, England. Until February 2012, when it was surpassed by the Royal London Hospital, it was the largest hospital in the Unit ...
, before descending back to street level again. Street stops at Gregory Street, NG2 and Meadows Way West follow, before reaching the junction with the Clifton branch (line 2). The branch is long, of which about half is segregated. There are 15 tram stops on the branch, and the journey between Toton Lane and Nottingham railway station takes 30minutes. The line from Toton to just before University Boulevard is in the
Borough of Broxtowe Broxtowe is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately west of the city of Nottingham, and most of the built-up areas of the ...
, with the rest of the branch in the
City of Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
.


Clifton branch (line 2)

The southern branch of line 2 commences at Clifton South, a large Park & Ride site that lies just to the south-west of the large suburb of Clifton, on the A453. It then proceeds on street through the heavily built up Clifton Estate, serving stops at Summerwood Lane,
Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...
, Clifton Centre, Rivergreen and Southchurch Drive North, before entering a newly created right of way out of the estate. The new right of way joins the route of the former
Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...
, serving stops on the old railway formation at Ruddington Lane, Compton Acres and Wilford Lane before reaching the village of Wilford. Here it diverges from the former railway and serves Wilford Village tram stop before crossing the
River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...
on the former Wilford Toll Bridge, long closed to motor vehicles, which has been widened to allow pedestrians and cyclists to continue to use it. It then runs through the Meadows residential area, serving tram stops at Meadows Embankment and Queens Walk before reaching the junction with the Toton Branch (line 1). The branch is long, of which almost two thirds is segregated. There are 12 tram stops on the branch, and the journey between Clifton South and Nottingham railway station takes 21minutes. The stop at Clifton South is in the Borough of Rushcliffe, and the line between just before Ruddington Lane and just before Wilford Village forms the boundary between the Borough of Rushcliffe and the City of Nottingham. The rest of the branch, including the section through the Clifton Estate, is within the City of Nottingham.


Common section (lines 1 & 2)

The two southern branches unite at a junction to the south of
Nottingham railway station Nottingham station, briefly known as Nottingham City and for rather longer as Nottingham Midland, is a railway station and tram stop in the city of Nottingham. It is the principal railway station of Nottingham. It is also a nodal point on the ...
, which is situated on the southern edge of the city centre. The tramway crosses above the station platforms on its own dedicated bridge, the Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge, that also carries a tram stop that is directly connected to the station concourse. From Nottingham station the common section runs north through the city centre, serving stops at Lace Market, Old Market Square and the Royal Centre. Leaving the city centre, the line continues, calling at
Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...
and
High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
before reaching The Forest. To the north of here is a section of about , where northbound and southbound trams follow different streets, crossing at each end to run on the 'wrong side'. The line serves different stops in different directions, with northbound trams stopping at Noel Street, Beaconsfield Street and Shipstone Street, while southbound trams stop at Radford Road and Hyson Green Market. The two tracks rejoin at Wilkinson Street, where the depot is situated. Between the station and Wilkinson Street, trams run in the street, but all other traffic is heavily restricted or, in some cases, banned altogether. There are Park & Ride sites at the Forest Recreation Ground and Wilkinson Street. North of Wilkinson Street, the route joins a former
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
alignment, which it shares with the Robin Hood railway line. The railway and tram lines run next to each other, segregated by a fence, with tram stops at Basford, David Lane and Highbury Vale. At Highbury Vale, the two tram lines again diverge. The whole common section lies within the City of Nottingham.


Hucknall branch (line 1)

Line 1 continues to run alongside the Robin Hood line north of Highbury Vale as far as its terminus. The line serves Bulwell railway station where railway interchange is provided. North of this station, the tram line becomes single track as far as its terminus at Hucknall railway station, albeit with passing loops at each of the three intermediate stops at Bulwell Forest, Moor Bridge and Butler's Hill. Hucknall station provides interchange with the Robin Hood line, as well as being a Park & Ride site. The branch is within the City of Nottingham to a point just past Moor Bridge, beyond which it is in Ashfield District.


Phoenix Park branch (line 2)

Line 2 diverges from line 1 at Highbury Vale, serving two separate platforms connected to the Line 1 platforms by footpath. Beyond Highbury Vale, the line becomes single track as far as its terminus at
Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...
, a Park & Ride site, following the alignment of a former colliery railway. Cinderhill is the only intermediate stop on this branch, and the only stop on the system where trams use the same single platform in both directions. The whole branch is within the City of Nottingham.


Rolling stock


Current fleet

NET currently operates the following fleet:


Bombardier Incentro AT6/5

The system started with 15 Incentro AT6/5 trams, similar to those used on the Nantes tramway, built by Bombardier at
Derby Litchurch Lane Works Derby Litchurch Lane Works, formerly Derby Carriage and Wagon Works, is a railway rolling stock factory in Derby, England. It is presently owned by the multinational transportation manufacturer Alstom. Derby works originally commenced productio ...
. The
Flexity Outlook The Bombardier Flexity Outlook is a series of low-floored trams of the Two-rooms-and-a-bath car, multi-articulated type, manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Bombardier Flexity product line (many of which are not low-floo ...
had also been considered and rejected as its large single-leaf doors did not comply with British door-alarm regulations. The AT6/5 trams are articulated in five sections and have a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). On 8 March 2013, NET announced that all trams would be refurbished and receive a new livery and interior. Refurbishment was completed by September 2014. During 2019, another refurbishment was commenced, which includes replacing the floors and internal fittings, a new livery to match the Citadis trams, and a mechanical overhaul to improve reliability. Tram 203 was the first to be returned to service on 10 May 2019.


Alstom Citadis 302

Twenty two new
Alstom Citadis The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom. , over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout the world, with operations in all six inhabited continents ...
302 trams were ordered in preparation for the Phase Two extensions to Beeston and Clifton. They have been specially designed to fit in with the operation's pre-existing fleet and to have a 35-year operating life with a forecast annual mileage of roughly 90,000 km. Each tram has a maximum speed of 70 km/h and can carry up to 274 people. The trams are stored and maintained at the Wilkinson Street depot, which was expanded as part of the phase two works. The first Citadis tram (216) arrived at the depot on 10 September 2013. Along with the current Incentro fleet, they ran test operation on the new lines from Summer 2014 and also on the current network. The first Citadis trams (216–221) entered passenger service for the day on 27 July 2014, as part of a trial for the new timetable, which was then introduced on 26 August 2014.


Ancillary vehicles

NET have a road-rail-equipped
Unimog The Unimog (pronunciation in American English: ''YOU-nuh-mog''; British English: ''YOU-knee-mog''; German: , ) is a Daimler Truck line of multi-purpose, highly offroad capable AWD vehicles produced since 1948. Utilizing engine-driven power tak ...
truck. A battery-powered shunter is used to move trams on non-electrified tracks within the depot.


Naming

Each tram in the network is named after "a local hero of the past or present". In November 2015, a tram was named after local screenwriter, playwright and actor William Ivory. In December 2021, a tram was named after Professor Martyn Poliakoff. A list of tram names, along with details can be found the NET website.


Fares and ticketing

All tickets are purchased in advance – passengers need to buy a ticket or validate a smart card before they board the tram. There are ticket machines at all tram stops, where passengers can buy single, return, day and weekly tickets using cash or credit/debit card; tickets can also be bought on the NET app, NETGO! Ticket options such as Robin Hood smartcards and season passes are available on the website and at the NET Travel Centre in the City Centre. Various concessionary schemes are also in place. The validators at each stop also accept payments by
contactless Contactless may refer to: * Contactless smart card * Proximity card, a contactless integrated circuit device used for security access or payment systems * Contactless payment, systems which use RFID for making secure payments * MasterCard Contactl ...
credit and debit card including
Apple Pay Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. Supported on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, Apple Pay digitizes and can replace a credit or debi ...
and Android's
Google Wallet Google Wallet (or simply Wallet) is a digital wallet platform developed by Google. It is available for the Android, Wear OS, and Fitbit OS operating systems, and was announced on May 11, 2022, at the 2022 Google I/O keynote. It began rollin ...
for single and day fares without the need to buy a physical ticket.


Services


Cycle parks

Under a scheme run by
Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Nottingham, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. Nottingham has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous ...
, the city has covered secure cycle parks that feature
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
, lighting, Citycard access controlled doors and, at some sites, Citycard activated lockers and 24 hour access. Nottingham Cycle Parks are available at the following tram stops: Clifton Centre, Clifton South, Hucknall, Nottingham Station, Phoenix Park, Toton Lane and Wilkinson Street. Access was originally free, with a one-off £5 registration charge. However, from July 2020, the council has introduced a revised charging structure, with an annual charge of £7.50, reduced to £5.25 for those paying by annual direct debit.


Corporate affairs


Ownership and structure

NET is run as a concession by a consortium known as Tramlink Nottingham Limited, to finance, build, operate and maintain two new tram lines (known as phase two) and to operate and maintain the initial tram line (phase one), until 20 March 2034 for the grantor, Nottingham City Council. Tramlink Nottingham Limited's parent company is Tramlink Nottingham (Holdings) Limited, which in turn is owned by the following shareholders: Operations are sub-contracted to Nottingham Trams Limited, a consortium of Keolis (80%) and Wellglade (20%), with maintenance sub-contracted to Alstom Transport.


Business trends

The consortium company Tramlink Nottingham Limited has produced annual accounts since April 2011, when it took over the concession, and NET passenger revenue and passenger numbers are published by the Department of Transport. The key available trends in recent years for Nottingham Express Transit are (years ending 31 March): Activities in the financial year 2020/21 were severely reduced by the impact of the
coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
; during the year Tramlink Nottingham received a Covid grant of £18.5million from the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
to maintain essential services.


Passenger numbers

Detailed passenger journeys since Nottingham Express Transit commenced operations on 9 March 2004 were:


Future developments


Additional routes

During the development of NET a number of possible additional routes around the city were considered, although there are no detailed plans for these. However, in 2009, during the tendering process for phase two, documents contained nine possible routes: *
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
to Linby. *
Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...
to
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
and/or Watnall *
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
to
West Bridgford West Bridgford () is a town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Rushcliffe, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies south of Nottingham city centre, east of Wilford, north of Ruddington and west of Radcliffe-on-Trent ...
and then Gamston/ Tollerton/ Edwalton/
Ruddington Ruddington () is a large village in the Borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, England. The village is south of Nottingham and northwest of Loughborough. It had a population of 6,441 at the United Kingdom census, 2001, 2001 Census, increas ...
. *
Queen's Medical Centre The Queen's Medical Centre (popularly known as QMC, Queen's Med or Queen's) is a teaching hospital situated in Nottingham, England. Until February 2012, when it was surpassed by the Royal London Hospital, it was the largest hospital in the Unit ...
to Arnold, via Basford. * Nottingham to Gedling. * Nottingham to Gamston. *
Chilwell Chilwell is a suburban area in the borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the west side of the town of Beeston and is south-west of the centre of Nottingham. History Roman buildings, pottery and coins have been found i ...
to Ilkeston. * Clifton to East Midlands Parkway or East Midlands Airport. * Chilwell to Stapleford town centre and/or Sandiacre. The documentation also raised the possibility of
tram-train A tram-train or dual-system tram is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but a ...
lines from Nottingham to Gedling and/or Bingham, and to Ilkeston.


Extension of route 2 to Kimberley

Kimberley, Eastwood & Nuthall Tram Action Group (KENTAG) campaigns for an extension from Phoenix Park to Eastwood and Kimberley. In December 2012,
Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Nottingham, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. Nottingham has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous ...
agreed to seek money to conduct a feasibility study on the route. In a major setback for tram proponents, in December 2014 Broxtowe Borough Council voted to reject a proposal to help fund a feasibility study into a line to Kimberley, due to the problems and delays of Lines 2 and 3. Richard Robinson, Labour Councillor for Kimberley, said the plan was always to bring the proposals back to the table. He said: "The vote in December was a roadblock put in our way, but we will overcome it". Councillors voted 19 to 13 in favour of Cllr Robinson stepping down pending the outcome of an inquiry after he admitted on Radio Nottingham to encouraging a pro-tram campaigner to flood local media with positive letters, while using aliases to make them appear local. In 2015, Broxtowe Borough Council (jointly with British Land) commissioned a £55,000 study from Mott MacDonald to look into all transport options to reduce congestion along the A610 corridor though Broxtowe. It considered four potential tram routes to the Kimberley retail park. This estimated that the cost of the extension could reach £168million.


Extension of route 1 to serve HS2 at Toton and Derby

News that a station for the proposed HS2 line (the East Midlands Hub) was likely to be built on the site of Toton sidings, only a short distance from the Toton Lane terminus has fuelled speculation that the line could be extended to the new station. In November 2015 there was a proposal for the tram network to be extended from Toton to Derby. Two routes were later proposed by the D2N2 local enterprise partnership for the route to Derby. The first route would be via the A52 while the second would be via Borrowash and Spondon. Land has been protected in planning application for housing developments between the Toton Lane terminus and Toton Sidings.


Extension of route 2 to Fairham

By mid-2018, a short extension southwards beyond the Clifton South terminus was being investigated, in order to serve the 3,000-home Fairham development next to the A453 road.


Special events

* On 15 May 2004, a special tram transported members of the Tramway and Light Railway Society on a tour of crossovers and less used sections of track, prior to the society's Annual General Meeting. * On 11 June 2014, a technical tour of the Nottingham Tram system was scheduled for delegates of the 9th Annual UK Light Rail Conference meeting at Nottingham Conference Centre. * In May 2014, during the construction of the tram extension to Beeston, work was stopped and the road temporarily resurfaced so that a bride could travel to their wedding. * In December 2014, tram 209 ''Sid Standard'' made a special journey between The Forest and Nottingham Market Square to bring Sid Standard's granddaughter to her wedding at
Nottingham Council House Nottingham Council House is the city hall of Nottingham, England. The high dome that rises above the city is the centrepiece of the skyline and presides over the Old Market Square, Nottingham, Old Market Square which is also referred to as the ...
. * In May 2017, a bride and her group of bridesmaids travelled from Cinderhill tram stop to Old Market Square for her wedding at the Council House. * On 7 May 2018, a tram tour of the Wilkinson Street Depot and other rarely used pieces of track was held to raise money for the National Tramway Museum at Crich and the Forever Stars
stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetus, fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without vital signs, signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt (emotio ...
charity. * On 2 June 2018, a special tram transported a wedding party from Station Street tram stop to Nottingham Trent University tram stop for their wedding at Nottingham
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
Meeting House. The group had arrived from Beeston along the
Nottingham Canal The Nottingham Canal is a canal in the English counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. As built, it comprised a long main line between the River Trent just downstream of Trent Bridge in Nottingham and Langley Mill in Derbyshire. At the sam ...
to Castle Lock by boat. Tram fares were donated to
Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, an ...
. * On 23 March 2019, a wedding group travelled from Phoenix Park tram stop to Nottingham Market Square for a wedding at the council house, before continuing with a historic bus.


Accidents and incidents

* On 6 October 2007, a 23-year-old man from
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
died after being hit by a tram when he stepped in front of it at Weekday Cross. His death was the first fatality since the trams commenced operation. * On 11 November 2011, a 44-year-old man from Barnsley died after being hit by a tram following an incident close to Wilkinson Street depot. * On 28 November 2012, a 13-year-old girl was hit by a tram on the Bayles and Wylies footpath crossing, on the border of Bestwood and
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
. She was rushed to hospital but later died from her injuries. The local MP remarked "I am mindful that this is not the first fatality on Nottingham's tramline and we obviously need to look at what's going wrong and how we can fix it." The crossing was subsequently closed and both it and the adjacent crossing, that took the footpath across a nearby railway line, were replaced by a footbridge. * On 15 August 2016, late at night, a 51-year-old man was killed by a tram between David Lane and Basford. The man had got off at David Lane and was spotted walking along the tramway, but misunderstandings between control staff resulted in the tram driver not being warned of his presence. * On 18 July 2017, a technical fault with a tram caused damage to overhead lines near Basford. The network was unable to run trams between David Lane and The Forest tram stops, causing major disruption over a three-day period. * On 6 December 2017, a van collided with a tram on University Boulevard. Four passengers were slightly injured. The incident led to severe traffic jams across much of the city, and the tram service continued to be disrupted for many days afterwards. * On 15 December 2017, the raincover of an empty pushchair became trapped in a tram door whilst departing Radford Road stop. After investigating, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch issued a recommendation to all UK-based tram-operators to undertake visual checks, in addition to the automatic electronic door interlocking detection, prior to a tram moving off. * On 7 October 2020, a man was injured after he was hit by a tram on Victoria Street. * During a heatwave in July 2022, services became extremely disrupted due to the withdrawal of almost half the fleet, as NET were not confident that the trams were fit for service in such conditions. Some trams were out of service until repairs were made. * On 30 September 2022, a tram became derailed on the points at Highbury Vale, which caused significant disruption to services throughout the day, particularly affecting passengers travelling to the opening day of
Goose Fair The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England, during the first week of October. Largely provided by travelling Showmen, it is one of four established fairs in the United K ...
, which was taking place for the first time in three years at the Forest Recreation Ground. Services were resumed the following day. * On 12 June 2023, tram 232 derailed whilst travelling southbound at Bulwell tram stop. At the end of the single-line section leading to Hucknall tram stop, a set of facing
points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
had not properly reset after another tram travelled over them. When tram 232 then passed over them, its first bogie was routed differently to its second and third, leading to the tram derailing and striking the supporting overhead line equipment.


See also

* List of modern tramway and light rail systems in the United Kingdom * Nottingham and District Tramways Company Limited (horse and steam tram service from 1878 to 1902) * Nottingham Corporation Tramways (electric tram service from 1901 to 1936) * List of town tramway systems in the United Kingdom


References


Bibliography

* * Special publication distributed with October 2015 edition of Tramways & Urban Transit magazine


External links

*
A virtual ride on the Nottingham tram
{{Authority control Keolis Railway lines opened in 2004 Electric railways in the United Kingdom Tram transport in England 750 V DC railway electrification
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
2004 establishments in England