109-469: Nottingham Express Transit ( NET ) is a 20-mile (32 km) tram system in Nottingham , England. The concept of a modern tramway to reduce road congestion and promote urban renewal 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
218-537: 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 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
327-622: A tram engine in the UK) at the head of a line of one or more carriages, similar to a small train. Systems with such steam trams included Christchurch , New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; other city systems in New South Wales ; Munich , Germany (from August 1883 on), British India (from 1885) and the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (from 1888) in Ireland. Steam tramways also were used on
436-520: A Vermont blacksmith, had invented a battery-powered electric motor which he later patented. The following year he used it to operate a small model electric car on a short section of track four feet in diameter. Attempts to use batteries as a source of electricity were made from the 1880s and 1890s, with unsuccessful trials conducted in among other places Bendigo and Adelaide in Australia, and for about 14 years as The Hague accutram of HTM in
545-453: A cost of £200 million, a sum equivalent to £388 million at 2023 price. Line 1 runs between Toton Lane and Hucknall , features a total of 33 or 34 tram stops, depending on direction, and has a journey time throughout of 62 minutes. 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
654-630: 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. 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
763-411: A journey time throughout of 47 minutes. The system has a total length of 20 mi (32 kilometres). 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. The southern branch of line 1 commences at Toton Lane , a large Park & Ride site that
872-506: 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 (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
981-469: 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. Twenty two new Alstom Citadis 302 trams were ordered in preparation for
1090-610: A newly created right of way out of the estate. The new right of way joins the route of the former Great Central Railway , 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 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
1199-443: A respective year is given a chapter number (abbreviated "c."), denoted by Arabic numerals in the case of public general acts , lowercase Roman numerals in the case of local acts , or italicised Arabic numerals in the case of personal acts . These run as separate series. 57 acts of Parliament were passed by the 51st Parliament in its 2nd session: 41 public general acts and 16 local acts. [REDACTED] indicates that an act
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#17327917167451308-557: 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 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
1417-726: A similar technology, Pirotsky put into service the first public electric tramway in St. Petersburg, which operated only during September 1880. The second demonstration tramway was presented by Siemens & Halske at the 1879 Berlin Industrial Exposition. The first public electric tramway used for permanent service was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It
1526-847: 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 credit and debit card including Apple Pay and Android 's Google Wallet for single and day fares without
1635-501: A total length of 32 km (20 mi) As of 2024, the rolling stock 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. Nottingham and the surrounding urban area is the UK's seventh largest and third fastest-growing urban area. Traditionally, Nottingham's economy
1744-946: A well-known tourist attraction . A single cable line also survives in Wellington (rebuilt in 1979 as a funicular but still called the " Wellington Cable Car "). Another system, with two separate cable lines and a shared power station in the middle, operates from the Welsh town of Llandudno up to the top of the Great Orme hill in North Wales , UK. Hastings and some other tramways, for example Stockholms Spårvägar in Sweden and some lines in Karachi , used petrol trams. Galveston Island Trolley in Texas operated diesel trams due to
1853-618: Is in the Borough of Broxtowe , with the rest of the branch in the City of Nottingham . 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 , Clifton Centre , Rivergreen and Southchurch Drive North , before entering
1962-523: 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. The two southern branches unite at a junction to the south of Nottingham railway station , which
2071-551: 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
2180-640: Is still in operation in modernised form. The earliest tram system in Canada was built by John Joseph Wright , brother of the famous mining entrepreneur Whitaker Wright , in Toronto in 1883, introducing electric trams in 1892. In the US, multiple experimental electric trams were exhibited at the 1884 World Cotton Centennial World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana , but they were not deemed good enough to replace
2289-734: Is the sole survivor of the fleet). In Italy, in Trieste , the Trieste–Opicina tramway was opened in 1902, with the steepest section of the route being negotiated with the help of a funicular and its cables. Cable cars suffered from high infrastructure costs, since an expensive system of cables , pulleys , stationary engines and lengthy underground vault structures beneath the rails had to be provided. They also required physical strength and skill to operate, and alert operators to avoid obstructions and other cable cars. The cable had to be disconnected ("dropped") at designated locations to allow
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#17327917167452398-650: Is to the west of Chilwell , north of Toton and south of Stapleford , and is just 1 mile (1.6 km) along the Stapleford bypass (A52) from junction 25 of the M1 motorway . 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
2507-454: Is used to move trams on non-electrified tracks within the depot. 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. All tickets are purchased in advance - passengers need to buy
2616-475: The 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review ordered by the government , 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
2725-713: The Bleecker Street Line until its closure in 1917. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , had its Sarah Street line drawn by horses until 1923. The last regular mule-drawn cars in the US ran in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas , until 1926 and were commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1983. The last mule tram service in Mexico City ended in 1932, and a mule tram in Celaya, Mexico , survived until 1954. The last horse-drawn tram to be withdrawn from public service in
2834-933: The Lamm fireless engines then propelling the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar in that city. The first commercial installation of an electric streetcar in the United States was built in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio , and operated for a period of one year by the East Cleveland Street Railway Company. The first city-wide electric streetcar system was implemented in 1886 in Montgomery, Alabama , by the Capital City Street Railway Company, and ran for 50 years. In 1888,
2943-715: The Richmond Union Passenger Railway began to operate trams in Richmond, Virginia , that Frank J. Sprague had built. Sprague later developed multiple unit control, first demonstrated in Chicago in 1897, allowing multiple cars to be coupled together and operated by a single motorman. This gave rise to the modern subway train. Following the improvement of an overhead "trolley" system on streetcars for collecting electricity from overhead wires by Sprague, electric tram systems were rapidly adopted across
3052-463: The University of Nottingham . The naming took place on 11 June 2014, and was undertaken by the vice-mayor of Ningbo. The bridge constructed over Nottingham railway station 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 . The opening event also unveiled a new tram named in honour of
3161-824: The West Midlands Metro in Birmingham , England adopted battery-powered trams on sections through the city centre close to Grade I listed Birmingham Town Hall . Paris and Berne (Switzerland) operated trams that were powered by compressed air using the Mekarski system . Trials on street tramways in Britain, including by the North Metropolitan Tramway Company between Kings Cross and Holloway, London (1883), achieved acceptable results but were found not to be economic because of
3270-423: The recession of that year , reducing the total number of journeys to a minimum 7.4 million by 2013. By 2014–15, passenger numbers had rebounded to 8.1 million. 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
3379-1241: The 1850s, after which the "animal railway" became an increasingly common feature in the larger towns. The first permanent tram line in continental Europe was opened in Paris in 1855 by Alphonse Loubat who had previously worked on American streetcar lines. The tram was developed in numerous cities of Europe (some of the most extensive systems were found in Berlin, Budapest , Birmingham , Saint Petersburg , Lisbon , London , Manchester , Paris , Kyiv ). The first tram in South America opened in 1858 in Santiago, Chile . The first trams in Australia opened in 1860 in Sydney . Africa's first tram service started in Alexandria on 8 January 1863. The first trams in Asia opened in 1869 in Batavia (Jakarta), Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) . Limitations of horsecars included
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3488-713: The 1894-built horse tram at Victor Harbor in South Australia . New horse-drawn systems have been established at the Hokkaidō Museum in Japan and also in Disneyland . A horse-tram route in Polish gmina Mrozy , first built in 1902, was reopened in 2012. The first mechanical trams were powered by steam . Generally, there were two types of steam tram. The first and most common had a small steam locomotive (called
3597-420: The 1980s. The history of passenger trams, streetcars and trolley systems, began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided into several distinct periods defined by the principal means of power used. Precursors to the tramway included the wooden or stone wagonways that were used in central Europe to transport mine carts with unflanged wheels since the 1500s, and the paved limestone trackways designed by
3706-561: The 2nd Session of the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom This is a list of acts of the 2nd session of the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom , which ran from 18 November 1993 until 3 November 1994. Acts passed since 1963 are cited by calendar year, as opposed to the convention used for earlier acts of citing the regnal year(s) in which the relevant parliamentary session was held. Each act passed in
3815-481: The Australian state of Queensland between 1909 and 1939. Stockholm , Sweden, had a steam tram line at the island of Södermalm between 1887 and 1901. Tram engines usually had modifications to make them suitable for street running in residential areas. The wheels, and other moving parts of the machinery, were usually enclosed for safety reasons and to make the engines quieter. Measures were often taken to prevent
3924-462: The British newspaper Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported that, "A large number of London's discarded horse tramcars have been sent to Lincolnshire where they are used as sleeping rooms for potato pickers ". Horses continued to be used for light shunting well into the 20th century, and many large metropolitan lines lasted into the early 20th century. New York City had a regular horsecar service on
4033-774: The Entertainment Centre, and work is progressing on further extensions. Sydney re-introduced trams (or light rail) on 31 August 1997. A completely new system, known as G:link , was introduced on the Gold Coast, Queensland , on 20 July 2014. The Newcastle Light Rail opened in February 2019, while the Canberra light rail opened on 20 April 2019. This is the first time that there have been trams in Canberra, even though Walter Burley Griffin 's 1914–1920 plans for
4142-583: The Irish coach builder John Stephenson , in New York City which began service in the year 1832. The New York and Harlem Railroad's Fourth Avenue Line ran along the Bowery and Fourth Avenue in New York City. It was followed in 1835 by the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana , which still operates as the St. Charles Streetcar Line . Other American cities did not follow until
4251-484: The Line 1 platforms by footpath. Beyond Highbury Vale, the line becomes single track as far as its terminus at Phoenix Park , 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. NET currently operates
4360-516: 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 7.6 km (4.7 mi) 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 21 minutes. The stop at Clifton South
4469-545: The Netherlands. The first trams in Bendigo, Australia, in 1892, were battery-powered, but within as little as three months they were replaced with horse-drawn trams. In New York City some minor lines also used storage batteries. Then, more recently during the 1950s, a longer battery-operated tramway line ran from Milan to Bergamo . In China there is a Nanjing battery Tram line and has been running since 2014. In 2019,
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4578-789: The North Sydney line from 1886 to 1900, and the King Street line from 1892 to 1905. In Dresden , Germany, in 1901 an elevated suspended cable car following the Eugen Langen one-railed floating tram system started operating. Cable cars operated on Highgate Hill in North London and Kennington to Brixton Hill in South London. They also worked around "Upper Douglas" in the Isle of Man from 1897 to 1929 (cable car 72/73
4687-441: 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 8.4 million journeys in 2004-2005 and 9.7 million in 2005–2006, against targets of 8 million and 9 million respectively. By 2007–8, ridership had reached 10.2 million journeys. This performance bolstered
4796-457: 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
4905-463: The Romans for heavy horse and ox-drawn transportation. By the 1700s, paved plateways with cast iron rails were introduced in England for transporting coal, stone or iron ore from the mines to the urban factories and docks. The world's first passenger train or tram was the Swansea and Mumbles Railway , in Wales , UK. The British Parliament passed the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and horse-drawn service started in 1807. The service closed in 1827, but
5014-413: The Second Street Cable Railroad, which operated from 1885 to 1889, and the Temple Street Cable Railway, which operated from 1886 to 1898. From 1885 to 1940, the city of Melbourne , Victoria, Australia operated one of the largest cable systems in the world, at its peak running 592 trams on 75 kilometres (47 mi) of track. There were also two isolated cable lines in Sydney , New South Wales, Australia;
5123-562: The UK at Lytham St Annes , Trafford Park , Manchester (1897–1908) and Neath , Wales (1896–1920). Comparatively little has been published about gas trams. However, research on the subject was carried out for an article in the October 2011 edition of "The Times", the historical journal of the Australian Association of Timetable Collectors, later renamed the Australian Timetable Association. The world's first electric tram line operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg invented and tested by inventor Fyodor Pirotsky in 1875. Later, using
5232-410: The UK took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction one mile away on the main Omagh to Enniskillen railway in Northern Ireland. The tram made its last journey on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed. The "van" is preserved at the Ulster Transport Museum . Horse-drawn trams still operate on the 1876-built Douglas Bay Horse Tramway on the Isle of Man , and at
5341-508: The advantages over earlier forms of transit was the low rolling resistance of metal wheels on steel rails, allowing the trams to haul a greater load for a given effort. Another factor which contributed to the rise of trams was the high total cost of ownership of horses. Electric trams largely replaced animal power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Improvements in other vehicles such as buses led to decline of trams in early to mid 20th century. However, trams have seen resurgence since
5450-460: The busiest tram line in Europe, with a tram running once per minute at rush hour. Bucharest and Belgrade ran a regular service from 1894. Ljubljana introduced its tram system in 1901 – it closed in 1958. Oslo had the first tramway in Scandinavia , starting operation on 2 March 1894. The first electric tramway in Australia was a Sprague system demonstrated at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne ; afterwards, this
5559-439: The capital then in the planning stage did propose a Canberra tram system. In Japan, the Kyoto Electric railroad was the first tram system, starting operation in 1895. By 1932, the network had grown to 82 railway companies in 65 cities, with a total network length of 1,479 km (919 mi). By the 1960s the tram had generally died out in Japan. Two rare but significant alternatives were conduit current collection , which
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#17327917167455668-458: The car up the hill at a steady pace, unlike a low-powered steam or horse-drawn car. Cable cars do have wheel brakes and track brakes , but the cable also helps restrain the car to going downhill at a constant speed. Performance in steep terrain partially explains the survival of cable cars in San Francisco. The San Francisco cable cars , though significantly reduced in number, continue to provide regular transportation service, in addition to being
5777-402: The cars to coast by inertia, for example when crossing another cable line. The cable then had to be "picked up" to resume progress, the whole operation requiring precise timing to avoid damage to the cable and the grip mechanism. Breaks and frays in the cable, which occurred frequently, required the complete cessation of services over a cable route while the cable was repaired. Due to overall wear,
5886-405: The case for the construction of new lines. On 27 July 2009, the GMB trade union held a strike 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. In January 2003, even before the first phase had opened,
5995-582: The city centre, the line continues, calling at Nottingham Trent University and High School before reaching The Forest . To the north of here is a section of about 1 km (0.62 mi), 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
6104-409: The city's hurricane-prone location, which would have resulted in frequent damage to an electrical supply system. Although Portland, Victoria promotes its tourist tram as being a cable car it actually operates using a diesel motor. The tram, which runs on a circular route around the town of Portland, uses dummies and salons formerly used on the Melbourne cable tramway system and since restored. In
6213-417: 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 , features a total of 33 or 34 tram stops, depending on direction, and has a journey time throughout of 62 minutes. Line 2 runs between Clifton South and Phoenix Park , features 27 or 28 tram stops, depending on direction, and has
6322-423: The classic tramway built in the early 20th century with the tram system operating in mixed traffic, and the later type which is most often associated with the tram system having its own right of way. Tram systems that have their own right of way are often called light rail but this does not always hold true. Though these two systems differ in their operation, their equipment is much the same. List of Acts of
6431-416: The combined coal consumption of the stationary compressor and the onboard steam boiler. The Trieste–Opicina tramway in Trieste operates a hybrid funicular tramway system. Conventional electric trams are operated in street running and on reserved track for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for
6540-457: 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 alignment, which it shares with the Robin Hood railway line . The railway and tram lines run next to each other, segregated by
6649-413: 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. NET have a road-rail -equipped Unimog truck. A battery-powered shunter
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#17327917167456758-430: The downhill run. For safety, the cable tractors are always deployed on the downhill side of the tram vehicle. Similar systems were used elsewhere in the past, notably on the Queen Anne Counterbalance in Seattle and the Darling Street wharf line in Sydney. In the mid-20th century many tram systems were disbanded, replaced by buses, trolleybuses , automobiles or rapid transit . The General Motors streetcar conspiracy
6867-500: The elevated stop at the Queen's Medical Centre , 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 9.8 km (6.1 mi) 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 30 minutes. The line from Toton to just before University Boulevard
6976-446: The engines from emitting visible smoke or steam. Usually the engines used coke rather than coal as fuel to avoid emitting smoke; condensers or superheating were used to avoid emitting visible steam. A major drawback of this style of tram was the limited space for the engine, so that these trams were usually underpowered. Steam trams faded out around the 1890s to 1900s, being replaced by electric trams. Another motive system for trams
7085-429: The entire length of cable (typically several kilometres) had to be replaced on a regular schedule. After the development of reliable electrically powered trams, the costly high-maintenance cable car systems were rapidly replaced in most locations. Cable cars remained especially effective in hilly cities, since their nondriven wheels did not lose traction as they climbed or descended a steep hill. The moving cable pulled
7194-439: The fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was charged with storing and then disposing. Since a typical horse pulled a streetcar for about a dozen miles a day and worked for four or five hours, many systems needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. In 1905
7303-517: The following fleet: 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 . The Flexity Outlook 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 with a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). On 8 March 2013, NET announced that all trams would be refurbished and receive
7412-404: The infrastructure, Transdev and Nottingham City Transport (NCT). As originally built, the system was 8.7 miles (14 km) long and served 23 tram stops . The construction cost a total of £200 million, a sum equivalent to £388 million at 2023 prices. Nottingham Express Transit began operation in March 2004, with a line operating north from a terminal at Station Street, just to
7521-443: The joint promoters, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council, awarded a 30-year Private Finance Initiative (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 (later subsumed into Bombardier Transportation ), who were responsible for the trams, Carillion , who were responsible for
7630-444: The late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of systems in various parts of the world employed trams powered by gas, naphtha gas or coal gas in particular. Gas trams are known to have operated between Alphington and Clifton Hill in the northern suburbs of Melbourne , Australia (1886–1888); in Berlin and Dresden , Germany; in Estonia (1921–1951); between Jelenia Góra , Cieplice , and Sobieszów in Poland (from 1897); and in
7739-402: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was one particular hazard associated with trams powered from a trolley pole off an overhead line on the early electrified systems. Since the tram relies on contact with the rails for the current return path, a problem arises if the tram is derailed or (more usually) if it halts on a section of track that has been heavily sanded by a previous tram, and
7848-429: 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
7957-651: The late running construction. Track laying was completed on 11 December 2014. 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 was named the Ningbo Friendship Bridge to acknowledge the links between the city of Ningbo , in China , and
8066-534: The necessity of overhead wire and a trolley pole for street cars and railways. While at the University of Denver he conducted experiments which established that multiple unit powered cars were a better way to operate trains and trolleys. Electric tramways spread to many European cities in the 1890s, such as: Sarajevo built a citywide system of electric trams in 1895. Budapest established its tramway system in 1887, and its ring line has grown to be
8175-440: The need to buy a physical ticket. Under a scheme run by Nottingham City Council , the city has covered secure cycle parks that feature CCTV , 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
8284-489: The north of Nottingham railway station , through the city centre, branching to serve twin termini at Hucknall and Phoenix Park . Once the line was complete, operation was sub-contracted by Arrow Light Rail to the Nottingham Tram Consortium (NTC), an equal partnership between Transdev and Nottingham City Transport . The new line proved successful, leading to an increase of public transport use for
8393-533: The oldest operating electric tramway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram was opened near Vienna in Austria. It was the first tram in the world in regular service that was run with electricity served by an overhead line with pantograph current collectors . The Blackpool Tramway was opened in Blackpool, UK on 29 September 1885 using conduit collection along Blackpool Promenade. This system
8502-637: The poor paving of the streets in American cities which made them unsuitable for horsebuses , which were then common on the well-paved streets of European cities. Running the horsecars on rails allowed for a much smoother ride. There are records of a street railway running in Baltimore as early as 1828, however the first authenticated streetcar in America, was the New York and Harlem Railroad developed by
8611-511: The possibility of using a modern tramway as a means of stimulating urban renewal , as well as tackling road congestion. Plans began from around 1990, by Nottingham Development Enterprise, under Malcolm Reece. Studies in Grenoble 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
8720-485: The public was the new tram station above Nottingham railway station , 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)
8829-439: 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
8938-542: The suburban tramway lines around Milan and Padua ; the last Gamba de Legn ("Peg-Leg") tramway ran on the Milan- Magenta -Castano Primo route in late 1957. The other style of steam tram had the steam engine in the body of the tram, referred to as a tram engine (UK) or steam dummy (US). The most notable system to adopt such trams was in Paris. French-designed steam trams also operated in Rockhampton , in
9047-469: 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 . Line 2 diverges from line 1 at Highbury Vale, serving two separate platforms connected to
9156-558: The tracks. Siemens later designed his own version of overhead current collection, called the bow collector . One of the first systems to use it was in Thorold, Ontario , opened in 1887, and it was considered quite successful. While this line proved quite versatile as one of the earliest fully functional electric streetcar installations, it required horse-drawn support while climbing the Niagara Escarpment and for two months of
9265-416: The tram and completing the earth return circuit with their body could receive a serious electric shock. If "grounded", the driver was required to jump off the tram (avoiding simultaneous contact with the tram and the ground) and pull down the trolley pole, before allowing passengers off the tram. Unless derailed, the tram could usually be recovered by running water down the running rails from a point higher than
9374-466: The tram loses electrical contact with the rails. In this event, the underframe of the tram, by virtue of a circuit path through ancillary loads (such as interior lighting), is live at the full supply voltage, typically 600 volts DC. In British terminology, such a tram was said to be 'grounded'—not to be confused with the US English use of the term, which means the exact opposite. Any person stepping off
9483-418: 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 's main campus. From here it uses the Ningbo Friendship Bridge to cross the Clifton Boulevard (A52) to
9592-427: The tram, the water providing a conducting bridge between the tram and the rails. With improved technology, this ceased to be an problem. In the 2000s, several companies introduced catenary-free designs: Alstom's Citadis line uses a third rail, Bombardier's PRIMOVE LRV is charged by contactless induction plates embedded in the trackway and CAF URBOS tram uses ultracaps technology As early as 1834, Thomas Davenport ,
9701-794: 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 , and to Chilwell via Beeston . Approval for phase two was given on 25 October 2006 with the British Government agreeing to provide up to £437 million in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits. The local councils will also provide up to £141 million 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
9810-804: The wider term light rail , which also includes systems separated from other traffic. Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than main line and rapid transit trains. Most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph sliding on an overhead line ; older systems may use a trolley pole or a bow collector . In some cases, a contact shoe on a third rail is used. If necessary, they may have dual power systems—electricity in city streets and diesel in more rural environments. Occasionally, trams also carry freight . Some trams, known as tram-trains , may have segments that run on mainline railway tracks, similar to interurban systems. The differences between these modes of rail transport are often indistinct, and systems may combine multiple features. One of
9919-409: The winter when hydroelectricity was not available. It continued in service in its original form into the 1950s. Sidney Howe Short designed and produced the first electric motor that operated a streetcar without gears. The motor had its armature direct-connected to the streetcar 's axle for the driving force. Short pioneered "use of a conduit system of concealed feed" thereby eliminating
10028-532: The world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle tramcar at an assembly facility in Qingdao . The chief engineer of the CSR subsidiary CSR Sifang Co Ltd. , Liang Jianying, said that the company is studying how to reduce the running costs of the tram. Trams have been used for two main purposes: for carrying passengers and for carrying cargo. There are several types of passenger tram: There are two main types of tramways,
10137-401: The world. Earlier electric trains proved difficult or unreliable and experienced limited success until the second half of the 1880s, when new types of current collectors were developed. Siemens' line, for example, provided power through a live rail and a return rail, like a model train , limiting the voltage that could be used, and delivering electric shocks to people and animals crossing
10246-682: Was a case study of the decline of trams in the United States. In the 21st century, trams have been re-introduced in cities where they had been closed down for decades (such as Tramlink in London), or kept in heritage use (such as Spårväg City in Stockholm). Most trams made since the 1990s (such as the Bombardier Flexity series and Alstom Citadis ) are articulated low-floor trams with features such as regenerative braking . In March 2015, China South Rail Corporation (CSR) demonstrated
10355-491: Was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. This was the world's first commercially successful electric tram. It drew current from the rails at first, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. In Britain, Volk's Electric Railway was opened in 1883 in Brighton. This two kilometer line along the seafront, re-gauged to 2 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 825 mm ) in 1884, remains in service as
10464-487: Was installed as a commercial venture operating between the outer Melbourne suburb of Box Hill and the then tourist-oriented country town Doncaster from 1889 to 1896. Electric systems were also built in Adelaide , Ballarat , Bendigo , Brisbane , Fremantle , Geelong , Hobart , Kalgoorlie , Launceston , Leonora , Newcastle , Perth , and Sydney . By the 1970s, the only full tramway system remaining in Australia
10573-576: 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 £167 million funding for a new tram system, to be known as Nottingham Express Transit, to run between Nottingham and Hucknall . In March 2000,
10682-454: 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
10791-432: 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. The network consists of two lines that cross
10900-789: 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. Tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in the United States) is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way . The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in
11009-499: 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 , features 27 or 28 tram stops, depending on direction, and has a journey time throughout of 47 minutes. Presently, the tramway is operated and maintained by Nottingham Trams Ltd on behalf of the Tramlink Nottingham consortium. It has
11118-482: Was provided in subsequent years. In March 2000, a 30-year Private Finance Initiative (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 8.7 miles (14 km) long and served 23 tram stops , having been constructed at
11227-566: Was restarted in 1860, again using horses. It was worked by steam from 1877, and then, from 1929, by very large (106-seat) electric tramcars, until closure in 1960. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was something of a one-off however, and no street tramway appeared in Britain until 1860 when one was built in Birkenhead by the American George Francis Train . Street railways developed in America before Europe, due to
11336-628: Was tested in San Francisco , in 1873. Part of its success is attributed to the development of an effective and reliable cable grip mechanism, to grab and release the moving cable without damage. The second city to operate cable trams was Dunedin , from 1881 to 1957. The most extensive cable system in the US was built in Chicago in stages between 1859 and 1892. New York City developed multiple cable car lines, that operated from 1883 to 1909. Los Angeles also had several cable car lines, including
11445-635: Was the Melbourne tram system. However, there were also a few single lines remaining elsewhere: the Glenelg tram line , connecting Adelaide to the beachside suburb of Glenelg , and tourist trams in the Victorian Goldfields cities of Bendigo and Ballarat. In recent years the Melbourne system, generally recognised as the largest urban tram network in the world, has been considerably modernised and expanded. The Adelaide line has been extended to
11554-411: Was the cable car, which was pulled along a fixed track by a moving steel cable, the cable usually running in a slot below the street level. The power to move the cable was normally provided at a "powerhouse" site a distance away from the actual vehicle. The London and Blackwall Railway , which opened for passengers in east London, England, in 1840 used such a system. The first practical cable car line
11663-530: 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
11772-463: Was to a large extent based on manufacturing and coal mining , 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 , 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 and Nottinghamshire County Council identified
11881-830: Was widely used in London, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and the surface contact collection method, used in Wolverhampton (the Lorain system), Torquay and Hastings in the UK (the Dolter stud system), and in Bordeaux , France (the ground-level power supply system). The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved. Electric trams largely replaced animal power and other forms of motive power including cable and steam, in
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