This is especially surprising since a lot of towns started their adventures into commuting and expanding housing estates with horse drawn, then electric powered tram systems shuttling people backwards and forwards.
Those days are gone. Dead and buried some thought. Then came a resurgence in light rail systems during the 90s - across Europe as well as interest in them in Britain.
Just one or two cities had retained their systems; London obviously (the Underground is classified as a light rail/tram system in the Census), the Newcastle area has benefited from the excellent and very far stretching (47.5 miles of track) Tyne and Wear Metro since 1980 - it was the first modern light rail system to be opened in Britain and is the longest but is not technically a tram system.
GLASGOW SUBWAY
Perhaps more surprising is Glasgow's Subway, opened in - wait for it - December 1896 - powered first by cable pulleys and then by electric.In fact, Glasgow's subway system is the third oldest metro system in the world (London Underground 1863 or 1890 depending on what you take to be an underground system, Budapest Metro May 1896).
However, technically it is not a light rail system and is classified for UK regulation as an underground railway system. For that reason I shall shut up about it. Nice colours and design to the logo though!
MANCHESTER METROLINK
Manchester was quick out of the blocks and the first part of the Metrolink system running between Manchester Victoria railway station and Bury 9 miles to the north was in fact converted over from standard railway rolling stock (with an electrified third rail) to a new overhead electrified line in the summer of 1991.At the same time, work was undertaken in the city centre between Manchester Piccadilly station and Victoria and out of the city in a south west direction to another large satellite town Altrincham. The line was opened in April 1992 after some delays but allowed travel from Bury to Altrincham and linked the two main railway stations of Manchester together for the first time (plans for an underground rail tunnel and a monorail system between the two having been discussed and dropped in the 1960s and 1970s).
Manchester's network was expanded further in 1999 and 2000 (Phase 2 to Broadway and then extended to Eccles), and again in Autumn 2010 (Eccles extension to MediaCityUK at Salford Quays), July 2011 (a South Manchester extension to St. Werburgh's Road), June 2012 (Victoria to Oldham, north east of the city) and December 2012 (a further extensnio from Oldham out to the very edge of Manchester's urban area at Shaw). This latter line was extended to its full planned length in February 2013 and now reached as far as Rochdale. Another line running directly east from the city centre, the unconfusingly named East Manchester line, was opened in February 2013.
By the time new lines to East Didsbury (summer 2013), Ashton (winter 2013/14), Oldham and Rochdale town centres (2014), and Manchester Airport via Wythenshawe lines (2016) are complete, the network will cover 95km (59 miles), more than three times the original 30km (18.5 mile) network that opened in 1992.
Recently redesigned and the logo is looking slick. Well, this is Manchester. What did you expect?
SHEFFIELD SUPERTRAM
Sheffield followed suit and started building its own system in 1991 with the first tram running in March 1994 between Fitzalan Square and Meadowhall shopping centre.The network currently runs out along three lines from Park Square/Pond's Forge on the eastern edge of the city centre. North easterly bound services go past the Don Valley Stadium and onwards to Meadowhall shopping centre, northern services (2 lines) past the University and on to Hillsborough (football ground) and Middlewood where there is a large Park & Ride facility. Southbound services link Sheffield railway station and Sheffield Hallam University into the network and go on past the very suburban Crystal Peaks district to Halfway Park & Ride scheme 7.5 miles out of the city centre.
It was announced in January 2013 that a new line will be built from Meadowhall to Dore south west of the city centre. This line will link into the planned Meadowhall High Speed railway station on its completion. Other planned extensions have been dropped in favour of investments in local bus services.
Dog awful logo. Colours are fine but what idiot picked that font? And why do Stagecoach have to print their authority all over the company?
NOTTINGHAM NET
Nottingham's system is called NET, standing for Nottingham Express Transit.
It was a relative latecomer to the tram scene of northern(ish) England towns, opening in March 2004.However, as I will show you later, it has been extremely successful indeed. The original system consisted of just one line running between Nottingham railway station on the southern edge of the city centre north to Hucknall 7.5 miles to the north of the city.
Phase 2 is under construction and extends the coverage of the original line southbound from the railway station with two lines - Line 2 to Clifton town centre and a large Park and Ride scheme that will allow a fast commute route in and out of the centre for those living further out, and the second southbound from the station and running past NG2, a large Business Park site, the Queens Medical Centre and University to Toton and another Park and Ride scheme (Line 3).
Logo a bit bland on this network don't you think?
MIDLAND METRO
A System I am not going to cover here is Midland Metro, running 12 miles between Wolverhampton and Birmingham Snow Hill railway station with a very short section 'on street'.Other street level lines are planned but it is doubtful where the money will come from for construction at this stage. Nice easily recognisable logo though?
So, to measuring success?
Let's just look at the three new systems in place in the north of England (all £ figures in 2013 prices)..
Manchester
opened: 1992
cost: so far... £1.4 billion = Phase 1 £223.7 million, Phase 2 £200.75 million, Phase 3 £994.4 million (Phase 3b in progress will add £124.5 million by 2016)
length of tracks: 43 miles (59 miles by 2016)
frequency: 1 tram every 6-12 mins
network: 65 stops, 5 national rail interchanges
daily use: first full year 11.3 million 1993/94, 21.8 million 2011/12
Nottingham
opened: 2004
cost: Phase 1 £229 million. Phase 2 underway, max cost £570 million.
length of tracks: 9 miles
frequency: 1 tram every 5-6 mins
network: 23 stops, 3 national rail interchanges, 5 Park & Ride sites
daily use: first full year = 8.5 million 2004/05, 9 million 2011/12 (exceeded 10 million in 2007 and 2008)
Sheffield
opened: 1994
cost: £276.2 million
length of tracks: 18 miles
frequency: 1 tram every 5-10 mins
network: 48 stops, 2 national rail interchanges, 4 Park & Ride sites
daily use: first full year = 5.3 million 1995/96, 15 million 2011/12
[due to new lines in Mcr and Nott stats are subject to major revision during 2013]
But, my favourite way of judging things is to use graphics. Maps in particular.
Take a look at this below (click the image for a full size version) which shows the % of population at 2001 Census and then again at 2011 Census that were using light rail/tram systems to commute daily.
There is only one significant shift in behaviour in the three north of England cities. That occurs in Nottingham (bottom right with the place pin in for my non-UK readers) where comparison of the two dates show a much higher proportion of people using trams in 2011. This is a great result given that Nottingham's trams started almost half way through the period 2001-2011 and the other systems were in operation throughout the decade. For that reason, and despite being the smallest at the moment, it for me is the most successful.
Oh wait, Manchester Metrolink have been 100% powered by electricity sourced from a renewable energy company since 2007, and hydropower at that! None of the others get close. That's success of a different, more visionary, kind.
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