CALL FOR EVIDENCE ON LIGHT RAIL

The answer for improved urban mobility? Sheffield Supertram leaves Sheffield station stop heading for Malin Bridge on 28 February 2018, during the ‘Beast from the East’ spell of bad weather. Tony Miles

THE GOVERNMENT has launched a call for evidence seeking views on the potential for new light rail and other rapid transit solutions in English towns and cities.

Government says the call for evidence offers an opportunity to understand the role light rail systems and other systems, including very light rail, ultra-light rail and other automated guided transit systems, can play in the future of urban mobility. In the introduction to the paper, Transport Minister Jesse Norman says a key element is looking at ‘how we can build industrial capacity for a new generation of light rail and related systems in the UK, in line with Government’s industrial strategy’.

On cost, the call for evidence paper notes there has been some concern that light rail schemes are expensive but suggests the cost of UK systems is ‘not necessarily any greater than European or North American schemes’, adding the caveat that it is only with more comprehensive data that proper assessments will be possible. It notes the key difference between UK and European schemes is ‘the reliance on heavy rail conversions rather than the use of a street running tramway’.

The Government has also announced £1.5 million of funding to establish a Light Rail Safety Standard board, designed to ensure improved management across the UK tram industry by enabling more effective UK-wide co-operation