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Millions of pounds? What a waste of money, which could be spent on other ares of concern. It would be better to spend the money on improving city transport. The Thing is, once the tram is up and running I can see the City Council charging the earth to use it. They say that they want more people to use city transport, well I think that spending millions on a tram is the wrong way to go about it. Roads are just going to be more congested than before.

Craig, Car Driver
Nottingham

Paul Campbell is spot on with his views of what a tram system can offer Nottingham. Whilst I was a student in Newcastle upon Tyne the Conservative government deregulated local transport and the excellent and established integrated ticketing system collapsed. To the great detriment of the entire region it became impossible to travel on the Tyne & Wear Metro and the City Buses using a single ticket. Have a look at the tram, bus (and metro) networks in the cities of central Europe, for example, Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic (with a central business district of a similar size to that of Nottingham's), and you will quickly see the benefits of integrated ticketing offered by such schemes. I have lived and worked in the Nottingham area for the last 11 years and I do not believe that anybody is qualified to belittle the foresighted efforts embodied by the NET project without experiencing the benefits of such schemes before making comment.

Peter Lewis
West Bridgford

I think any system which takes cars off the roads has to be a good thing & money well spent, the real issue should be how to stop even more cars from taking their place`s once you`ve convinced people to use the tram service because then we`ed be back to square one & all the poorer for it.

Steve
Hucknall

I just wish that all those people who are complaining about the Tram system would see beyond their "Dashboard", ditch those cars, especially the ones with the stupid names -The New Ford P*k! We can't go on pandering to the whims of whining car drivers, but then again if you enjoy sitting in a £10,000 car going about 3 mph down the A4757575??? then go ahead...

Raid 'e' hater
nottingham

I think the new trams are a great idea. No doubt when they built the railways, there was a lot of disruption, and there will be a lot of upheaval before the trams get underway, but think of the long term benefits. Let's just hope that they send the tram drivers to charm school before they start driving - it would be so pleasant to be acknowledged when you thank them at the end of your journey. Unlike many of the local bus drivers - a surly lot, with a few notable exceptions! Car owner who goes into work in the city on the bus!

A Polite Bus User
Nottingham

Any addition and improvement to the public transport in Nottingham must be a good thing. Once the trams are established, the authorities should look very hard at extending them outside the city in various directions to cover a much wider area. Also, I would like to see more rail lines being laid or re-opened and small and fast commuter trains being used as well. People will only leave their cars behind if the public transport offers them reliability, comfort, speed and will take them to exactly where they want to go. Good, efficient public transport is definitely the future, not just for Nottingham, but for everywhere.

Debbie Blake
Stapleford, Nottingham

I was interested in statement by one correspondent that in Sheffield the tram has taken people out of the city centre. Perhaps, but isn't it more likely that Sheffield's biggest threat was Meadowhall, which despite being on the tram, owes most of its success to its location next to the M1? If Nottingham is to compete it needs to make its centre easily accessible. Assuming we don't wish to see even more cars on the roads then we need attractive alternatives. Many ideas suggested here, such as improvements to bus and rails services are good and are currently being considered. However, the tram does have certain advantages on certain routes. It will pass many residential areas and 'park and ride' schemes, allowing drivers to leave their cars. It is unlikley that buses would be fast enough to encourage this transition. Equally the tram offers a range of city centre stops whereas trains only offer one - which isn't particuluarly central. The tram does not duplicate the Robin Hood line, it inter-connects with it, hence improving the affectiveness of both services. Finally, line one is only a starting point. It will be the most difficult to build as it provides the backbone of the network. However, providing future extensions to other parts of the city will ba a lot easier. In a decade from now, NET could well be the prefered way to travel in Nottingham.

John
Mapperley

It's simply a waste of money, The bus service in the areas the tram will operate is totally adequate. In my opinion it would add to the congestion, and create more confusion to other road user's and pedestrians alike.

Paul
Long Eaton, Nottingham

First of all, congratulations on the new site - it looks great and is very informative. Also, it's good to have a new opportunity to hear people's views about the tram, which have been very balanced. In response to some of the points raised so far …

1) The tram runs for 10km of its 14km length alongside the Robin Hood Line. This route was chosen for its low car ownership, high public transport use and because it provides a new link for disadvantaged former coalfield communities and inner city areas. The Robin Hood Line services are not being duplicated, they are being complemented by a new form of public transport which provides an entirely different service to trains by carrying more people more frequently to more places. It gets people around within urban areas, rather than ferrying them between urban communities, and as such, will enhance the Robin Hood Line services. Once Line One has proved its worth - which it will - we will have a better case for developing future lines…

2) We are looking into the feasibility of new lines to create a network, with consultants working right now to determine where future lines could go. Options being considered include lines south of the river towards West Bridgford and Clifton, west towards Beeston and east towards Gedling.

3) Evidence from tram systems developed elsewhere shows that there is a likelihood that house prices will rise as the areas the tram passes through benefit from its regenerative qualities.

4) Hyson Green, which will of course suffer probably the worst of the inevitable disruption, is set to be the area which gains the most in the long-term, both from having a first class public transport system on its doorstep, linking it with the city centre and enabling it to recreate itself as an even more vibrant community.

5) One correspondent asks whether cars can be banned from the city centre. The City Council is creating a 'Clear Zone' at the heart of the city, which initially restricts the vehicles allowed to travel through it, which includes the tram, of course. Eventually, it is hoped the heart of Nottingham will be a zero-emissions zone.

6) The tram will be given priority on the streets, and if its path is ever blocked, the operator has powers to move whatever is in the way. Finally, the work which is currently being carried out on the streets is to move utility services away from the path of the tram - so any work in the future won't be disrupting tram services once they're up and running in November 2003!

Stephen Barker
NET communications manager
Nottingham

I have read all the comments with intrest. I see that the Tram is only serving one particular section of the city and not one of the sections that suffer the worst with traffic each day,such as the Mansfield Road (A60) or Clifton Bridge for example. I can also see huge holdups at tramstops as passengers go into the road to get on and off the vehicle, unless of course lorries and cars will be banned from using these routes. Would it not have been better to consider an underground system? I relaise how costly this would be,but over the years it can be extended and it can be built with less disruption of the public at large.

Thomas
Arnold

I think the tram will be worth while in the long run but I do not approve of the traffic comotion it is causing. I go to Nottingham Girls High Shool and it will be absolute horror for people like me trying to get to school as they are posting one of the stops near our school.

Humah Akram 12
Wollaton, Nottingham

It is important that Nottingham moves on with the tram system and gets lines south of the river. We can not go on building more and more roads and having more and more congestion. This just wastes millions of pounds of public money, causes more deaths and pollution and brings us ugly roads that spoil the city. Many other cities are now having trams and Nottingham must not get left behind.

John Smith
Nottingham

I think the arrival of the tram is long overdue. It will be great for the image of the city and offer a real alternative to driving into the city. I would like to see the development of the additonal lines as soon as possible as the current proposed line still excludes much of the population of Nottingham.

Reg Wood
Nottingham

It has been said that the new system will not affect the Robin Hood Line in spite of it running along the same route from Hucknall. The explanation has been that it is complementary to the existing rail system, but if it takes passengers from the rail has a survey been carried out to establish what contribution the passengers from Hucknall Bulwell cuurently make to the running costs of the Robin Hood Line and whether there is a critical point for the loss of those passengers which may put the rail line in jeopardy?

Harry
Mansfield

I think anything that will improve the public transport service in Nottingham is a good thing. Today it took me 1 hour to do 8 miles into Nottingham - last week it took half that time at most. I can only assume this was due to children going back to school and parents driving them. I would suggest that the tram system should link up with Park and Ride services to enable car drivers to park outside the city. Cinderhill would be an ideal site for the future. My experience of trams in other countries, e.g. Bern in Switzerland is that once they're fully implemented and integrated with other transport services then they are very effective.

Kevin
Nottingham

Even if the tram only duplicates the robin hood line for only 4 of its 14km length, it still means that a large proportion of the potential customer base will have the choice of 4 modes of transport, (tram, bus, train or private.) Surely a better route would have been from Clifton, one of the largest council estates in Europe, through the Meadows, into the centre of the city. Althought it is too late now to complain, or to change anything as we are now already commited to the NET, having just the one line does seem to be about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Neville Mellors
Nottingham

HAVING TO COMMUTE BY CAR EVERY DAY, FROM MANSFIELD TO QUEENS DRIVE , I WOULD DEARLY LOVE AN ALTERNATIVE TO SITTING IN TRAFFIC JAMS . A MODERN CITY LIKE NOTTINGHAM NEEDS TO CONSTANTLY REVIEW ITS INFRASTRUCTURE. THREE CHEERS FOR A FORWARD THINKING LOCAL AUTHORITY I SAY. Name - Location -

MALCOLM EVANS
Mansfield, Notts, England

Many people have commented about the duplication of the Robin Hood Line and NET tram route. Remember that the Robin Hood Line is a heavy rail system serving a wider route through Kirkby, Mansfield, Shirebrook to Worksop and connections beyond. Robin Hood line stations are limited in number as trains cannot start and stop so easily as trams. A full Robin Hood Line train only carries about 200 passengers every 30 minutes. The tram can cope with many hundreds at 10 minute frequencies with many more choice of tram stops. From Basford the tram will run "on street" through to the City Centre. You can't do that on the Robin Hood Line. Give the system a chance. I know that other potential routes are already being investigated !!

Steve Dance
Nottingham

Moan moan moan moan moan whine whine whine whine. "The money could be better spent on this and this and this..." Well how about that nice widescreen TV in your front room? You could sell that and give the money to a homeless person, and that lovely "little runner" you have that cost a few thousand bob, swop that for a nice little cortina and give the money left over to buying a few beds for the NHS. Good idea hey? Isn't it good to know that you anti-tram people are not just moaning and whining but out there helping the community. Well Done!!

Annoyed future tram user
Nottingham

The new tram system is a good idea for Nottingham. There do be seem to be some glaring ommissions from the planned routes however. A line should run around the Nottingham ring road, with 'cannot afford to miss' fare tarrifs. Another line should be run along Mansfield Road as well.

Graham Shepherd
Nottingham

I have seen the tram schemes in Germany where they are really benefit to the towns that they serve. The idea of buses dropping passengers at a tram point outside the city centre & the tram carrying people across town (passengers using 1 ticket) sounds good to me. Lets see the tram network extended down to the Beeston/Long Eaton side of the city.

Graham
Beeston

Hi from a city where the trolley buses run. They are clean, quiet and cheap - What are you complaing about, would you rather carry on with the dirty smelly diesal buses you have now! or have a few disruptions and clean air - at least Nottingham is trying to do something to clean up their city.

Sharon
Wellington, New Zealand

Nottingham,could really show all these tram schemes how to really change things. Rather than use rails, why don't we use trolley buses, like in Seattle. It would mean that in we would not have a system that is fixed by rails. IE: a buse travelling from say Ilkeston or Long Eaton could travel to a set point switch off the diesel engine, and connect to overhead lines. And after a few years the council could legislate to say no buses can enter the inner city that are not "Dual Fuel" electric/diesel. This works in Seattle & San Fransico for years.

Paul
Nuthall