Rapid Transit Monitor 2006 published
8 May 2006
Light rail could still get 17 lines costing £5.2 billion, says new report
Despite recent Government reluctance to fund major new light rail projects in the UK, scheme promoters and transport planners are still developing more than 17 new schemes, extensions and projects which could be built over the next ten years at a cost of over £5.2 billion. This is the conclusion of a major new report on rapid transit investment in the UK, published by leading public transport consultant TAS.
The projects in London and the South East are the most likely to succeed, says the report, with work on further developments on the Docklands Light Railway proceeding apace. Several of these are integral to the 2012 Olympics, asnd will therefore happen. The total bill for the DLR over the next ten years is likely to exceed £700m. Transport for London is also continuing to develop plans two other tramways and on extensions to Tramlink, which together could result in another £1 billion or so of investment.
The report assumes that some work will proceed on extending the increasingly successful Manchester and Sheffield systems, and that planned extensions to Birmingham’s Midland Metro will get the go-ahead. It notes, meanwhile, that the authorities in Merseyside remain committed to the Merseytram project and expects that a successful project will emerge. Extensions to the highly successful Nottingham system are also expected to proceed, together with some renewals and extensions to the Tyne and Wear Metro, probably towards the end of the ten-year period. The scheme for Edinburgh’s tramway recently received a boost, with the plans passed by the Scottish Parliament.
The new Rapid Transit Monitor report, published this week, is the ninth in a series dating back to 1991, and provides 295 pages of commentary and analysis in a series of volumes, covering respectively Light Rail, Underground and Bus Rapid Transit. A fourth volume provides an overview of Rapid Transit planning and finance.
It features financial analysis of the operators of existing schemes, including for the first time London Underground and the PPP companies responsible for maintaining and upgrading London’s tube network.
Commenting on the report, editor Chris Cheek said, “The years since our first report in 1991 have seen periods of frustration and delay – but we have also seen many positive developments. We seem to have hit the buffers again over the past couple of years, but our analysis shows that this is not stopping planners and promoters from developing a range of exciting new projects around the country. We wish them every success.”
The report includes details and analysis of all the existing light rail and metro systems in the UK, together with a section on bus-based rapid transit, with details of some 16 operating and planned bus-based projects around the country, from Belfast to Welwyn.