TRAMS could well play a part in helping to solve Warrington’s chronic traffic problems.
This is the view of a group of local tram enthusiasts following meetings with the borough council’s chief executive, Prof Steven Broomhead and with the council’s transportation officer and their consultants, Mott McDonald.
Ian Buttress, co-ordinator of the “Trams for Warrington” group said: “We have had a good week, meeting the transportation officer for Warrington and their consultants in relation to the proposed review of the Local Transport Plan (LTP) to ensure that trams feature in this important document.
“The draft LTP will be out for consultation in the Spring and we urge all supporters of trams to make supportive comments to help deal with the problems besetting Warrington.”
Mr Buttress – former principal transportation officer with Greater Manchester Council and leader of the team that developed the highly successful Metrolink tram system – said Prof Broomhead had accepted that trams could well have a part to play in dealing with the perceived problems affecting Warrington.
These were traffic congestion, pollution, a struggling town centre and massive house building planned in South East Warrington.
He said: “There is a need to improve the infrastructure to support such developments and that can be achieved by a tram network.
“The ultimate aim would be for Warrington Trams to have a link to the Metrolink system in Greater Manchester at Altrincham or Timperley.”
Mr Buttress said Preston – a similar size to Warrington – had its first tram line under construction.
Two members of the Warrington group had attended a demonstration on Hydrogen trams at the House of Commons Light Rail Group
This exciting concept involved trams which did not use overhead cables.
The Warrington group were to press for the HS3 line from Liverpool to Manchester Airport, via Warrington, to use TramTrain – which can use either tram lines or mainline railways – for its rolling stock.
A number of organisations are understood to be eying Warrington as a suitable location for a congestion-busting tram system – including Trampower, the group behind the Preston tramway.
They have prepared a pre-feasibility study report which claims Warrington could have a tram network at no cost to the public purse.
More than 80 per cent of Warrington people are dependant on car travel, with only 7.6 per cent using buses. But the report claims a tram system would attract about 25 per cent of the car users.
Warrington-based Light Rail UK is also urging the council to look seriously at a tram system.
Until 1935, Warrington had a five-line tramway service linking the town centre with Stockton Heath, Sankey Bridges, Latchford and Bruche. It was a victim of competition from cars and buses and under-investment.
Trams could help solve Warrington’s traffic problems
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tram-scheme-running-late-as-spending-soars-to-75m-zkjlrq2zk.
This article in the Times shows that without exception tram schemes introduced into the U.K. have run well over budget and exceeded their expected construction programmes, not to mention the problems associated with installing the hardware necessary for a tram network.
We are a few years away from driverless cars, which one would hope, rid our roads of the antics and consequences of some of our more aggressive drivers. And offer greater journey flexibility.
Would it not be better to consider the implications and possible advantages of the newer technology for the mass movement of people around our towns and cities?
I think any tram system would have to be able to run above street/road level in certain places to be of any benefit ,such as using an overhead railway format.