Trams: the smart solution for sustainable cities
Less than 100 years ago, trams criss-crossed the country, connecting communities, easing travel, and transforming cities. Once a staple of British towns and cities, by the 1960s they had all but disappeared, yet in recent years cities across Europe have started returning to trams as an affordable, efficient and zero emission mass transit solution.
The Mumbles Railway Act ushered in the introduction of the first horse-drawn passenger tramway on the Swansea and Mumbles Railway in 1807. Horse power eventually gave way to electricity, and by the 1920s, over 100 UK towns had active tram systems with networks covering hundreds of miles and serving millions.
By the late 1920s, cheaper trolleybuses (powered by cables without the need for tracks) were starting to replace trams as the preferred means of public transport and the growth in private car ownership meant more and more road space was being devoted to cars. Tramlines fell into disrepair and started to be pulled up and services decommissioned. In 1931, a review of the London tram network recommended that all its trams be replaced and the capital’s final tram journey for 48 years took place in 1952. By 1962, only Blackpool’s tram remained.
The turn of the last century saw a resurgence of interest in trams as urban transport authorities grappled with the effects of air pollution and congestion and stifled economic growth caused by lack of transport choice. Cities across Europe began returning to trams as an affordable, efficient and zero emission mass transit solution, including nine in the UK which carried 228.8 million passengers last year. While Europe experienced a similar rise and decline in trams in the 1900s, many European countries are now striding ahead with modern electric trams and low-cost passenger tickets. France currently boasts 28 tram networks with three more being planned, while Germany has trams in 60 cities. Outside of Europe, China has built 35 tram networks since 2010, and the USA 27 light rail. And although Australia has fewer individual networks, with trams and light rail currently in six cities, it holds the record for the largest single tram network, with Melbourne’s tram network comprising 160 miles in length.
Why trams work for urban mobility
- Capacity: A single lane of a city street could carry up to 22,000 people per hour if it was used as a tramway
- Punctual: Running on dedicated tracks means trams bypass road congestion, keeping timetables reliable and predictable
- Safety: Trams help set lower speeds in cities, helping to make travel safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as motorists, and creating safer urban environments that encourage active travel
- Zero-emission: Modern trams are all electric, helping to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
- Cost effective: Tram networks are cheaper and easier to install than rail lines, with lower-cost innovations coming on board
- Accessible: All UK tram networks feature full level-boarding making them accessible to wheelchair users and people with pushchairs or luggage
- Economic benefits: Trams connect people and businesses, helping economic growth and local regeneration
- Permanence: Tramways have a long lifespan, outlasting buses and other rapid transit systems
- Popular: In urban areas, trams hold wide appeal compared to other public transport modes, with people showing greater willingness to switch from car to tram than to other options such as bus or bicycle.
Despite their many advantages, only a handful of cities have been able to introduce trams in the last 25 years. One of the main barriers to installing more tram systems in Britain is the cost. Building new tram systems in Britain is more expensive than almost anywhere else in the world. In Europe it costs on average £42 million per mile of tramway, whereas in Britain the cost is £87 million per mile. The difference is thanks to an excessively long planning process, regulations that mean the project must cover 92.5 per cent of the costs of moving underground utilities, and a lack of shared standards that limits the sharing of cost-saving lessons.
That’s why we are urging Government to prioritise trams in its forthcoming Integrated National Transport Strategy and to address the existing barriers to getting more tram networks by:
- Reforming the planning process for new trams to speed up delivery and lower costs
- Sharing the costs of moving utilities fairly between the tram project and utility companies
- Devolving the current Transport and Works Act approval process so elected mayors can start building tram networks quicker
- Introducing shared standards between new tramways and encouraging a pipeline of projects.
To help speed up the delivery of new tram networks across the country, Campaign for Better Transport has partnered with Create Streets to bring together a network of experts from local authorities, tram manufacturers, housing developers, planning organisations and other interested parties to help demonstrate the value of new, extended and reopened tram and light rail networks and remove existing barriers to their introduction.
Trams work. Wherever they have been introduced they have proved popular with the public, had a positive effect on local businesses and complemented other transport modes. As European cities are showing, trams are a holistic transport solution that can address congestion, reduce social isolation and revive hollowed-out high streets across the country. Moreover, with millions excluded from accessible rail, bus and tube travel – including disabled passengers and people with prams and heavy luggage – trams bring step-free access to reliable, high-capacity public transport.
For more information on our tram work, or our partnership with Create Streets, contact michael.solomonwilliams@bettertransport.org.uk
