Following commercial and financial close and final Government sign-off, the contract has been awarded to Tramlink Nottingham, to take over the operation of the existing tram line (NET Line One) and to build and operate the extended network to Clifton via Wilford and Chilwell via Beeston (NET Phase Two).
A detailed construction programme is now being finalised and the first phase of construction work will start in January 2012. Services on the new lines are planned to start in late 2014.
Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation at Nottingham City Council, the scheme's promoter, says: "After ten years in planning and development, alongside the innovation of the Workplace Parking Levy - our ambitious proposals to add two more lines to our tram network will now be realised.
"This is fantastic news for Nottingham. In these constrained financial and economic times it means a significant boost to the local economy, more jobs and better public transport for thousands of people."
Transport Minister, Norman Baker MP, says: "I am delighted that we are able to finally approve funding so that construction of Phase Two of the tram system can begin.
"Line One of the Nottingham tram has proved to be a great success in encouraging people onto public transport. These extensions provide the opportunity to build on that success, and give people in the south of Nottingham quicker, more convenient access to the city centre as well as providing an alternative means of accessing the city centre for people commuting by car.
"They will also help to regenerate sections of the city and support the Government's wider growth agenda by providing better access to local jobs, and our environmental priority of cutting carbon by encouraging modal shift."
"This good news follows on from the Government's recent announcement to fund the widening of the A453, which will feed into a 1000 space NET Park & Ride site on the edge of Clifton further speeding up people's journeys between the M1 and Nottingham."
The economic benefits the extended network will bring to Nottingham City, the county, and the wider East Midlands region will be to:
- Generate construction work opportunities for local companies and people, as well as stimulating the local economy to generate long term employment growth of up to 8,000 jobs and could boost the local economy by around £390m per year.
- Provide access to about 1270 City workplaces, to which about 55,000 employees commute, and a further 600 workplaces in Beeston/Chilwell.
- Serve two of the three biggest employers in Greater Nottingham - The University of Nottingham and the Queens Medical Centre.
- Serve 20 of the 30 largest employers in Greater Nottingham, who will be within 800m of a tram stop.
- Help to create a first class transport interchange (‘the Hub'), at Nottingham Railway Station, which itself is receiving a £67 million redevelopment so that people can interchange between trams, trains, cycling, walking, taxis and cars.
Roger Harrison, Chairman of Tramlink Nottingham said: "We are delighted to be working with the City Council to help bring to fruition Nottingham's ambitious public transport plans. Our consortium, which includes some of the world's leading companies in the light rail and construction sectors, is excited by the prospect of developing the City's tram network and we are committed to providing an effective and efficient system of which the local community can be proud."
George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, says: "More than two-thirds of businesses in Nottingham support the extension of the tram network and the Chamber is delighted that the city has now reached this significant milestone, which will see new development and inward investment come to Nottingham, and help employees access key employment sites along the two new lines in 2014."
Councillor Jane Urquhart, continues: "The extension to Nottingham's tram network will reduce social exclusion and reduce congestion on key routes into Nottingham by serving all three Nottingham junctions of the M1."
NET Phase Two is funded by Nottingham City Council, the Government, and through a combination of tram fare revenue and a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangement over the life of the concession. The Government provides approximately 66% of the estimated £570m (net present value) cost (through the PFI) arrangement, and the remaining 34% coming from Nottingham City Council, mainly through the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). The WPL is a charge on employers based in the city that provide 11 or more car parking places for employees.
ENDS
For further information please contact Sarah Alton, Communications & Marketing Officer, on: 0115 87 63384 or Ioan Reed-Aspley, Communications & Marketing Manager on 0115 876 3383 or 07946 760565.
Notes to editors:
In addition to the benefits outlined above, NET Phase Two will:
- Take a further 3 million car journeys off our roads.
- Reduce the growth of peak hour car journeys to and from all central area locations by one third between 2006 and 2021 (from around 15% to less than 10%).
- Double the system's length to over 30km.
- Increase the tram fleet from 15 to 36 and increase the number of tram stops from 23 to 50.
- Increase the entire system usage to over 20 million trips per year.
- NET Phase Two will enhance accessibility to nearly 30% of the Greater Nottingham population, who will be within 800 metres of a tram stop.
NET Phase Two - the route
Clifton
Line Two is a 7.5km route serving residential areas including the Meadows, Wilford/Ruddington Lane and the Clifton Estate before terminating at a new park and ride site with 1,000 spaces, near the A453 close to junction 24 of the M1.
Chilwell/Beeston
Line Three is a 10km route serving parts of the Meadows, the ng2 site, the Queens Medical Centre, the University of Nottingham, Highfields Science Park, Beeston town centre and Chilwell. It will terminate at a new park and ride site with 1,300 spaces near the A52 close to junction 25 of the M1.
NET Line One
NET Line One opened for service in March 2004 and carries approximately 10 million passengers a year, boasting an excellent consistent customer satisfaction rate of 92%.
The 14.5 km route runs from Hucknall, through Bulwell, Hyson Green and The Forest (site of the annual Goose Fair) and into the city centre, passing the Lace Market and Nottingham Trent University and terminating at Nottingham Railway Station. There is a spur to Phoenix Park, just off the M1 motorway at junction 26. NET Line One has 24 tram stops and over 3,000 car parking spaces at five Park & Ride sites.
Tramlink Nottingham comprises:
Taylor Woodrow, the Civil Engineering division of VINCI Construction UK Limited
VINCI Construction UK is part of VINCI, a world leader in concessions and construction. Taylor Woodrow is undertaking the design, temporary and permanent works associated with the renewal of the Nottingham Hub Station, including refurbishment of the main concourse, resurfacing of platforms, replacement canopies as well as renovation of platform buildings. The Building division of VINCI Construction UK is constructing student accommodation at Nottingham Trent University Clifton campus.
Alstom (Alstom UK Holdings Ltd, Alstom Transport)
Alstom will draw on its worldwide expertise in infrastructure and turnkey projects for the construction of the new track, power, signalling and the supply and maintenance of 22 Citadis trams as well as the maintenance of the existing 15 Line One trams over the 23-year period.
Keolis (Keolis (UK) Limited)
With operations in 12 countries worldwide and 47,200 employees, Keolis is responsible for extensive range of multi-modal public transport systems handling some 2.2 billion passenger journeys per year. Keolis is a partner in four train operating companies in the UK and is also the world's leading tram operator.
Wellglade (Wellglade Limited) Trent Barton
Wellglade owns Trent Barton which is the UK's largest independent bus operator. The award winning company operates a network of routes in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
Meridiam Infrastructure
Meridiam is a specialized investment management company focused primarily on investing in Public Private Partnership assets within OECD member countries with a strategic focus on Greenfield assets in Europe and North America. Meridiam currently has €2bn under management and a team of 30 investment professionals spread across Paris, New York and Toronto.
Infravia Fund
InfraVia Fund is an infrastructure investment fund. Its core business involves long term investments on infrastructure and renewable energy assets in partnership with industrial partners across Europe. InfraVia Fund is managed by OFI InfraVia, subsidiary of the OFI Group.
Background information & project timeline
- 2004. NET announced its intention to extend NET Line One and create two new tram lines serving the south and south-west.
- July 2009. The scheme is granted Government Conditional Approval. The Secretary of State for Transport approves the Transport and Works Act Order(TWAO) giving planning permission giving the legal powers to build the two proposed extensions.
- October 2010. Government confirms that the scheme will still be considered following the Comprehensive Spending Review
- March 2011. Tramlink Nottingham appointed as Preferred Bidder to build and operate the extended network.
- December 2011. Commercial and Financial Close. The Government confirms that the project is affordable paving the way for Tramlink Nottingham to be appointed as the new operator and as the consortium responsible for construction of the two new lines and operator of the extended network.
- 2012 - 2014 The construction of Lines Two and Three will take place concurrently. Advanced works including utility diversions will start in January / February with the main tramway construction starting in March 2012. Once the tracks are laid and the overhead cables installed, there will be a period of several months in 2014 of testing the trams along the new tracks.
- Late 2014 - Extended tram network to Clifton and Chilwell expected to open to the public.
Workplace Parking Levy (WPL)
The WPL will support a package of transport benefits; NET Phase Two, the redevelopment of the railway station (The Hub) and the Link bus network. The WPL is estimated to raise, on average, around £10m per year, if operated for 10 years, which will be invested into better public transport.
The WPL is a demand management tool which is designed to encourage behavioural change by getting employers and employees to consider more sustainable modes of transport to and from work.
