£2.7B Midlands Connect Plan for the East Midlands.

TramForward welcomes the proposals for the East Midlands in a £2.7B plan submitted to government.

The plan extends the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) to Derby via the HS2 hub at Toton. Speaking on behalf of the LRTA Dave Gibson, East Midlands Regional Officer said:

“While we welcome these proposals, we have a number of concerns.

No indication of where the tram will finish in Derby is given. We would like to see the system extended through the city centre and use the old Great Northern trackbed out to Kingsway, and then serve the Royal Derby Hospital, Mickleover and Mackworth, using a bi-directional loop. This would provide greater connectivity and greater passenger usage.

Why is the link from Derby to East Midlands Airport (EMA) heavy rail, with two stations serving the Southern Derby Growth Zone?  A light rail connection would be much better, giving much better penetration of the area, serve the city centre and beyond, and create a unified system when connected to the planned NET extension.

A Tram Train would be a much better option, with a connection to the NET at Derby Midland Station. “

TramForward has previously proposed a tramway using this route as far as Chellaston, built alongside the railway out to Peartree, but then continue beyond Chellaston via Boulton Moor, Alvaston and Raynesway, joining the NET line at The Wyvern.

This line, combined with the Kingsway line, would serve much of Derby’s main employment areas, Hospital, Midland Station and major suburbs, giving a very attractive public transport system that would have around 46,000 trips per day, replacing many car journeys, and relieve Derby of much of its congestion and pollution, the latter way above supposed limits in many areas. Other lines should be added, a branch off the Kingsway line would serve the University sites and Allestree; Oakwood, Spondon, Chaddesden, Sinfin and Heatherton are other candidates. “