TramForward welcomes support for trams in Sutton consultation

TramForward is highly gratified to note the strong public support for trams in the recent Transport for London consultation on their Sutton Link proposals. Out of nearly 6000 respondents, 81% of were strongly supportive (61%) or supportive (20%) of the link being operated by trams as opposed to the 40% (18% and 22%) for the alternative rapid bus solution.

It appears that the people of Sutton, having witnessed the success over the last 19 years of the Croydon trams, recognise the contribution that trams can make to economic development and connectivity and consider their advantages to far outweigh the temporary disruption caused by their construction.

Opinions were more evenly divided between the three route options for the scheme: route 1 from South Wimbledon to Sutton (65% supported or strongly supported); route 2 Colliers Wood to Sutton (55%) (both of these largely following roads); and route 3 (49%) taking over the railway line between Wimbledon and Sutton. All routes would connect to the existing Croydon to Wimbledon tram line.

Paul Rowen, Chairman of the Light Rail Transit Association, said “It is most encouraging to see such strong support for trams for this major public transport project. There has been strong local support for this development for many years and it is to be hoped that the finance can be found to move ahead with the scheme as soon as possible.”

NOTES

1. The LRTA (https://www.lrta.org/) is the world’s leading organisation campaigning for better public transport in urban areas through light rail, tramway and metro systems and has been in existence for more than 80 years. It also supports the revitalisation of suburban and rural transport through the application of light rail and TramTrain technology.