NET Phase Two opens Tuesday 25th August

Tuesday 25th August – as well as being only 4 months until Christmas! – will see Nottingham Express Transit expand with the opening of the two Phase Two lines serving Clifton and Chilwell. Shortly after 0600 services will commence from both Clifton South and Toton Lane marking the start of a new era of efficient and modern public transport for the local residents of the areas now served by Nottingham Express Transit.

Just over eight months later than planned (the original opening date of 14th December was missed following delays in the project) finally fare paying passengers will be carried on the 17.5km of new lines with the Queens Medical Centre, ng2, Beeston, Chilwell and Clifton amongst the places to join the popular NET network for the first time.

The first departures will leave Toton Lane at 0601 and Clifton South at 0602 and are certain to be popular with both locals wanting to sample the trams and local dignitaries eager for a photo opportunity and to celebrate the coming of a new dawn in local transport. On a normal day there will be arrivals into the respective termini in public service to form these first services but judging by the publicity for the opening on the first day these will run empty from depot to make the first departures extra special.

As from the start of services journeys from Toton Lane will travel to Hucknall (with journey times of 63 minutes) and those from Clifton South will head to Phoenix Park (journey time of 46 minutes). All trams will remain on the same route throughout the day. Not all journeys will travel the whole way with some early morning and late evening services running short including some which will continue to use Nottingham Station as a terminus.

The operating day is a very long one with the first trams in service from depot scheduled to depart Radford Road at 0513 (for Toton Lane) and 0524 (for Clifton South) with the final arrivals not back until 0147 (0105 from Toton Lane). Trams run throughout the day every 7-10 minutes on each route (giving a frequency on the combined sections every 3-5 minutes) with less frequent services at both ends of the day and also on Sundays. [We will have a full look at the timetable in operation later this week]

Cllr Jane Urquhart, Nottingham City Council with lead responsibility for NET, is always there with a quote and this announcement is no different: “This is a really great day for Nottingham. It marks the dawn of a new era when NET becomes a true network and, with trams running from every seven minutes, it is all set to provide easier access to key locations right across the city. The tram provides the backbone to the city’s integrated transport network, underpinning all the efforts to reduce congestion, improve the environment and make Nottingham an even better place to live, work or visit.”

Paul Robinson, NET General Manager, added: “We’re champing at the bit to get the new services under way. We’ve created over 100 new jobs, trained new drivers and expanded our Depot ready for start of passenger services and our team is raring to go.”

To celebrate the opening of the lines a special discounted ticket offer has been introduced which will see the NETwork 7 day unlimited ticket reduced to £10 for adults and £5 for children. This special offer is only available between Tuesday 25th and Monday 31st August and is intended to persuade locals to try the new service and then hopefully they will find out how great it is!

There can be no doubt that the construction project has caused significant disruption for the areas it has affected but hopefully all that is now behind Nottingham Express Transit and those who were adversely affected will now see that the pain of the past few years was worth it.

* Later this week British Trams Online will take a more detailed look at the new lines as Nottingham Express Transit becomes the latest light rail system to expand in the UK.