Councillors in Derby have rejected plans to introduce trams in the City as they consider them to be too expensive for a City of their size. The plans – which were drawn up by David Gibson, regional officer for the LRTA – would have seen a seven mile route running from Mickleover and Mackworth to Pride Park with a possible future extension to the High Speed 2 station at Toton.
It was estimated that the proposed line would have cost between £100m and £140m but Councillors believed that this sum was just too much for them to be able to back the plans. They would instead rather back projects such as improved bus lanes and roads.
Earlier this year Mr Gibson’s plans had been given a boost when the business group Marketing Derby had said it was vital Derby was better connected to the HS2 route but despite this backing the Council don’t agree.
Cllr Mark Titley commented: “The costs and the logistics involved, both in terms of the capital outlay and the ongoing maintenance, don’t make sense for a city the size of Derby. We want Derby to keep moving but it must be affordable.”
The 2011 census gives a population of just under 250,000 for the City of Derby. In many European countries, such as France, a population of that size would justify a new tramway, but it is a sad reflection of the state of public transport in the UK that Derby considers itself too small. Part of the problem is that some local authorities simple lack the drive and imagination to consider such schemes. The few places in the UK that have trams seem to have had local authorities with the necessary drive and prepared to overcome the many obstacles they faced.
Years ago Derby had a trolleybus system that I often used when visiting relatives there. Perhaps the answer might be a modern trolleybus system with articulated single deckers, such as those used in Salzburg and Lyon and many other places. It would certainly cost less than installing a tramway and could perhaps be upgraded to a tramway later if demand and finance allowed.