It has been confirmed that the new higher frequency timetable will be fully introduced on Nottingham Express Transit from Tuesday 26th August following the successful conclusion of trials over the past few weeks. Trams will now run up to every five minutes during most of the day, seven days a week and has been made possible by the introduction of the new Alstom Citadis trams.
Trams will continue to run from Phoenix Park and Hucknall to Station Street and the two lines will combine to create a five minute frequency between Highbury Vale and the city centre between 0700 and 2100 Mondays to Saturdays and between 0900 and 1900 on Sundays. Outside of these times trams will run every 7-8 minutes (Hucknall and Phoenix Park will see trams leave every 15 minutes).
This new timetable was trialed on Sundays 27th July, 3rd August, 10th August and Wednesday 13th August and this was obviously considered a success as Nottingham Express Transit have decided to press ahead with the full introduction of the timetable.
Jamie Swift, NET Marketing Manager, said: “We’re delighted that the brand new trams are going into service which means we can deliver an improved timetable for our customers. Everyone at NET has been working hard to ensure a smooth transition to the new timetable that will deliver the extra services customers have been calling for. What’s more following customer feedback we are providing extra trams during the evening and on Sundays to encourage more and more people to use our services to popular attractions across Nottingham. In fact the new timetable is great news for commuters, shoppers, visitors and local businesses. Anyone who wants to use the tram can just turn up and go with trams running so frequently all day, every day. As we enter the final stages of the NET Phase Two construction project, customers are already beginning to see the benefits that the expanded tram network will bring. The introduction of the new timetable – following the launch of ‘buy before you board’ ticketing system – marks yet another significant milestone in the development of a world-class tram system for the city.”
The timetable to be introduced from Tuesday 26th August 2014 has a tram running every 5 minutes (12 trams per hour, using 13 trams), in contrast to the timetable tried out on Sundays 27th July, 3 August and 10 August and also Wednesday 13th August which had 16 trams per hour, using 17 trams, giving a tram every 3 or 4 minutes -the intended eventual peak frequency.