TRAM: British and Australian (American usually streetcar also trolley) noun [C] An electric vehicle that transports people, usually in cities, and goes along metal tracks in the road. (Taken from the Cambridge English Dictionary)
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DfT ACCUSED AT CONFERENCE OF TRYING TO KILL TRAMS
General – Sunday 30th September 2007
Graham Stringer, MP for Blackley, has accused the Department for Transport of being “anti-tram” at a fringe meeting during the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth. He claims that the DfT’s attitude is a major factor in delays to improving and implementing tram networks in the UK.
Mr Stringer said: “I think the Department of Transport is anti-tram, and there's not an even playing field between the transport system and light rail. Spiralling costs for light rail are down to the interference of the Department of Transport. Every time we start talking about these schemes the alarm bells are going off with people in the department asking how much is it really going to cost. Unless we address these different funding mechanisms and unless we tackle these problems, I don't think we will see the future expansion of light rail that we ought to be seeing."
The fringe meeting was attended by Tom Harris, the rail minister at the DfT and Cllr Roger Jones, chair of the GMPTA. Cllr Jones commented: “Many of those problems are still with us today and the system is a bit tired of late. However, we are getting £102m from the government to provide eight new trams in 2009 to add to the 32 we already have. It has also enabled us to replace old track on the Altrincham and Bury lines."
Mr Stringer also criticised the former Conservative government saying if Metrolink had been a completely public scheme it would have only cost £110-£115 million.
