Steve Rotherham, who is the Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, has suggested that should a Labour government get into power at the next general election they may be able to look again at plans for trams in Liverpool. The previous Merseytram project had got as far as being given the go-ahead but was ultimately thrown out by the Labour government of the time in 2007.
The Merseytram project was part of the infamous culling of tram projects in England by Alistair Darling when he was Secretary of State for Transport – systems in Leeds (which has been in the news recently again as funding may become available to finally build it) and South Hampshire were also scrapped at the same time because of escalating costs. Locally much of the blame for the axing of Merseytram was put on infighting amongst local authorities. They had purchased rail for the construction of the network which was eventually sold on (for a fraction of the cost) with much of it now on the Isle of Man having been used on the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway and Manx Electric Railway.
But now over 20 years since the plans were first put forward they could be reconsidered according to Steve Rotherham.
He said: “We had the money before Manchester for a tram. Our local authorities couldn’t work together and we lost the money. We spent the money on rails but when we ended up selling them, we didn’t even get the money for them. We ended up fighting each other and lost the opportunity to steal a march on Manchester.”
Speaking at a meeting discussing the future of the Liverpool City Region he also said he had been in conversation with Mark Harper, Transport Secretary, about the post HS2 scrapping funding announcement and what it may mean for the region. Money has been promised and he said that if it does come through then they could “look again” at tram although he also mentioned trackless trams could be considered instead.
If it does not run on tracks how can it be called a tram? Go the whole hog Liverpool with shiny rails and new sexy trams with pantographs and overhead wires.?
Early trolleybuses were often known as trackless trams so there is a historical precedent for the term.
For some cities and towns in the UK large scale light rail is very appropriate. But so is the modern trolley bus development that can fit into the tighter street architecture of narrow streets, but can show its paces on longer boulevards. The lighter weight overhead is less obtrusive and these vehicles can be fitted with battery power in a similar way to trams, where overhead can be reduced for architectural reasons etc. The modern bus design of chassis and body adapts through from conventional diesel powered to battery, trolleybus and to some extent hydrogen powered fuel cells types. I would have thought the Leeds Conurbation was more appropriate for Trolley bus operation?
Whilst I definitely agree that trolleybuses have a role to play in many places I am not so sure how overhead wiring that requires two separate contact wires per direction can be lighter than tram wiring with only one contact wire per direction. I agree that some early second generation tramways did rather over engineer the overhead things have changed for the better more recently. Manchester’s 2CC route is a good example of just how unobtrusive tramway wiring can be when properly designed using building fixings. It’s such a contrast with the original Piccadilly Gardens wiring.
Leeds did try to gain approval for a trolleybus network after its tramway proposals were rejected but once again they failed to convince central government.
Sorry I should have said, comparing the original heavy overhead wiring of earlier trolley bus systems with how they have been improved by using modern lighter weight and slimmer fittings.
If they use the original plans for the system then it may not take the decades usual for the UK. However, if entirely new surveys and a ‘ bells and whistles’ approach is taken, then it will be doomed from the start. Doubtless in the end they will decide buses are cheaper.
I am surprised to read Mr Rotherham’s partially truthful account in paragraph four of why central government pulled the plug. The bickering which carried on prior to that happening was embarrassing to say the least and I felt like writing to the Liverpool Echo to try and get heads banged together to make them see sense because the eventual outcome was obvious. It was already too late to steal a march on Manchester which was well established by the time the Liverpool scheme got beyond the planning stage.