Transport for London have officially revealed plans for a second line in Croydon Town Centre which would not only add extra capacity to Tramlink but would also provide an alternative route which would enable trams to turn in the town centre without the need to traverse the entire Croydon loop.
The proposed line would diverge from the current line at the junction of George Street and Dingwall Road before travelling down the latter until it meets Landsdowne Road. The line would then go along Landsdowne Road before rejoining the current line in Wellesley Road. TfL have presented a scoping report to Croydon Council with these plans and have also provided two alternative proposals if this preferred option is not considered suitable.
Alternative one would basically see the opposite route to the preferred plan with trams leaving the current line at Wellesley Road and then along Landsdowne Road and Dingwall Road before returning to the original route at George Street. The other alternative would see trams leaving Wellesley Road earlier at Sydenham Road and then again along Dingwall Road to George Street.
TfL’s hope is that any approved line could start construction in 2016 ahead of a planned for opening in 2018. No details of where the funding would come from have been released or even how much it would cost to construct so this timescale may prove to be rather optimistic.
No funding? Forget it! This is Britain – the land of mole-vision!!