Nottingham Targets Multimillion-Pound Tram Extensions
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in Issue 901 of Rail Magazine.
The Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is a quality tram system and seems to have been taken to the heart of the people of the city.
Three separate extensions are proposed.
Clifton Pastures
Clifton Pasures is a proposed development of 3,000 houses and 2,000 jobs to the South of the Clifton South Park and Ride stop on the NET.
This Google Map shows the area, bounded in the West by the A453.
Note.
- The red arrow marks the vehicle entrance to the Park-and-Ride from the A 453.
- A short extension of the NET will be built, which has been costed at £49 million.
It looks to be a well-thought out extension.
Toton Lane Park and Ride To East Midlands Hub Station
This extension from Toton Lane Park-and-Ride stop to the East Midlands Hub station for High Speed Two was first proposed in 2015.
This Google Map shows the area.
Note.
- Toton Lane Park-and-Ride is on the Eastern side of the map.
- East Midlands Hub station will be built on the Western side of the map on Toton sidings.
- It doesn’t look like there is any serious construction problems in between. There would probably be bridges or tunnels over the B6003 and the railway.
- Would the NET cross the East Midlands Hub station on a bridge at right-angles, as it does at Nottingham station?
This extension of the NET has been costed at £106 million.
The original plans discussed here in Wikipedia, envisaged continuing to Derby.
Nottingham Racecourse And Gedling
The Rail Magazine article describes this extension as follows.
The third (and the longest) proposed route would involve construction of a new route towards Nottingham’s eastern suburbs via Meadow Lane, the Cattle Market, Daleside Road and Nottingham Racecourse.
It is hoped this route could one day stretch as far as a new Park & Ride site planned near Gedling Country Park, although this is not included in the current plans.
This Google Map shows Central Nottingham.
Note.
- The red arrow shows Nottingham station.
- Nottingham Racecourse is at the Eastern side of the map.
- The A6011 is Meadow Lane, which passes Notts County football ground.
- Daleside Road connects Meadow Lane to Nottingham Racecourse.
- The estimated cost of this extension is quoted at between £96 million and £116 million.
It appears to me, that the branch will break East from the main route going South to Clifton South and Toton Lane tram stops and then on the streets along Meadow Lane and Daleside Road to Nottingham Racecourse.
Points And Questions
I have some points and questions on the route.
Access To The Football And Cricket Grounds
Will the Nottingham Racecourse extension improve access to the two football grounds and Trent Bridge cricket ground?
It would be much closer to the sports grounds, than any current tram stop.
Access To Holme Pierrepoint
Will the Nottingham Racecourse extension have a stop at the Holme Pierrepoint National Watersports Centre?
Will There Be A Park-and-Ride At Nottingham Racecourse?
I think there already is one, so will the NET connect it to the City Centre?
Would it be useful to connect this Park-and-Ride to the Queen’s Medical Centre on the Toton Lane branch?
Will There Be Opposition To All The Street-Running?
Every time, I’ve driven near Meadow Lane, Daleside Road and Nottingham Racecourse in the past, it’s been very congested.
Will voters allow these roads to have street-running trams?
Will Trams Be Able To Go Between All Branches?
After the completion of these three new branches, there will be five branches; Clifton Pastures, East Midlands Hub, Hucknall, Nottingham Racecourse and Phoenix Park. All branches will have one or more Park-and-Ride sites.
I can see that there are arguments for these connections.
- Between the Nottingham Racecourse extension with all its major sporting venues and the other branches.
- Between the Queen’s Medical Centre on the Toton Lane branch and the Nottingham Racecourse extension.
I can see that the junction between the Nottingham Racecourse extension and the current NET network being rather complicated, as it must allow these connections.
- East to North
- East to South
- South to East
- North to East
This junction will need a lot of space and get increasingly expensive.
My Daily Exercise
My father always said I was born lucky!
When I bought this house in Dalston after my stroke, I bought it because of the location.
- There are four London Overground stations within walking distance.
- Four bus stops are within a hundred metres, which are served by five bus routes, one of which goes to King’s Cross, St. Pancras and Euston
- There are more than ten bus routes within walking distance.
- I have three bus routes to and from the Angel for the shops and Chapel Market, where my paternal grandmother, used to shop before the First World War.
- If I walk the other way, there was the rather run down Kingsland Road with a Sainsbury’s and lots of unhealthy takeaways.
But then Marks and Spencer opened a Simply Food store in the Kingsland Road by Dalston Kingsland station.
- It is about a fifteen minute walk from my house.
- It has a full range of their gluten-free food.
- It stocks everything I need regularly.
It was certainly my luck, that they opened this store.
Today, I took my daily exercise by walking to the store and bringing home enough food for a couple of days.
- Is this killing two birds with one stone?
- The walk along the Balls Pond Road was notable because there was only little traffic and few pedestrians on one of East London’s main arteries.
- A sizeable proportion of the shops were shut.
It was also very breezy and was this good to protect me from COVID-19, by blowing it away?
Ventilators On Click
Click, the BBC’s technology program has just shown an item about ventilator development.
They showed a picture of the dyson machine and video of several others.
- One created its own oxygen.
- One was designed for developing countries.
- One was designed to be a minimal size.
- One was designed to be 3D printed.
- One cost around five hundred euros.
Developments were also from several countries in addition to the UK, including Canada, France and Spain,
I think the world is on a path to get enough ventilators.
The program will be repeated in BBC Breakfast tomorrow!
Boots March In To COVID-19 Testing
There has just been an item on BBC Breakfast, where the Managing Director of Boots claimed that the chemists were rolling out COVID-19 testing.
Only hundreds a day at the moment, but the plans seem impressive!
Lockdown ‘Is On Course To Reduce Total Death Rate’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Britain is on course for an estimated 5,700 deaths from coronavirus, far lower than originally predicted, experts believe.
It’s all contained in a paper by Tom Pike at Imperial College,
Apparently, it is based on the premise that the UK follows the lockdown and social distancing.
Here’s hoping!
The story is also in the Mail and the Express.
The Anonymous Widower 