APPENDIX 1
CROYDON TRAMLINK
What is Croydon Tramlink?
Tramlink is the first new generation street
running tramway to be opened in London. London's last tram ran
in 1952 and Croydon Tramlink opened in 2000. A fleet of 24 articulated
light rail vehicles operate on a three line 28 km network focused
on Croydon. Overhead electrical power supply is at 750 Vdc. There
are 38 stations.
The routes comprise 17 km on former railways,
8 km on new reserved track alignments and 3 km on street. Tramlink
already carries more passengers per annum than any other tramway
in Britain. Patronage on the Wimbledon line increased eightfold
after conversion to light rail. Following the integration of bus
and tram fares in January 2004, ridership on Croydon Tramlink
is reported to have increased by over 10% and is now estimated
by the Concession company to be in excess of 22 million trips
per annum.
The concessionaire for the project, responsible
for its construction, operation and maintenance, is Tramtrack
Croydon Limited under a 99 year DBFOM concession. The concessionaire,
in return for supply and operation of the Tramlink service, receives
all fares revenue generated by passengers using the system. There
is no availability or performance payment mechanism with the Tramlink
concession and no financial penalties for under performance. Some
risks (eg fares policy) were underwritten by the public sector
for up to 20 years from the date of award of the Concession
The operations are sub-contracted to First Tram
Operations Ltd., a subsidiary of FirstGroup plc and maintenance
is subcontracted to Mowlem Rail and Bombardier Prorail.
What does it do?
The three lines link Croydon with surrounding
areas:
Line 1 runs from Elmers End to Wimbledon via
Croydon town centre.
Line 2 runs from Beckenham Junction to Croydon
town centre.
Line 3 runs from New Addington to Croydon town
centre.
Interchange is provided with National Rail at
Croydon East, Croydon West, Wimbledon, Mitcham Junction, Birkbeck,
Beckenham Junction and Elmers End and with London Underground
at Wimbledon. Interchange with buses can be made at many locations
including a purpose built interchange at Addington Village and
the bus stations at East and West Croydon.
Tramlink is fully accessible, the low floor
cars using low platforms which guarantee level access with a minimal
gap at all stations.
Development
Tramlink has been extremely successful and has
improved access to Croydon town centre and the other centres which
it serves and has attracted users from cars. TfL has included
within its business plan funding for capital works to enable a
new tram stop to be opened in central Croydon to serve the Centrale
development and for the procurement of a new tram to allow an
enhanced timetable to be operated.
Following extensive studies and pressures from
surrounding boroughs, four extensions are being developed:
— Beckenham Junction/Croydon to Crystal
Palace, replacing the existing heavy rail service between Beckenham
Junction and Crystal Palace, extended to Crystal Palace bus station,
and providing double track in place of single track between Harrington
Road and Beckenham Junction.
— Streatham-Purley via Croydon town
centre, serving one of the busiest bus corridors in London and
linking a number of important urban centres in south London;
— Sutton-Tooting via Mitcham, a busy
radial corridor serving town centres and two major hospitals.
— Sutton-Wimbledon, an existing heavy
rail route which could be converted to light rail, possibly with
some diversions on street.
While Tramlink has proven to be a success in
delivering a fast and reliable transport service for a fixed public
sector capital contribution, there has been considerable speculation
in the press over the financial difficulties faced by the concessionaire.
It is TfL's view that such difficulties have arisen through the
realisation of various risks (including revenue risks) that were
willingly accepted by the private sector.
As with Manchester Metrolink, the Tramlink concession
restricts the public sector's ability to extend or further develop
the network without significant financial risk, and as such, it
is not a model that TfL would immediately choose to follow in
the future.
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