Create Streets and Campaign for Better Transport are together working on a new mission, ‘Tram Network’, which will support more cities to create tram lines and work with government and industry to reduce their cost.
Here is an example of how we should be thinking. Besançon in France (population 120,000) managed to build a modern tram for half the cost of comparable networks.
How did they do it?
- Simple, standard designs
- Overhead wires instead of new “wireless” tech
- Standardised stations
- Basic, short 23m trams
- 7 companies bid for the rolling stock contract rather than the usual 3
- Cars are banned from the streets the tram runs along to avoid conflicts and street redesign
- In France, utility companies bear most of the cost of moving and upgrading their assets
The tram has proved very successful and today is used by 40,000 passengers daily. Recently, the city has added new, longer trams to boost capacity.
If you want to get involved with the Tram Network, drop us a line at contact@createstreets.com to help us get 15 tram lines under construction within 5 years.
Check out our latest blog post where our colleague Robert Kwolek explores a case study in France which has valuable lessons for how we can build cheaper, better trams.