WITH PHASE TWO OF THE NOTTINGHAM EXPRESS TRANSIT UP AND RUNNING, PLANS ARE IN HAND TO TAKE THE NETWORK FURTHER STILL, AS PHILIP SHERRATT REPORTS
Light rail returned to the East Midlands in 2004, with the opening of the Nottingham Express Transit (NET). Line 1 runs from Nottingham station via the city centre to Hucknall, with a short branch to Phoenix Park, comprising 14.6 route kilometres. On 25 August 2015 Lines 2 and 3 opened, extending the network south from the station to Clifton South and Toton Lane. The system now covers 32 route kilometres with 51 stops.
Nottingham City Council oversees the network and its major projects director Chris Deas says that, 18 months on, the council is ‘really pleased with how quickly the extended network has embedded in’. Operational performance has been robust, and in the autumn 2015 survey of tram networks by Transport Focus Nottingham’s passengers reported the highest satisfaction level of any UK system at 98%.