NOTTINGHAM: A STUDY IN TRACKSHARING

This article describes preparations for the construction of the Greater Nottingham Rapid Transit System (GNRT) which will eventually serve about 750,000 people. It will be developed as part of Nottingham County Council's integrated transport strategy, which will also develop heavy rail services. The first light rail line to be built will be from Nottingham British Rail station in the city centre to Hucknall about 12km to the north west; the article has a map of the route. There would be on-street running in those parts nearest the centre, but the route would be shared with an existing British Rail line further out; this would have several advantages. There will also be a short branch to Cinderhill from the middle of the route. Running times from Nottingham to Hucknall and Cinderhill will be 29min and 23min, respectively. At first, each branch will have peak intervals of 10min, and of 5min along the common section of both routes. This will require a fleet of 15 vehicles, with each train having a capacity of 200 to 250 passengers. Funding is envisaged from a combination of UK Government, local authority and private sources.