Transport for LondonAbout light rail
A standard light rail vehicle can carry up to 250 people - nearly treble the capacity of a typical bus. The vehicles are accessible to all: parents with prams and small children, shoppers with trolleys, and the elderly or mobility impaired.
Compared with conventional trains, there can be more frequent stops, seldom more than 600 metres apart. With segregated tracks, there are no traffic jams, and the service is safe and reliable.
It is one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transport. No fumes damage the environment and vehicles are quiet. Acceleration is smooth and fast, the braking quick and safe and tight turns and steep climbs can be handled with ease.
Light rail systems can also be designed to match any urban surroundings and town planners are increasingly turning to light rail to ease the problems of urban traffic congestion. Light rail is an attractive way of moving large numbers of passengers along busy routes and as a means of revitalising town centres and other urban areas. The stimulus for all this activity has been the success of Docklands Light Railway in London.
The year 2000 saw a real change in the way central government regarded light rail. From being an expensive option light rail became an essential part of the solution for urban transport. The Transport Act 2000 was enacted and gave a new lease of life to a number of new light rail schemes, (Leeds, Hampshire, Nottingham, Merseyside & Tyne & Wear) and extensions to existing lines such as Sheffield, Midland Metro, Croydon - which opened May 10th 2000 and Manchester.
Light Rail World-wide
Light rail is in use in Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and the USA. In Britain, the system is already running in Newcastle, Manchester, and Sheffield.
