West London Tram

The West London Tram was a proposed on-street light rail line running along the Uxbridge Road corridor in West London, England. The scheme was promoted by Transport for London (TfL) but opposed by the councils of all three London Boroughs through which it would run [ [http://www.hillingdontimes.co.uk/news/trams/tramnews/display.var.1215467.0.mayor_should_his_cut_losses_over_trams.php Mayor 'should his cut losses' over trams] ] . It was postponed indefinitely on 2 August 2007.

It was planned to run between Uxbridge and Shepherd's Bush, serving Hillingdon, Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, Ealing and Acton en route, and would have completely replaced the equivalent 207 and 427 local bus routes, and the 607 express route. It was also to serve Brunel University.

Overview

The tram was designed to run along the congested Uxbridge Road from Uxbridge to Shepherd's Bush and to replace the heavily used 207, 427 and 607 bus services. There would have been level, step-free access at all tram stops.

Had the route been constructed it would have revived a tram route established in 1904 and which was replaced by a trolleybus - number 607 - which was itself superseded by the present bus routes.

Progress

Opposition

The scheme was opposed by local councils along the route: Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham and Hillingdon. It was also the subject of vociferous local campaigning by Save Ealing's Streets, whose main objection was that closing Uxbridge Road to other traffic at pinch points would significantly increase traffic through residential areas even though only one of the pinch points would have seen motor cars diverted onto different roads from the tram, and despite the overall reduction in traffic resulting from the tram.

The Trolley Buses for West London group advocated trolley buses as the best public solution. They argued that logic indicated the best choice was once again trolley buses.

Anti-tram campaigners noted concerns about the construction cost and the value for money that would be delivered by the scheme, although consultancy data indicated at least 30% more people would ride the tram than the trolleybus option.

2006 survey results

After TfL sent out 17,000 questionnaires about the tram in October 2006, 40% of residents that had travelled by tram before were in favour, 46% were against the scheme, 12% were indifferent and 1% of residents didn't know. Results were fairly similar yet significantly different for residents that had never travelled by tram. 39% were in favour, 37% were against, 21% were indifferent, while 2% of residents didn't know. the vast majority of residents thought that trams were environmentally friendly, although a majority believed that trams take up too much space on the road. Around half of residents thought that trams reduced the number of cars on the road, results showed that bus users were more likely to agree than car users. A majority believed that trams would reduce the need for buses, which was the most popular benefit. Residents were less well informed than about tram efficiency and how easy they were to get on and off, with one in five saying the neither agreed nor disagreed with trams being more efficient and trams are easier to get on and off. The fact that trams get too crowded is a split issue with 28% agreeing, 27% disagreeing and 26% being neutral. The remaining 18% didn't know. Residents believe a major concern will be the noise trams make, with 49% agreeing on the fact that trams make too much noise. [ [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/trams/downloads/pdf/initiatives/wlt/October-2006.pdf] , West London Tram Market Research by TfL, October 2006]

Postponement

The tram project was postponed indefinitely by TfL following the decision by the government to go ahead with the Crossrail project. TfL have pledged to work with the local boroughs to increase bus provision instead, including interchanges with the future Crossrail stations. [Citation | title = West London Tram | url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/networkandservices/3223.aspx | accessdate = 2008-02-27]

TfL have said the tram scheme may be revisited however if further public transport capacity is needed after Crossrail is up and running.

Proposed stations

In order westbound:
* Shepherd's Bush tube and railway station
* Shepherd's Bush Market
* Bloemfontein Road
* The Adelaide
* Askew Road
* Bromyard Avenue
* The King's Arms
* Acton Park
* Acton Town Hall
* Acton Square
* Twyford Crescent
* Ealing Common Station
* Ealing Common Park
* Ealing Broadway
* Ealing Town Hall
* St. Leonard's Road
* Northfield Avenue
* West Ealing
* Hanwell Cemeteries
* Hanwell Broadway
* Hanwell Bridge
* Ealing Hospital
* Ironbridge
* Dormer's Wells
* Southall/High Street
* Southall Broadway
* Grand Union Canal
* Disse Garvin
* The Grapes
* Shakespeare Avenue
* Church Road, Hayes
* Lansbury Drive
* Hayes End
* Hillingdon Heath
* Long Lane
* Hillingdon Village
* Greenway for Brunel University
* RAF Uxbridge
* Civic Centre, Uxbridge
* Uxbridge Station

References

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/networkandservices/3223.aspx Transport for London - West London Tram] : official site for scheme
*
* [http://www.ealingstreets.org/ Save Ealing's Streets] : anti-tram campaign
* [http://www.wlfoet5.demon.co.uk/transport/trams/wltram.htm West London Friends of the Earth - West London Tram] : pro-tram campaign
* [http://www.tfwl.org.uk/index.html Trolley Buses for West London] : pro- trolley buses.