'Slow and fitful' progress on trams under scrutiny

Progress on implementing tram and light rail systems has been "slow and fitful", the report from the All Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group added.

Despite improvements of late, the Department for Transport (DfT) still lacked an overall light-rail strategy, the report said.

Also, the DfT did not treat light rail proposals in the same way as other modes and the department had a tendency to "micro-manage from the centre", the group concluded.

The report concluded that to bring back trams to more city streets there needed to be a clearer lead from the Government, less bias against trams in the appraisal processes, and for ways to be found of further cutting the costs of new schemes.

Plans for a tram service in Leeds were controversially rejected.

MP Paul Rowen (Lib Dem: Rochdale) who chaired the group's inquiry into the future of light rail, said: "Where the UK has invested in modern tram systems we have seen motorists switching to the tram and impressive growth in passenger numbers.

"However, overall, the progress on implementing modern trams has been slow and fitful – certainly when compared with our near-neighbours in Europe, where entire systems are being built in the time it takes us to get through the mountains of paperwork that characterise the approach in the UK."

He went on: "We wanted to see how we could put the future of modern trams in the UK onto a sounder footing."

Mr Rowen concluded: "Our report suggests that leadership and co-ordination is key in order to arrive at a framework for the development and implementation of light rail schemes that is cheaper, quicker and more appropriate."