East Mids Mayor plays down potential cost issues for a relaunched bid for Derby/Nottingham tramlink

The East Midlands’ Mayor has played down the potential cost issues of building a tram link between Derby and Nottingham.

Announcing £2 billion in transport funding for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire from 2027 until 2032, Claire Ward, East Midlands Mayor, said priority one was for a “mass transit” link between Derby and Nottingham.

Local Democracy Reporter Eddie Bisknell detailed that the project has been discussed several times in the past by politicians in Derby and Nottingham, but no further action has been taken, primarily due to a lack of funding.

Those previous schemes hinged on a tramlink between the two cities, extending the existing Nottingham facilities, which currently terminate at Toton, 13.4km from Derby railway station.

A 2013 review priced a tramlink from Toton to Derby at £200 million.

Bids for the scheme from Derby and Nottingham were submitted to the Government in 2019 but proved unsuccessful.

That iteration of the scheme included a southern link from Toton to East Midlands Airport, going through Long Eaton and under the M1 near Junction 24a.

Meanwhile, the western line was to go under the M1 at Junction 25, before passing by Breaston and Borrowash and finishing in Derby city centre.

Based on current ongoing tramlink schemes in Edinburgh and Birmingham, the going rate for new tramlines is around £57 million per kilometre.

For example, the Birmingham to Solihull 17.5km-extension is to cost £1 billion, as of May this year.

Depending on the route from Toton to Derby, this could see a planned tramlink costing up £793 million, with construction prices not expected to stay stagnant, approaching up to half of the £2 billion funding.

People travelling by public transport can already travel from Derby to Nottingham by train or bus without changes.

The Red Arrow bus operates every 10 minutes, taking around 34 minutes (via QMC), and a train leaves every 30 minutes and takes around 29 minutes (via Spondon, Long Eaton and Beeston).

Asked about the potential for a tramlink, Ms Ward said: “We haven’t got details on that yet because we are clearly at the very beginning of thinking about our transport plan.

“What we are expressing to Government is our ambition for the development of that corridor.

“We know it will allow us to get significant growth not just across Derby and Nottingham but Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire as well.”

She said the East Midlands Combined County Authority had spent £300,000 on a tram route extension feasibility study earlier this year. 

Ms Ward said: “Until that comes back we couldn’t say.

“But we know in order to unlock the opportunities of that land and investment in that area we will need to have either bus, rail, road, active travel or tram.”

Pressed on the potential cost and the implications for other projects which could be funded, she said: “I think what you are trying to do is extrapolate figures on a route that we haven’t even determined yet and whether or not it would be the right thing to do to have a tram all the way or not.

“You’re kind of getting into the what ifs and the possibles and it is just not worth that level of conversation.

“The most important thing to remember here is that we are just over a year into our roles and the government has recognised the potential of this region which has been significantly underinvested for a long period of time and that if we are going to unlock growth we need a transport infrastructure that serves all parts of our communities.”

In early 2024, Tim Hesketh boss of Nottingham’s tram operator Tramlink said extending trams to Derby was “probably” beyond the realms of the possible in the next 10 years, but a “possibility” in the next 20 years.

Ms Ward said the £2 billion could also be used as money “to borrow against it for longer term projects”.

She said there was a need for new bus and train routes “across the region in the areas that make the most sense”, stressing “it isn’t just about the Derby/Nottingham corridor”.

The £2 billion funding announcement mentioned support for the long-stalled Chesterfield to Staveley Regeneration Route bypass.

This was “indefinitely” paused in late 2023 by Derbyshire County Council pending Government support with the projected skyrocketing to £166 million.

Its future hinged on support from Government which, under the Labour administration, is continuing a review of any new spending on major projects – including the regeneration routes.

Ms Ward agreed that the £2 billion funding was effectively a “green light” for the project, pending remaining business case and ground investigation studies.

She said: “Should all of those things be right and the business case stack up then this is the kind of project that I would want to see that money going towards.

“This is one of the projects that we specifically mentioned to the treasury as part of making the case for this money. 

“This is a very positive sign for the Chesterfield/Staveley bypass subject to other parts of the business case stacking up. It is good news.”

Other major schemes in Derbyshire which were scrapped by the current Government were two planned railway redevelopment schemes for the former Barrow Hill line through Staveley and the Ivanhoe line through Castle Gresley.

These schemes before they were scrapped, were at business case level and priced at up to £113.8 million for Barrow Hill and up to £186 million for Ivanhoe – totalling just under £300 million – a sixth of the £2 billion fund.

Ms Ward said these national schemes would be of interest to the Department for Transport, detailing: “We will be looking at all of our transport opportunities, that is why over the coming months we will be developing a transport plan.

“Along with discussing with the Department for Transport the projects that they will be interested in developing. This is a fantastic boost of confidence to the East Midlands.”