Croydon Tramlink rail renaissance

This year marks the fifth anniversary of Croydon Tramlink and the 150th anniversary of the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway. The 1994 Tramlink Act enabled London Transport to grant a concession to Tramtrack Croydon Ltd to design, build, operate and maintain the system. Since it opened in 2000, Tramlink has had mixed fortunes. Actual ridership has turned out to be significantly less than the original forecasts of 25 million passengers a year: 15 million in 2001, and 19 million in 2003. Today, Tramlink is on a sound financial footing following a restructuring that was completed in 2004. Tramlink is now the busiest light rail system in the UK, carrying in L18 million a year from the fare box. If all the factors are taken into account, Tramtrack reckons that, when considered as a Private Finance Initiative, it is not far off target and has delivered for the public sector a scheme entirely in line with cost estimates.