Croydon sees new £16m trams unveiled (From Your Local Guardian)

Croydon sees new £16m trams unveiled

11:51am Monday 25th June 2012 in Croydon

Up to 850 extra passengers will be able to travel on the busiest part of the tram service every hour after six new trams were unveiled.

Major of London Boris Johnson was at East Croydon Station this morning to see one of the new £16.3m stock unveiled.

The new trams will enable a direct service between Therapia Lane and Elmers End and see 12 services a hour running from Therapia Lane to Croydon Town Centre during peak hours.

Mr Johnson said: “Good transport connections are vital for a place like Croydon. It is the key to unlocking the success of the borough. There has been a lot of interest from international investors, big supermarket chains and international retailers, who I don’t think I need to name, and the one thing they are most interested in is good transport links.”

The Tramlink network is used by 29m passengers annually, a rise of 45 per cent since its launch in 2000.

All six of the new trams are now in service and plans to extend the service further are underway.

The Mayor promised to push for an extension of the link to Crystal Palace should he be re-elected and he remains determined to see this through.

He said: “The next step is Crystal Palace and then possibly Sutton.”

When pressed Mr Johnson was unable to provide a timetable for the extension but said Crystal Palace was the priority.

The six trams have been provided by Swiss manufacturer Stadler, which are longer and have the capacity to seat 84 with 122 people standing.

Croydon Council invested £3m into the project and one of the trams has been decorated with the council’s Love Croydon slogan.

Council leader Mike Fisher said: “These fantastic new trams are a major boost for a transport network that is the envy of London.”