Bristol Supertram

Bristol Supertram was a proposed light rail system for the Bristol and South Gloucestershire regions of England. In 2001, the project was given backing from the government to build a line that would link the city centre with the North Bristol region.

History
The Supertram project was given the go ahead in March 2001, following an announcement from the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. The initial cost of £194 million was to be provided by a public–private partnership (PPP) which consisted of 20% funding from the private sector, while the rest would come from the government and the local authorities of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Bristol was one of 25 towns and cities that had been selected for light rail development as part of a 10-year plan by the New Labour government to improve public transport in the UK.

Opinion polls in the Bristol region have consistently demonstrated that the issues of inadequate public transport and chronic traffic congestion are two of the biggest local concerns. Public interest in a light rail system had been raised by a demonstration service that was operated on Bristol Harbourside by Bristol Electric Railbus Ltd (BER), between 1998 and 2000.

Line 1
The first stage of the project was a route called Line 1, which was planned to run from Bristol city centre to Almondsbury. Using a combination of existing Railtrack operated lines and segregated tracks, the journey would take approximately 30 minutes and cover a total of 16 stops. These would include Bristol Parkway station and Bradley Stoke, with the line terminating at an M5 park and ride site next to the Almondsbury Interchange.

Line 1 stations
 * Union Street (Broadmead Shopping Centre)
 * Quay Street (City Centre)
 * Broad Quay
 * St Mary Redcliffe
 * Bristol Temple Meads
 * Lawrence Hill
 * Stapleton Road
 * Ashley Down (reopened station)
 * Bonnington Walk (reopened station)
 * Abbey Wood
 * University of the West of England (UWE) (proposed extension)
 * Bristol Parkway station
 * Parkway North (possible M4 park and ride)
 * Great Meadow
 * Savages Wood
 * Patchway Brook
 * Aztec West Business Park (M5 park and ride)

The line was intended to provide an affordable and efficient transport service that would improve the economic competitiveness of the north Bristol corridor, with operations predicted to commence in 2007. Four additional routes have been proposed for future light rail development in the region, all of which would connect with existing railway lines.

Future routes
 * A line through the South Bristol region
 * A line from Bristol to Yate via Emersons Green
 * A link with the Portishead Railway
 * A link with the Severn Beach railway line

Project implementation
With a commitment from the government to provide substantial funding for the project, the unitary authorities of Bristol and South Gloucestershire needed to finalise a route for Line 1. It was at this stage of the project that South Gloucestershire put forward a plan for a new route that included the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre instead of Parkway station. Bristol council remained in favour of the original route to Parkway, with a proposal for an extension that would include the University of the West of England (UWE).

An independent evaluation was commissioned by both councils in order to decide between the two schemes, which was carried out by the engineering consultants, WS Atkins. The results from the study showed that the Parkway option was feasible and cost effective, whereas the Cribbs Causeway option would increase the cost by £100 million and would add two years to the construction time. It also demonstrated that the Cribbs Causeway route would not meet the criteria that was required in order to qualify for government funding.

Following the rejection of their proposal South Gloucestershire pulled out of the Supertram project, which had by this stage been running for more than two years.

Cancellation
With the departure of South Gloucestershire, Bristol council submitted a modified route plan in late 2003 for a new Line 1 that would terminate at Parkway station. A government feasibility study was initiated to determine whether the new project still qualified for the original level of funding. It was during this period that the council found itself under political pressure to reduce a proposed local council tax increase.

With the financial situation of the council and growing uncertainty about the future of the new Line 1, the Labour and Conservative groups recommended that the project should be abandoned. In March 2004, Bristol council announced that the Supertram project would be cancelled and that the funds set aside for the project would be used to cover the council tax increase.

Future plans
Since the 2004 cancellation, a number of local proposals have been made to revive the project and to look at alternative transport schemes for the region.

Integrated Transport Authority (ITA)
It has been suggested that the four unitary authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset should form an Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) for the region. This could benefit the area by offering an improved level of decision-making power with regard to local transport needs and could potentially avoid the kind of regional disagreements that ultimately ended the Supertram project. Attempts have been made within the Bristol region to call for the establishment of an ITA, but so far these have been rejected by the three other unitary authorities of North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Tram tax
One idea that would enable a local authority to raise the finances necessary for a light rail system is the introduction of a “tram tax”. It has been suggested that Bristol residents would agree to a local tax increase if they fully understood what it would deliver as a result. Tram taxes have been proposed unsuccessfully in a number of regions within the UK for the development of new light rail systems and to provide support for existing ones.



Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
With Bristol Council unable to continue with the development of a light rail scheme, they have changed their focus to a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or “guided bus” system as a way of addressing the same congestion problems within the region. In 2007, an initial BRT route was proposed that would run alongside the Bristol and Bath cycleway, causing a narrowing of the path and a loss of natural habitat in the process.

This led to a campaign against the plan by local cycling and environmental pressure groups, which attracted considerable support from the Bristol public and the scheme was soon frozen after a 9,500 strong petition was received. The sustainable transport charity Sustrans said the plan was the "right idea, wrong route". The West of England Partnership is still targeting a BRT scheme by 2013 along a different route.