Tram for the Waterfront?

JERSEY could again have a railway running from the west to town.

Representatives of a leading transport company are visiting the Island this week to talk to politicians about the feasibility of creating a light railway or tram system.

Experts from Transdev were invited to the Island by the Environment Scrutiny panel and will meet representatives of the Transport and Technical Services department and the Environment department.

The visit comes at the instigation of Scrutiny panel member Deputy Paul Le Claire. The Deputy said: ‘I have always thought there was room for a light railway or tram system. I put the idea to the panel and they asked me to look into options.’

He said that he had spoken to a number of expert businesses and the visit of Transdev on Thursday was the first tangible step into assessing feasibility and potential costs.

are they using the trains we dont want?

Fact is that the route any tram/train/monorail would use, would mirror the Connex Route 15, about the only profitable bit of the bus system. Without the income from that route the bus service is not profitable (or less profitable still) and would need further subsidy or would close.

No rail system can replace the bus routes, so to have one would cost far more than the coat of it alone.