Tramlink

Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA · EN · 04/10/2026

Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 1952. Tramlink is managed by London Trams, a public body part of Transport for London (TfL), and has been operated by FirstGroup since 2017. It is one of two light rail networks in Greater London, the other being the Docklands Light Railway. Tramlink is the fourth-busiest light rail network in the UK behind the Docklands Light Railway, Manchester Metrolink and Tyne and Wear Metro.

Studies for the delivery of a modern-day tram system in Croydon began in the 1960s and detailed planning was performed in the 1980s. Approval of the scheme was received in 1990 and, following a competitive tender process, construction and initial operation of the tramway was undertaken by Tramtrack Croydon (TC) via a 99-year private finance initiative (PFI) contract. The official opening of Tramlink took place on 10 May 2000; by the end of the year three routes were operational. The network consists of 39 stops along 28 km of track, on a mixture of street track shared with other traffic, dedicated track in public roads, and off-street track consisting of new rights-of-way, former railway lines, and one right-of-way where the Tramlink track runs parallel to a third rail-electrified Network Rail line. The network's lines coincide in central Croydon, with eastern termini at Beckenham Junction, Elmers End and New Addington, and a western terminus at Wimbledon, where there is an interchange for London Underground.

Since its original opening, the tram network has been expanded and additional rolling stock has been purchased. During 2008, TfL took over Tramlink operations, ending the PFI and making the company a subsidiary of TfL. Additional rolling stock was introduced during the early 2010s. Furthermore, numerous extensions to the network have been discussed, the most recent of which is the Sutton Link, an extension to connect Sutton to Colliers Wood. Sutton Link was paused in 2020 until funding can be secured. In the 2020s, TfL began work to order new trams for the system.

History

Inception

In the first half of the 20th century, Croydon had many tramlines. However, these were all closed, the first was the Addiscombe – East Croydon station route through George Street to Cherry Orchard Road in 1927 and the last to close was the Purley - Embankment and Croydon (Coombe Road) - Thornton Heath routes closed in April 1951. However, in the Spring of 1950, the Highways Committee were presented by the Mayor with the concept of running trams between East Croydon station and the new estate being constructed at New Addington. This was based on the fact that the Feltham cars used in Croydon were going to Leeds to serve their new estates on reserved tracks. During 1962, a private study with assistance from BR engineers, showed how easy it was to convert the West Croydon - Wimbledon train service to tram operation and successfully prevent conflict between trams and trains.

These two concepts became joined in joint LRTL/TLRS concept of New Addington to Wimbledon every 15 minutes via East and West Croydon and Mitcham plus New Addington to Tattenham Corner every 15 minutes via East and West Croydon, Sutton and Epsom Downs. A branch into Forestdale to give an overlap service from Sutton was also included. During the 1970s, several BR directors and up-and-coming managers were aware of the advantages. Chris Green, upon becoming managing director, Network South East, published his plans in 1987 expanding the concept to take in the Tattenham Corner and Caterham branches and provide a service from Croydon to Lewisham via Addiscombe and Hayes. Following on from the opening of the DLR a small group working under Tony Ridley, then managing director, London Transport, investigated the potential for further light rail in London. The report 'Light Rail for London', written by engineer David Catling and Transport Planner Jon Willis, looked at a number of possible schemes including conversion of the East London Line. However a light rail network focussed on Croydon, with the conversion of existing heavy rail routes, was the most promising. The London Borough of Croydon wanted to improve access to the town centre without further road building and also improve access to the LCC built New Addington estate. Furthermore, road traffic in Croydon expanded considerably during the 1980s and planners were keen to apply public transit to fulfil the recorded growth in demand in the area. The project was developed by a small team in LT, headed by Scott McIntosh and in Croydon by Jill Lucas.

The scheme was accepted in principle in February 1990 by Croydon Council who worked with what was then London Regional Transport (LRT) to propose Tramlink to Parliament. The (c. xi) resulted, which gave LRT the power to build and run Tramlink.

Construction

Both the delivery and operation of the tramway was accomplished via a competitive tender process. During November 1995, it was announced that four consortia were shortlisted to build, operate and maintain Tramlink:

Altram: John Laing, Ansaldo, Serco

Croydon Connect: Tarmac, AEG, Transdev

CT Light Rail Group: GEC Alsthom, Mowlem, Welsh Water

Tramtrack Croydon: CentreWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir Robert McAlpine, Amey, Bombardier Transportation

In May 1996, Tramtrack Croydon (TC) was awarded a 99-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract to design, build, operate and maintain Tramlink. The equity partners in TC were Amey (50%), Royal Bank of Scotland (20%), 3i (20%) and Sir Robert McAlpine with Bombardier Transportation contracted to build and maintain the trams and FirstGroup operate the service. TC retained the revenue generated by Tramlink and LRT had to pay compensation to TC for any changes to the fares and ticketing policy introduced later. The concession agreement with TC was signed in November 1996, allowing construction to begin.

Construction work started in January 1997, with an expected opening in November 1999. The first tram was delivered in October 1998 to the new depot at Therapia Lane and testing on the sections of the Wimbledon line began shortly afterwards. Part of its track is the original route of the Surrey Iron Railway that opened in 1803.

Opening

The official opening of Tramlink took place on 10 May 2000 when route 3 from Croydon to New Addington opened to the public. Route 2 from Croydon to Beckenham Junction followed on 23 May 2000, and route 1 from Elmers End to Wimbledon opened a week later on 30 May 2000. It was the first modern tram project in London, with low-floor trams and low platforms allowing accessibility for all. The new trams were numbered from 2530, following on from the last of the old trams withdrawn in the early 1950s.

Buyout by Transport for London

In March 2008, TfL announced that it had reached agreement to buy TC for £98million. The purchase was finalised on 28 June 2008. The background to this purchase relates to the requirement that TfL (who took over from London Regional Transport in 2000) compensates TC for the consequences of any changes to the fares and ticketing policy introduced since 1996. In 2007, that payment was £4million, with an annual increase in rate. Despite this change, FirstGroup continues to operate the service.

During October 2008, TfL introduced a new livery, using the blue, white and green of the routes on TfL maps, to distinguish the trams from buses operating in the area. The colour of the cars was changed to green, and the brand name was changed from Croydon Tramlink to simply Tramlink. The rebranding work was completed in early 2009.

Additional stop and trams

Centrale tram stop, in Tamworth Road on the one-way central loop, opened on 10 December 2005, increasing journey times slightly. As turnround times were already quite tight, this raised the issue of buying an extra tram to maintain punctuality. Partly for this reason, but also to take into account the planned restructuring of services, (subsequently introduced in July 2006), TfL issued tenders for a new tram. However, nothing resulted from this.

In January 2011, TfL opened a tender for the supply of ten new or second-hand trams from the end of summer 2011, for use between Therapia Lane and Elmers End. On 18 August 2011, TfL announced that Stadler Rail had won a £16.3million contract to supply six Variobahn trams similar to those used by Bybanen in Bergen, Norway. They entered service in 2012.

In August 2013, TfL ordered an additional four Variobahn trams for delivery in 2015, for use on the Wimbledon to Croydon link, an order later increased to six. This brought the total Variobahn fleet up to ten in 2015, and 12 in 2016 when the final two trams were delivered.

Current network

Stops

There are 39 stops, with 38 opened in the initial phase, and Centrale tram stop added on 10 December 2005. Most stops are 32.2 m long. The tram stops have low platforms, 35 cm above rail level, virtually level with the doors. This level access from platform to tram allows wheelchairs, prams, pushchairs and the elderly to board easily with no steps. In street sections, the stop is integrated with the pavement. All platforms are all wider than 2 m. Tramlink uses some former main-line stations on the Wimbledon–West Croydon and Elmers End–Coombe Lane stretches of line. The railway platforms have been demolished and rebuilt to Tramlink specifications, except at Elmers End and Wimbledon where the track level was raised to meet the higher main-line platforms to enable cross-platform interchange.

Stops are unstaffed and had automated ticket machines that are no longer in use due to TfL making trams cashless. In general, access between the platforms involves crossing the tracks by pedestrian level crossing. Stops also feature CCTV, a Passenger Help Point, a Passenger Information Display (PID), litter bins, a noticeboard and lamp-posts, and most also have seats and a shelter. The PIDs display the destinations and expected arrival times of the next three trams. They can also display any message the controllers want to display, such as information on delays or even safety instructions for vandals to stop putting rubbish or other objects onto the track.

Routes

Tramlink has been shown on the principal tube map since 1 June 2016, having previously appeared only on the "London Connections" map.

When Tramlink first opened it had three routes: Line 1 (yellow) from Wimbledon to Elmers End, Line 2 (red) from Croydon to Beckenham Junction, and Line 3 (green) from Croydon to New Addington. On 23 July 2006, the network was restructured, with Route 1 from Elmers End to Croydon, Route 2 from Beckenham Junction to Croydon and Route 3 from New Addington to Wimbledon. On 25 June 2012, Route 4 from Therapia Lane to Elmers End was introduced. On 4 April 2016, Route 4 was extended from Therapia Lane to Wimbledon.

On 25 February 2018, the network and timetables were restructured again for more even and reliable services. As part of this change, trams would no longer display route numbers on their dot matrix destination screens. This resulted in three routes:

New Addington to West Croydon, returning to New Addington every 7–8 minutes (every 10 minutes on Sunday shopping hours and every 15 minutes at late evenings).

Wimbledon to Beckenham Junction every 10 minutes (every 15 minutes on Sundays and late evening)

Wimbledon to Elmers End every 10 minutes (every 15 minutes on Sundays and terminates at Croydon in late evening every 15 minutes)

Additionally, the first two trams from New Addington will run to Wimbledon. Overall, this would result in a decrease in 2tph leaving Elmers End, resulting in a 25% decrease in capacity here, and 14% in the Addiscombe area. However, this would also regulate waiting times in this area and on the Wimbledon branch to every five minutes, from every two–seven minutes.

Former lines reused

Tramlink makes use of a number of National Rail lines, running parallel to franchised services, or in some cases, runs on previously abandoned railway corridors. Between Birkbeck and Beckenham Junction, Tramlink uses the Crystal Palace line, running on a single track alongside the track carrying Southern rail services. The National Rail track had been singled some years earlier, although the track placement had to be altered, especially at Birkbeck where the railway platform in use was to be taken by the trams and the old down platform had to be brought back into use.

From Elmers End to Woodside, Tramlink follows the former Addiscombe Line. At Woodside, the old station buildings stand disused, and the original platforms have been replaced by accessible low platforms. Tramlink then follows the former Woodside and South Croydon Railway (W&SCR) to reach the current Addiscombe tram stop, adjacent to the site of the demolished Bingham Road railway station. It continues along the former railway route to near Sandilands, where Tramlink curves sharply towards Sandilands tram stop. Another route from Sandilands tram stop curves sharply on to the W&SCR before passing through Park Hill (or Sandilands) tunnels and to the site of Coombe Road station after which it curves away across Lloyd Park.

Source and attribution

Adapted from “Tramlink” by English Wikipedia contributors. Main paragraphs and sections are retained; tables, reference markers and technical markup are omitted. This is an encyclopedic adaptation, not a personal review. Original revision and contributor history ↗. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗. Check current visitor access, tickets and transport with the relevant operator.