Buses and Trams: Cities to get newlight railway lines

Local travel by buses and trams will be improved with £50bn in public money and £9bn from private sources. The choice of measures will be determined through local transport plans.

Local travel by buses and trams will be improved with £50bn in public money and £9bn from private sources. The choice of measures will be determined through local transport plans.

Ministers expect the range of improvements over the next 10 years to include up to 25 new light railway lines in major cities and conurbations around the country. Six new lines will be added to the Manchester Metrolink, the Docklands Light Railway will be extended to London City Airport, and new developments will include Newcastle to Sunderland and Nottingham. There are also proposals for new lines for Leeds, the West Midlands, Bristol, south Gloucestershire and south Hampshire.

The money is also intended to fund bus priority lanes and "guided" bus routes - effectively trams.

Among the other schemes envisaged are up to 100 new "park and ride" projects and 200 major local road improvements, including more than 70 bypasses. A new Urban Bus Challenge Fund will aim at improving public transport links to isolated urban estates.

The Government plans a major extension of local traffic management schemes, safer routes for cycling and walking together with environmental improvements in towns and cities. Additional support is expected for rural bus services to cover more journeys serving market towns.

Greater backing for Rural Transport Partnerships and for community-based projects in the countryside are also expected, while the fuel duty rebate is to be extended to community transport services.

Some £30bn is to be devoted to eliminating the backlog in local road and bridge maintenance.