Battery-powered trams could take passengers from city to airport

OLDER VEHICLES COULD BE REPLACED WITH ONES THAT CAN RUN INDEPENDENTLY FOR A DISTANCE

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

BATTERY-POWERED trams could be part of Nottingham's public transport network in the future as some of the existing fleet of vehicles come to the end of their service life.

The boss of Nottingham’s tram network says battery power could be part of the mix when considering route extensions to locations like East Midlands Airport.

Birmingham already uses battery-powered trams on some routes, having first unveiled the vehicles in a UK-first back in 2019. Developers retrofitted Birmingham's existing trams with lithium-ion batteries, which are charged when an overhead line is available, allowing them to run on battery power alone in sections without a cable.

Coventry is also developing a battery-powered light rail network, and the ability to do away with overhead lines means the vehicles have become popular around the world, having been in operation in parts of Florence since 2021.