page_title: Bristol Supertram
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Bristol Supertram / History
caption_attribution_description: Wirksworth - Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Bristol Electric Railbus.
context_page_description: 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, but the project was cancelled in 2004.
context_section_description: The Bristol Supertram project was launched in March 2001 with an announcement from the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, John Prescott. The initial cost of £194 million was to be provided by a public–private partnership (PPP), which would include 20% funding from the private sector. The remaining funds were to come from the government and the local authorities of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Bristol was one of 25 cities and conurbations that had been selected for light rail development by the New Labour government. This was part of a government white paper and a 10-year plan to improve public transport in the UK.
  Opinion polls in Bristol have consistently shown that the issues of inadequate public transport and traffic congestion are two of the biggest local concerns. Public interest in a light rail system had been raised with a demonstration service by Bristol Electric Railbus Ltd (BER). This service operated a Parry People Movers railcar along the first 0.5-mile of the Bristol Harbour Railway, where it carried more than 50,000 passengers between 1998 and 2000.
caption: Bristol Electric Railbus PPM.35 that was operated on Bristol Harbour from 1998 to 2000
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