Department of Transport

Steven Norris launches competition for Croydon Tramlink
_______________________________________________________________

date 30 May 1995
source Department of Transport
type Press release

note 161

The start of the competition to select a company to build and operate
Croydon Tramlink was today endorsed by Steven Norris, Minister for
Transport in London.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Norris said:

"I am delighted that the competition for Croydon Tramlink is being
launched. This is an imaginative scheme with a lot of potential; it
could mean a big advance in public transport for the people of
Croydon and the other Boroughs which Tramlink will serve."

Stressing the contribution of both public and private sectors, Mr
Norris continued:

"The private sector has been involved in the scheme from a very early
stage, working alongside the public sector promoters to design a
system capable of meeting the needs of the travelling public in an
efficient and environmentally- friendly way. Tramlink is an excellent
example of how the Government's Private Finance Initiative can get
schemes moving".

Reiterating the Government's support for the scheme, he said:

"We have already set grant aside towards Tramlink, subject to
satisfactory bids being received. I commend this scheme to the
private sector and look forward to their response."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Croydon Tramlink is a 17.5 mile light rail network which will link
Croydon with Wimbledon, Beckenham and New Addington. It has been
jointly promoted by London Transport and the London Borough of
Croydon and will be taken forward under the Private Finance
Initiative.

2. The scheme has been designed by the promoters in collaboration
with a private sector consortium ("the participants") comprising
Tarmac, AEG and Transdev. This arrangement was designed to harness as
much technical and commercial experience as possible and ensure that
the final specification was efficient and cost effective. The
participants will now have to bid for the concession on equal terms
with other interested parties.

3. On 13 December 1994, the Secretary of State announced that he
would be setting aside funds to provide a public sector grant for the
scheme. The size of the grant will be determined by the bids received
and is dependent on satisfactory bids being received. It is expected
that a substantial part of the funding will come from the private
sector.

4. Today's announcement marks the start of the prequalification
stage, where potential bidders are invited to demonstrate that they
have the resources and expertise to undertake the project. An
advertisement has been placed in the Official Journal of the European
Community, inviting interested companies to apply for
prequalification. Applications must be received by noon on 15
September 1995. Full tenders will be requested later in the year from
successfully prequalified bidders.

Railhub Archive ::: 1995-05-30 DoT-001