Kimberley Route Options

Transcription

1 Nottingham Express Transit Network Extensions Study (Stage 1) Kimberley Route Options April 2001 Prepared by: WS Atkins Rail Limited MVA Limited

2 Document Control Project Title: Project Number: Document Type: Nottingham Express Transit Network Extensions Study MVA-C05903 WSA-BL1969 Kimberley Route Options Report WP Reference: Directory & File Name: c:\windows\temporary internet files\olk2255\bl1969r16_021.doc Document Approval Primary Author: Reviewer(s): Reg Sweet, WSA David Carter, MVA Issu Date Distribution Comments e 1 12/03/01 MVA, WSA, NET First draft 2 16/03/01 MVA, WSA, NET Second draft 3 26/04/01 MVA, WSA, NET Final

3 NET Network Extensions Study (Stage 1) Kimberley Route Options 1 General 1.1 Route options to Kimberley have been considered as possible western extensions to Line One from the terminus at Phoenix Park on the Cinderhill branch. 1.2 The main motivation for considering a route on this corridor would be to serve locations such as the following: - Residential areas in the vicinity of the Nuthall Roundabout A possible P&R site between the Nuthall Roundabout and Junction 26 of the M1 Motorway (awaits M1 Multi-Modal Study results) Existing and new developments at Nuthall New developments at Watnall Existing areas of Kimberley The industrial estate adjacent to the A610 at Giltbrook, including the Ikea Store Possible future extension to Eastwood 1.3 A NET line along this corridor should provide interchange opportunities with bus services and possible P&R sites. 1.4 However, serving all the possible locations along this corridor with one single line would not be plausible. Therefore, two alternative routes for serving Kimberley are proposed under this study i.e. a route serving the Kimberley Main Street area (KMS) and another to the Ikea Store via the proposed Watnall development site (KI). These two routes would share a common section up to New Nuthall on the west side of the M1 Motorway. 1.5 The Kimberley Main Street Route (KMS) would be extended westward from the Line One terminus at the Phoenix Park P&R site and would proceed towards the Nuthall Roundabout, where it could serve a possible new P&R site near Junction 26 of the M1. The route would then swing northwards to meet the disused London North Eastern Railway (LNER) alignment, which has an existing bridge under the M1 and provides a corridor into Kimberley. The route would stop short of Main Street near the recreation ground. 1.6 The Kimberley Ikea Route (KI) would diverge to the north from the KMS alignment near New Nuthall in order to serve the southern part of the proposed Watnall development area. The route would then join the alignment of the disused London Midland Scottish (LMS) Railway and skirt around the northern part of Kimberley. It would continue westwards along the LMS corridor towards Ikea, crossing first over the A610 Kimberley-Eastwood By-Pass on a new viaduct before passing under it again at the existing bridge on the major roundabout near the Ikea Store. Page 1

4 1.7 The proposed route options to Kimberley are shown on the following drawings included in the Appendices to this report: - BL : Kimberley Routes (1:20000 scale) BL and 504: Kimberley Routes (1:5000 scale) Page 2

5 2 Route Description 2.1 Common Section for KMS and KI Options Line One Phoenix Park P&R Site to New Farm Lane (Drawing Nos. 503 & 504 refer) The alignment of the Kimberley route options would head west from the P&R site at the proposed Phoenix Park terminus of Line One, proceeding alongside the extension of Millennium Way West. It would then swing past the back corner of the residential property at the end of Anders Drive, at which point the route would move from a Nottingham City to a Broxtowe Borough Council controlled area The route would continue on a segregated alignment through the existing open area to the north of the A610 Kimberley-Eastwood By-pass and south of the Hempshill Vale residential area. A box culvert would be required where the route crosses the stream that runs into the nearby pond. Some realignment and remodelling of the access lane and footpaths within this open area may be required to ensure the segregation of the NET route The alignment would then cross under the A6002 Low Wood Road in a new concrete subway structure through the road embankment about 100 metres to the north of the Nuthall Roundabout. Some temporary traffic management measures would be required during the construction of this underpass structure The location of a stop in this area would be dependent on the provision of a possible P&R site that would serve traffic coming from Junction 26 of the nearby M1 Motorway. Such a P&R site could be provided in the area between Low Wood Road and the M1 to the north of the B600 Nottingham Road. Should this be the case, then the stop would be located within the P&R site. If a P&R site were not provided, then a more suitable location for the stop would be immediately to the east of Low Wood Road near Hempshill Hall Recommendations regarding the need for a P&R site in close proximity to the M1 Motorway are being addressed within the context of the M1 Multi-Modal Study. Issues concerning road access to the P&R site would need to be carefully considered in view of the congestion that occurs at the Nuthall Roundabout After passing under Low Wood Road, the alignment would swing northwards towards the right-of-way of the dismantled London North Eastern Railway (LNER). The precise alignment through this area would be dependent on the proposals for a possible new road access to the envisaged development site at Watnall, which would be located to the west of the M1. The section of the NET route up to the disused LNER right-of-way would need to be developed as a segregated corridor to enable higher operating speeds to be attained. Page 3

6 2.1.7 Upon reaching the disused LNER alignment, the route would swing westward and make use of the existing railway formation. It would then pass under the M1 Motorway through an existing bridge, less than 1km to the north of junction 26. This bridge would need to be checked for clearances and headroom to ensure that they would be suitable to accommodate the NET vehicles and overhead catenary system. Alternatively, a new access road to the Watnall development site may be provided, requiring a new bridge under the M1 Motorway. The NET route could then be incorporated into this new road alignment To the west of the M1 bridge, the route would continue towards New Nuthall along the LNER formation as segregated track. It would cross New Farm Road at grade requiring a signalled crossing junction to be provided with the necessary priority being given to the NET vehicles The KMS and KI routes would diverge approximately 150m to the west of the New Farm Road crossing and south of Redfield House. The exact location would need to be determined once details of the Watnall development site became available. 2.2 Kimberley Main Street Option (KMS) New Farm Lane to B600 Main Road Watnall (Drawing Nos. 502 & 503 refer) The KMS route option would continue westwards along the LNER alignment until reaching the B600 Main Road Watnall at a point immediately to the south of the existing industrial bakery. The engineering in this area becomes more difficult, because a large earth bund has been constructed on the railway formation to screen the residential properties on the south side from the noise and visual intrusion caused by the bakery. Part of this earth bund would need to be removed to enable the NET route to pass alongside the bakery. A retaining wall would be required to support the remaining part of the bund to ensure that the screening effect is not diminished The KMS route would then cross the B600 Main Road Watnall at grade. This would require that a new signalised junction be provided to ensure that the NET may cross with the requisite right of way and priority A NET stop would be located immediately to the west of the B600 Main Road Watnall. This would serve the residential areas in this vicinity and also the bakery. Pedestrian access routes to the stop would need to be provided and possibly also a signalised pedestrian crossing on the B600. B600 Main Road Watnall to Terminus (Dwg. No. 502 refers) To the west of the B600, development has taken place along the old LNER alignment, thus allowing only a short length to be available for the KMS route. The deep cutting along this section has been filled in over a part of its length. This has left a steep bank separating the filled section from the deep cutting section. Page 4

7 2.2.5 The KMS alignment would then run westwards for about 200m along the LNER right-of-way before turning to the south at Chestnut Close. It would then run within the existing green area alongside Chestnut Close and Chestnut Drive before turning westwards again to run adjacent to the back gardens of the properties along Lime Close The KMS route option terminus would be situated in the area behind the properties in Noel Street, in the immediate vicinity of the Kimberley Main Street. This stop would serve the main commercial area of Kimberley A route providing direct access to Main Street could not be found, without first requiring significant property acquisition and demolition. Also, the roads within the central area of Kimberley are fairly narrow and would not be suitable for LRT operations. This would make it difficult to extend the KMS route in the future. 2.3 Kimberley Ikea Option (KI) New Farm Lane to A610 Kimberley-Eastwood By-Pass (Drawing Nos. 501 & 502 refer) The Kimberley KI route option would diverge from the KMS route to the south of Redfield House about 150m west of New Farm Road. It would swing towards the north into the proposed new Watnall development area, but at this stage no definite alignment can be defined i.e. until such time as the development proposals are made known. A segregated route for this NET extension would need to be incorporated into the planning for the area, if the developer were interested in capturing the benefits of a LRT service for this site The Watnall development proposals that are being considered cover a very large area. This is bounded in the east by the M1 Motorway, in the west by the B600 Main Road Watnall, in the south by New Nuthall and in the north by B6009 Long Lane Watnall. It would be difficult for the KI route to penetrate the northern part of this site and also serve Kimberley. Therefore, one option that might be considered in the future would be to provide an extension or a spur that would serve this new site only The KI route would pass through the southern part of the proposed Watnall development until it reached the east-west alignment of the disused London Midland Scottish (LMS) Railway that runs approximately 200m to 300m to the north of the LNER. It would join this alignment about 200m to the east of the B600 Main Road Watnall This would be a suitable location for a NET stop, as it would be able to serve both the north and south of the development area. In addition, it would be able to serve some of the existing residential and industrial sites along the B600. Consideration could also be given for including a P&R site in the vicinity of this stop as part of the development proposals. Page 5

8 Pedestrian access routes to the stop would need to be provided and possibly also a signalised pedestrian crossing on the B On reaching the disused LMS alignment, the KI route would run westwards towards Kimberley in a deep cutting, which has been designated as a SSSI by English Nature. It has been assumed that the route would pass under the B600 Main Road Watnall in an existing 150m long railway tunnel. However, the status of this tunnel would need to be confirmed by carrying out a detailed search of available records and a site inspection The KI alignment then continues westward in deep cutting along the disused LMS corridor for about 700m, at which point the route is blocked by an embankment carrying Hardy Street across the cutting. It has been assumed that a new subway bridge would be provided for the NET to allow it to pass under Hardy Street. This would require temporary traffic management measures to be implemented during the construction of the underpass structure. Alternatively, the KI route could be ramped up to road level to enable Hardy Street to be crossed at grade, with a new signalled junction being required A stop could be located in the vicinity of Hardy Street, as this would be as close to the Kimberley Town Centre that this route would come. The stop could be located either before Hardy Street, near the footbridge linking with Hardy Close, or beyond it opposite the Kimberley Brewery and the old station building, that was until recently used as a social club. Suitable pedestrian access routes to the stop would need to be provided As it continues west towards Eastwood Road along the old LMS alignment, some development and encroachment on the old right-of-way would be encountered. This would possibly require some land acquisition and minor demolition to be undertaken The KI route would cross over Eastwood Road on a new bridge at the site of a previous railway bridge. One of the abutments of this old bridge still remains and could possibly be reused for the new bridge. The construction of this new bridge would be relatively simple, with only minor temporary traffic management measures being required Beyond Eastwood Road, the route would continue along the disused railway alignment towards the A610 Kimberley-Eastwood By-Pass. Some development has taken place on the old LMS right-of-way, requiring possible land acquisition and demolition to be undertaken. A610 Kimberley-Eastwood By-Pass to Ikea Terminus (Drawing No. 501 refers) A new viaduct would be required to take the KI route over the A610 Kimberley-Eastwood By-pass. This viaduct would cross the A610 at a highly skewed angle and its construction would entail the implementation of major temporary traffic management measures. Page 6

9 The route would continue westwards along the LMS alignment for about 150m, before crossing Awsworth Lane at grade. A new signalled junction would be required at this location in order to provide the necessary right of way for the NET A possible stop location would be adjacent to Awsworth Lane, as this is linked to a subway under the A610 that would provide access to the residential area about 150m away. Suitable pedestrian access routes to the stop would need to be provided Continuing westwards along the LMS alignment for a further 400m, the KI route would then encounter another disused railway corridor. It would then turn quite sharply northwards along this alignment for about 150m before reaching the A6096 Gin Close Way. This road would be crossed at grade requiring a new signalised junction for the NET After crossing Gin Close Way, the alignment would turn towards the roundabout serving the junction of the sliproads from the A610 with the A6096 and B6010 Nottingham Road. The NET route would pass under the existing A610 bridge on the western side of the roundabout traffic lanes. This would require the NET route to cross over the westbound and eastbound sliproads of the A610, with both requiring new signalised junctions. Retaining walls would be required to support the spill-through embankment at the bridge abutment where it would need to be cut back to make space for the NET tracks Immediately after crossing the eastbound sliproad of the A610, the alignment would make a right-angled turn towards the west where it would skirt the edge of the industrial estate and approach the parking area serving the Ikea Store. A terminus stop for the KI route would be provided at this location. Possible Alternative Route along Eastwood Road An alternative route to the Ikea Terminus that was considered, but not studied in detail, would be to run on-street along Eastwood Road/Gilt Hill from the point where the old LMS alignment crossed this road. Instead of providing a bridge over Eastwood Road, the old bridge would be removed and the alignment ramped down so that the NET could join the roadway at grade. This would require a new signalled junction on Eastwood Road and some remodelling to provide space to accommodate the sharp curves for the NET tracks This alternative route would then continue on-street along Eastwood Road and Gilt Hill, before crossing over the B6010 Nottingham Road and entering the industrial estate at Giltbrook where the Ikea Store is located. The junction with the B6010 would require remodelling and signalling to enable the NET to cross with the requisite priority The high costs associated with providing a suitable on-street alignment along this busy arterial road were not considered to be justified when Page 7

10 compared with the potential benefits of providing better penetration to potential sources of patronage. The adverse operational impacts on journey time and service reliability by operating along a busy road were also factors that were considered when deciding not to pursue this alternative. Page 8

11 3 Operational Aspects 3.1 General This section identifies and describes some of the operational aspects that were considered for the Kimberley route options during this study Journey Times It was necessary to develop a simplified journey time model for this Stage 1 study. The bases and assumptions included in this journey time model are as follows: - The overall route length and intermediate distances to stops and junctions were estimated and modelled; The maximum speed for each route section was estimated taking into account whether the track is on-street, segregated or pedestrianised; the degree of interference from other traffic; section length; and curvature; Average operational acceleration and deceleration rates of 0.8 and 1.0 m/s 2, respectively, were used to calculate journey times; NET would generally get priority at signalled junctions, although not always absolute priority; Delays at junctions were estimated based on the likely level of priority that could be given to NET; Dwell times at stops were generally assumed to be 15 seconds in order to be consistent with previous studies NET journey time comparisons with other transport modes were also carried out where possible. In particular, comparisons with the existing bus services provide a realistic indication of the relative advantages or disadvantages of the NET journey times Operating frequencies - Extending NET to Kimberley would enable services to be offered to Line One destinations south of Phoenix Park and to the possible NET extensions to the south of Nottingham Station. The frequencies to Kimberley would logically match those of the Line One service to Phoenix Park, although enhanced patronage from a new P&R site near Junction 26 may eventually warrant higher frequencies Comparisons between likely NET service frequencies and other public transport modes, primarily buses, were also carried out where possible. This would provide a realistic indication of the relative advantages or disadvantages of the NET service frequencies Service reliability this is strongly influenced by interference from other traffic and the number of at-grade junctions that the NET service has to negotiate. Measures that have been considered for minimising such effects on service reliability, include the following: - Segregation of trams from street traffic wherever possible; Routing trams along roads with lower traffic densities; Provision of high levels of priority and right of way for trams through road junctions; Page 9

12 By timetabling for recovery time Vehicle Requirements Until such time as robust patronage figures become available, it will not be possible to accurately determine the vehicle fleet requirements. However, the notional number of additional service vehicles required for each route option was calculated using the estimated journey time and likely service frequencies on Line One to Phoenix Park as the key variables. The basis of the calculation and assumptions made, include the following: - The number of round trips per hour that each tram can make is derived using the journey time (see Appendix 1) and a layover time allowance of 2.5 minutes at each terminus; Using the number of round trips per hour, calculated as above, and notional service frequencies of 4 and 6 per hour (i.e. 15 and 10 minute headways), the number of trams per route option is derived; No allowance has been made for spare trams; The calculated number of trams is always rounded up to the nearest whole number. In practice, it may be possible to operate with greater allowances or slightly increased frequencies. 3.2 Kimberley Main Street (KMS) Option The three (3) stops considered for the Kimberley KMS route are as follows: - Low Wood Road, near the Nuthall Roundabout. Alternatively, if the new Junction 26 P&R site is developed, then the first stop would be within the P&R site. Main Road Watnall, opposite the Bakery. Kimberley terminus near Main Street. Journey Times The journey time from Phoenix Park to the Kimberley Main Street terminus has been calculated as shown in Appendix 1. These have been added to the average of the inbound and outbound service journey times for Line One (NTC Operating Plan, Base Timetable, September 2000) from Nottingham Station to Phoenix Park and are indicated in Table 3.1 below. Table 3.1 Journey Times for Kimberley KMS Route Stop Phoenix Park Low Wood Main Road Kimberley (Line One) Road Watnall terminus Time from Nott m Station (min) 24½ 25½ 29 30½ Page 10

13 3.2.3 The journey time for the Kimberley KMS route length of 3.5 km is 6 minutes, which gives a high average end-to-end speed of 34.9 km/h from Phoenix Park. The estimated journey time assumes that segregated running would be possible throughout, except through the major road junctions The NET journey time from the Kimberley KMS terminus to Theatre Square would be approximately 26½ minutes (4 minutes less than to Station Street). This is very similar or slightly faster than the timetabled bus journey times from Kimberley Library on the key long distance routes to Nottingham. Timetabled bus journey times are around 25 to 28 minutes to Victoria Bus Station, with the faster services routeing via Basford and Sherwood Rise (Trent service 27), but the higher frequency routes running along Nuthall Road (Trent route Rainbow 1) All bus routes benefit from the use of various bus priority measures along the two main routes and also from being able to largely run limited stop since many travellers from the urban area continue to use the Nottingham City Transport City services rather the out-of-town Trent routes. For those routes running along Nuthall Road it is possible to access the central area from Upper Parliament Street before the bus terminates at the distant Victoria Bus Station. Route 27 which runs via Basford can only serve Victoria Bus Station requiring travellers to walk to the main destinations in the City, such as Old Market Square area, which NET can serve in around 28½ minutes NET can also serve the southern end of the centre, with stops serving the Lace Market, Broadmarsh and Nottingham Station in around 30½ minutes. None of the present bus services from the Kimberley area serve Old Market Square and the southern commercial zone. Therefore, whilst there is only likely to be a moderate journey time saving due to NET for travellers to the north side of the city centre, the benefits will be much larger for those accessing the area to the south of Old Market Square due to the better central area penetration offered by NET. Operating Frequencies As noted above, the principal bus services from Kimberley into Nottingham centre are provided on two routes, both operated by Trent. These services run onto Eastwood or Ilkeston with many services running further into east Derbyshire to serve Alfreton/Ripley. The principal route serving Kimberley is the Rainbow 1 route which offers high frequency services of six buses per hour throughout the day until 1830 and is operated largely by a dedicated fleet of the latest low-floor vehicles. In the evenings and on Sundays a half-hourly service is operated The second main service from Kimberley is route 27/27A which runs from Ilkeston and provides links to Basford and into Nottingham centre via Nottingham Road and Sherwood Rise. This route operates with a halfhourly frequency during the peak periods and interpeak, but with a much Page 11

14 reduced level of service in the evenings and at weekends. All routes run along Nottingham Road in Kimberley; there are no local bus services scheduled to use the Kimberley Eastwood By-pass A number of other minor routes operate through Kimberley including hourly services to both Hucknall via Watnall and to Beeston via QMC. Both of these destinations could be reached by interchanging to northbound Line One services or on through/interchange services if the Beeston North route option were to be pursued. However, both routes form part of longer routes from Derby, Heanor and Eastwood All routes from Kimberley to Nottingham serve Nuthall with route 27 running via Larkfield Road and Watnall Road and Rainbow 1 running along Nottingham Road. The northern edge of Kimberley and Watnall are served by buses on the Watnall Road. Radial services to central Nottingham are limited from this area; route 331 operates an irregular service with three departures in the peak and a service interval of around 1½ to 2 hours in the interpeak. Regular hourly services exist on Watnall Road provided by the Derby-Eastwood-Hucknall route A NET extension to Kimberley would be expected to be provided as an integrated extension of Line One route to the Phoenix Park park and ride site. Providing frequencies to Phoenix Park were around six services per hour, NET would be able to offer a similar frequency to the existing principal bus route, Rainbow 1. Were the Line One frequency to Phoenix Park to be lower, say only four services per hour in the interpeak, then NET frequencies would not be competitive with the existing bus from Kimberley Main Street terminus Assuming that all Phoenix Park NET services are extended to Kimberley, then at low frequency of four services per hour, a single extra vehicle would normally be required to operate the service, subject to the minimum turnround allowances included in the schedule. For increased frequencies of six services per hour it may also be possible to operate the service with only one additional vehicle. However, the reliability of the Kimberley service with only one more vehicle would be less than the original Phoenix Park service due to reduced actual turnround times; two additional vehicles would allow the service to have an increased level of reliability. A total of four additional vehicles would be required to operate a service of eight trams per hour over the KMS extension, two vehicles associated with the increased frequency to Phoenix Park and a further two to provide services on the KMS extension. Bus Restructuring There may be some opportunities for restructuring of the bus network in the corridor following introduction of NET. Such measures can offer patronage benefits to NET by providing feeder services or reducing direct competition between modes. Also, by reducing the number of buses on key radial routes, wider benefits can be realised through reduced road congestion. Page 12

15 In order to maintain high levels of service on the rest of the bus network out towards Eastwood and beyond, it is very unlikely that the operator would wish to reduce frequencies as a result of any cooperation with NET. Although NET does not offer significant improvements in journey time over the existing bus services, the improved penetration of the central area could offer benefits for bus users through the use of feeder services to NET at Kimberley for services from Eastwood, providing an easy and well integrated interchange is possible However, it may be very difficult to locate a suitable interchange near the Kimberley KMS terminus as this is hidden away from Main Street itself behind properties on both Main Street and Noel Street. Therefore, whilst buses may be able to stop on Main Street there would not be a real opportunity to provide the turnround and waiting facilities that would be associated with a important modal interchange There would also continue to be a need to offer some level of service for the residential areas on Nottingham Road from the east of Kimberley centre towards Nuthall. This would suggest a need to offer a further feeder service, probably to the Phoenix Park stop as serving the intermediate stop Low Wood Road would be difficult and suitable interchange facilities already exist at Phoenix Park Similarly, there could be a need to maintain links between Eastwood and intermediate destinations along Nuthall Road within the City boundary. However, such intermediate destinations are likely to be relatively limited; Phoenix Park can be served directly as can Basford (as a replacement for route 27/27A). Therefore, it is possible to envisage a reduced through service, say maintaining half-hourly or 20-minute through services from Eastwood, with the remainder of the routes acting as dedicated feeders A number of key issues then arise, primarily focused around the possibilities of integration or competition between the NET and bus operators. Current services are operated by Trent/Barton; NET Line One will be operated by a consortium including Nottingham City Transport. Therefore, at least until an operator of the KMS extension is chosen, there can be no guarantee of cooperation between commercial operators One of the key issues in the decision of an operator to cooperate or compete with NET will be revenue loses and operating cost savings that resulting from reductions in overall passenger and vehicle kilometres on their network. A further consideration will be the relative attractiveness of interchanging relative to through services. Here key issues are the availability of a suitable and well designed interchange location, combined with high frequency services on both journey legs, timetable/service integration and through ticketing. As noted above the provision of well configured interchange in Kimberley may not be possible. Page 13

16 However, with respect to the principal of interchange, it is interesting to note that Trent currently operate a feeder service to the Rainbow 1 route offering further penetration of the Eastwood area. The Connect 1 service to the Giltbrook Farm area of Eastwood currently offers the same high frequency as the core Rainbow 1 route with timed connections to and from Nottingham Nevertheless, whilst opportunities may exist for providing feeder services, the effect of competition between already high quality public transport services offering a wide range of through services from Kimberley, Eastwood and the distant hinterland, could be significant. Although in general, the main impacts of competitive situations may be expected to be felt only in the short-term, in the longer term problems could still remain as the Trent services are sustained by demand from the areas to the west of Kimberley. This would allow the operator to maintain a much more competitive stance than would be the case for fully urban operations directly parallel to NET. Other Issues The entire Kimberley KMS route is segregated and this is likely to have a positive impact on reliability due to minimal interference from other traffic. 3.3 Kimberley Ikea (KI) Option The five (5) stops considered for the Kimberley KI route are as follows: - Low Wood Road, near the Nuthall Roundabout. Alternatively, if the new Junction 26 P&R site is developed, then the first stop would be within the P&R site (as per KMS option). Watnall Development stop, near the B600 Main Road Watnall. [The actual location of this stop would be dependent on the proposals for the development site.] Hardy Street, near the Kimberley Brewery and possibly making use of the old station building. Awsworth Lane, serving the residential area to the north of the A610 with access via the existing subway. Terminus at Ikea store parking area. Journey Times The journey time from Phoenix Park to the Kimberley Ikea terminus has been calculated as shown in Appendix 1. These have been added to the average of the inbound and outbound service journey times for Line One (NTC Operating Plan, Base Timetable, September 2000) from Nottingham Station to Phoenix Park and are indicated in Table 3.2 below. Page 14

17 Table 3.2 Journey Times for Kimberley KI Route Stop Time from Nott m Station (min) Phoenix Park (Line One) Low Wood Road Watnall Development Hardy Street Awsworth Lane Ikea terminus 24½ 25½ 28¾ 30 31½ 34½ The journey time for the Kimberley KI route length of 5.9 km is 10 minutes, which gives a high average end-to-end speed of 35.3 km/h from Phoenix Park. The estimated journey time assumes that segregated running would be possible throughout, except through the major road junctions The journey time issues noted above for the Kimberley KMS apply for the Kimberley KI options, except that location for the Kimberley centre stop would move north westwards to onto Hardy Street. The route would then run further to serve the Ikea store on the outskirts of Eastwood near the Giltbrook area. Comparable bus journey times from eastern Eastwood are around 4 to 5 minutes longer than from Kimberley; similar to the additional NET journey time of 4½ minutes from Hardy Street in Kimberley to the Ikea terminus. Operating Frequencies The general issues concerning bus frequencies noted in relation to the Kimberley KMS option above also apply for the Kimberley KI option. The service frequencies remain as outlined above, except that the half-hourly service 27/27A from Ilkeston via Basford to Nottingham joins the corridor at the junction of the Nottingham Road and the A6096 just east of the Eastwood and adjacent to the Ikea terminus Issues concerning the relative frequencies of bus and the NET Kimberley KI option will be similar to the Kimberley KMS option. However, in terms of vehicle requirements, in general the Kimberley KI option would require a further additional in-service vehicle compared to the KMS option. However at a frequency of six services per hour both routes could be worked with only two additional vehicles, but with a reduced actual turnround time, and therefore reliability on the longer route At low frequencies it would be possible to operate the Kimberly KI service with only a single extra vehicle if layover allowances were very small. However, to maintain reasonable layover times two additional vehicles would be required. A total of five additional vehicles would be required to operate a service of eight trams per hour over the KI extension, two vehicles associated with the increased frequency to Phoenix Park and a further three to provide services on the KI extension. Page 15

18 Bus Restructuring The general issues concerning opportunities for bus restructuring noted in relation to the Kimberley KMS option above also apply for the Kimberley KI option. However, in order to maintain levels of service to the residential areas on Eastwood Road in Kimberley, it would be necessary to run feeder services from this area, whilst the feeder services from the Eastwood area could run direct to the terminus on the outskirts of Eastwood. A key issues here is the suitability of the Kimberley IKEA terminus as a major interchange location given that it is tucked away off Nottingham Road and out-of-hours has no facilities or pedestrian presence. Similar problems may also exist in providing any interchange location nearer to Kimberley centre on Hardy Street. Other Issues The entire Kimberley KI route is segregated and this is likely to have a positive impact on reliability due to minimal interference from other traffic. 3.4 Summary and Conclusions Journey Times and Vehicle Requirements the journey time from NET Station Street to the Kimberley KMS Terminus is 30.5 minutes or 34.5 minutes to the Kimberley KI Terminus; current bus services serve only the north end of the city centre with journey times similar or slightly longer than the equivalent NET journey times to Theatre Square/Old Market Square. The increased central area penetration of NET suggests that there will be much greater overall travel time benefits compared to bus for journeys to the southern parts of the central area; it may be possible to restructure the bus network to provide feeder services to NET; potential time savings for users would be relatively small; there appears to be limited opportunity for locating a suitable interchange in Kimberley; the nature of bus operations in corridor suggest that competition could be sustained against NET in the long term if cooperation does not occur; vehicle requirements at frequencies of four and six services per hour, the Kimberley KMS route would require one or one/two additional in-service vehicles, respectively, to provide the service. In general, an extra vehicle would be required for the Kimberley KI although with reduced layover and reliability it would be possible to operate a low frequency service with only one additional vehicle. Page 16

19 4 Passenger Demand 4.1 General This section considers a number of the patronage issues that are apparent with the Kimberley route options. No patronage estimates have been made for either option It is clear, however, that both options are unable to properly access the principal markets that they are intended to serve. It would appear that the potential for sustainable levels of patronage for the provision of light rail is largely dependent on the ability to deliver high quality integrated feeder bus services as noted in Section 3 above. Even with full integration, there would have to be a substantial increase in public transport patronage in the corridor to warrant the provision of a high frequency and high capacity light rail system as opposed to the high quality bus service currently on offer. 4.2 Kimberley Main Street (KMS) Option The principal sources of patronage for the Kimberley KMS route are likely to be transfers from existing bus services, some transfer of existing car users, either direct to the alignment or using park and ride, and patronage arising from the potential development site in Watnall. Local Patronage The three stops on the Kimberley KMS corridor serve a number of residential areas, however, the local catchment areas of these stops are limited. Although NET would offer a reasonably competitive service relative the existing bus network and against car journey times that can suffer from congestion on a radial routes into Nottingham, it is the limited catchments that suggest NET patronage would be very low for these sources A stop in the Low Wood Road area, if constructed east of Low Wood Road, would serve, at some distance, the southern end of Hempshill Vale. However, it is intended that this area will be provided with high frequency feeder service to the Bulwell stop on Line One. Access from Nottingham Road, either side of the Nuthall roundabout, would also be limited with difficult access across the A610 and small residential catchments The Watnall stop on Main Road, located immediately to the west of the B600 would serve the residential areas in this vicinity and also the large bakery. Provided suitable pedestrian access routes to the stop are provided then it would be expected that this stop would attract a significant proportion of existing travellers from the area, largely since levels of service offered by the bus network are relatively low. However, the catchment of the stop would be limited relative to that around the Larkfield Road area. Page 17

20 4.2.5 The Kimberley KMS terminus, being located behind Main Street and Noel Street would suffer from being very much out of the way relative to its desired destination. A key to attracting local patronage would be easy access to Main Street, but nevertheless the terminus would remain hidden away and somewhat distant from the main commercial activity in Main Street around the Library. Park and Ride The Kimberley KMS option provides the opportunity to locate a new park and ride site to the north of the B600 Nottingham Road to serve traffic coming from Junction 26 of the nearby M1 Motorway. There are a number of issues here affecting the provision of park and ride as a whole in the corridor and the trade-off between park and ride and the local catchment areas; a stop serving the park and ride site would result in more difficult access for potential users from the Hempshill Vale area A park and ride site located to the north of the B600 would mean that users from the M1 or Kimberley would have to continue to negotiate the congested Nuthall roundabout as they do at present to access the nearby Phoenix Park park and ride site. It is possible that a new link road could be constructed to provide direct access into the site, avoiding the delays at the roundabout. However, this would involve extensive engineering works in providing access to both carriageways of the A610 and in crossing the B As noted above, recommendations regarding the need for a park and ride site in close proximity to the M1 Motorway are being addressed within the context of the M1 Multi-Modal Study. It is possible that this study may conclude that a park and ride south of the B600 could be an attractive proposition, in that it would avoid the need for park and ride users to negotiate the congested Nuthall roundabout A park and ride site located to the south rather than the north of the B600 would be far more accessible, even if a direct access link were possible to the latter. This would be expected to further improve the attractiveness of park and ride in terms of accessibility, awareness and potential capacity relief when compared with the Phoenix Park site, as this could become overloaded once NET services commence A further consideration with respect to the provision of park and ride south of the B600 is that this precludes an extension further westwards. The service would then terminate at the park and ride site. At certain frequencies and minimum layover times it may be possible that the service could be operated without an additional in-service vehicle, although with reduced reliability compared to the Phoenix Park service. To maintain reliability, important for a key park and ride service, it is likely that an extra in-service vehicle would be required This requirement may raise issues of the relative efficiency of vehicles operating on the core Line One route to Hucknall and on the Phoenix Page 18

21 Park/Nuthall park and ride spur. It is likely that loadings on the latter will be less than on the route from Hucknall and Bulwell, yet to maintain an attractive park and ride service, relatively high frequencies need to be operated. It may not be in the operators interest, with a limited fleet size, to dedicate an extra vehicle to the relatively lightly loaded Nuthall park and ride spur. However, from a promoters perspective in encouraging modal transfer and reduced road congestion, it could beneficial to ensure both sites could be served and with an appropriate frequency. Development Opportunities Although no intermediate stops have been proposed on the Kimberley KMS alignment between Low Wood Road and Main Road, Watnall, it is possible that the scale and nature of the potential Watnall development could provide sufficient patronage to warrant the provision of a new stop. There are no firm plans for this large development site, which effectively covers the most of the available land bounded by the M1 to the east, the B600 to the west and the B6009 to the north However, the Kimberley KMS alignment would only serve the southern extremities of the development site and so the patronage benefits of a new stop and the ability to use NET to encourage suitable radially based public transport movements would be limited. Associated with an additional stop would be a journey time penalty for the remainder of the route that could be important in relation to journey times on competing modes. 4.3 Kimberley Ikea (KI) Option The principal sources of patronage for the Kimberley KI are likely to be similar to the Kimberley KMS route; transfers from existing bus services, some transfer of existing car users, either direct to the alignment or using park and ride, and patronage arising from the potential development site in Watnall. Local Patronage The five stops on the Kimberley KI alignment serve a number of residential area and commercial areas, however, the local catchment areas of these stops are limited. Although NET would offer a reasonably competitive service relative the existing bus network and against car journey times that can suffer from congestion on a radial routes into Nottingham, the limited catchments, similar to the Kimberley KMS option, suggest that NET patronage from local catchment sources would be very low The patronage impacts related to the Low Wood Road stop will be similar to those noted under the Kimberley KMS route option. Page 19

22 4.3.4 A stop provided within the Watnall development, about 200 metres from the B600 (as described in Section 2) would provide access for development related trips (as noted below) and for the local catchment in the vicinity of Newdigate Road/Holly Road. Provided suitable pedestrian access routes to the stop are provided then it would be expected that this stop would attract a significant proportion of existing travellers from the area, largely since levels of service offered by the bus network are relatively low In order to serve Kimberley centre a stop would be provided at Hardy Street in the vicinity of the Hardy and Hanson Brewery. Again, the location of this stop is somewhat distant from the centre of main commercial activity in Kimberley and also a little isolated from the nearby population. A key to attracting patronage would be an easy and visible access to the stop; located either in the existing railway cutting, or at grade if the alignment could be ramped up to cross Hardy Road on the level The residential parts of western Kimberley would be served by the Awsworth Lane stop. This stop would be located south of the Kimberley Eastwood By-pass and would be connected to the population north of the road by a subway (following the alignment of Awsworth Lane which was severed by the by-pass). Although the stop would be only 150m south of the A610, it would be isolated from the catchment in the rest of the area, particularly residents somewhat distant from the Awsworth Lane or large population north of Eastwood Road. A further problem with this stop would be its general location being very isolated in rural land near Cabcroft Farm, giving rise to security concerns, particularly outside core operating hours. Given these issues it would be expected that patronage from this stop would be minimal The terminus of the Kimberley KI route in the vicinity of the Ikea car park would again be very distant from any local catchment areas for direct access to the system. Although it may be possible to provide some access to the Smithurst Road area of Giltbrook, the stop would remain a minimum of 200m away from the nearest properties and with a very poor environment, especially out of core hours. The population with easy access to the stop would also be very small in relation to the much dense populations in Giltbrook and Newthorpe and nearer to Eastwood centre. It would be expected that the use of this stop from the local catchment would also be minimal. Park and Ride The principal issues related to park and ride for the Kimberley KI option are similar to those considered above for the Kimberley KMS option, with the possible site at Nuthall north of the B600. However, the terminus of the Kimberley KI option at the Eastwood Ikea store may provide the opportunity for an additional park and ride facility. Park and ride could also be provided in the Watnall development, although such a site would Page 20

23 have a relatively limited catchment from the B600 and has not been considered further here Although not formally identified as a park and ride at present, the car park at the terminus, currently used by Ikea, has the potential to act as a park and ride site, at least on a part-time basis. A site in this location would be easily accessible being adjacent to the A610/A6096 junction. If further land is not available for park and ride, then, subject to agreement with the landlord/lessee, the use of the store car park for formal park and ride purposes would probably have to be limited to weekdays only due to the requirements of store parking at weekends. This type of arrangement has been used elsewhere with park and ride sites sharing parking facilities with major destinations; management is largely left to signing the site for use on Mondays to Fridays only In addition to access to the Ikea car park for park and ride purposes, there are also issues of whether the site would be used when alternative sites in the corridor at Nuthall and Phoenix Park exist. With a journey time over 32 minutes to Old Market Square, the public transport leg of a park and ride journey would be relatively long. Under these circumstances one of the key influences on the site from Eastwood and its hinterland would be congestion levels at the M1/A610 junction and Nuthall roundabout. Development Opportunities Unlike the Kimberley KMS option, the Kimberley KI route option includes an intermediate stop within the Watnall development site. Although there are no firm plans for this large development site, the Kimberley KI alignment would be able to serve much more of the development site than the Kimberley KMS option which runs around 300m to the south and for a much shorter distance With better penetration, the development site and a stop location serving the southern half of the development site, the patronage potential offered by the would be greater than the alternative more southerly route. Similarly, the presence of NET may be better able to encourage or enhance development potential to ensure that suitable radially based public transport movements is likely to be generated by the site. 4.4 Summary and Conclusions Patronage Issues both route options are unable to properly serve the catchments that would generate significant levels of patronage; the Kimberley Main Street option has to stop short of its ideal terminus; the Kimberley IKEA option serves more of Kimberley but is unable to reach central Kimberley and although it can serve western Page 21