Sheffield, Midlands and Blackpool light rail systems suffer decline in ridership: DfT

Sheffield Supertram: like the Midland Metro, has seen passenger numbers fall for three successive years

Sheffield Supertram: like the Midland Metro, has seen passenger numbers fall for three successive years

The Midlands Metro, Sheffield Supertram and Blackpool Tramway all suffered a decline in passengers in the last financial year, according to official statistics.

Across England passenger miles on light rail systems rose to a record high for recent times in 2014/15, to 239.8m, with particularly big surges in numbers using the Docklands Light Railway and the Tyne and Wear Metro. There were smaller increases for the Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Express Transit and the London Tramlink - still below their historic highs in the latter two cases.

But both the Midlands Metro and the Sheffield Supertram saw their third annual drop in use, to 4.4m and 11.5m passenger miles respectively, whilst the Blackpool Tramway experienced a one-year fall. There are plans to extend the Midlands Metro and also the Blackpool Tramway to cater for more journeys.