Nottingham - Transport

Transport

Nottingham is served by East Midlands Airport at Castle Donington which is within 20 miles of Nottingham and is the 10th busiest airport in the UK in terms of passenger traffic. It is connected to the city by the Skylink bus service. Nottingham is also well connected by both road and rail. The M1 motorway is close by and rail services to other major cities which are all operated by East Midlands Trains with the exception of the Nottingham to Cardiff service run by CrossCountry and the Nottingham to Leeds service run by Northern Rail. The Robin Hood Line links the city with Mansfield and other towns in the north of the county.

The opening of Nottingham Express Transit in 2004 made Nottingham one of only six English cities to have a light rail system. The trams run from the city centre to Hucknall in the north, with an additional spur to the Phoenix Park Park and Ride close to Junction 26 of the M1. Two new lines are under construction to the southern suburbs of Wilford and Clifton and the western suburbs of Beeston and Chilwell.

The vast majority of Nottingham’s local bus services are operated by Nottingham City Transport which runs a colour-coded network of 68 routes and is the city’s fifth largest private employer. Trent Barton is the other major bus operator, running services from Nottingham to locations throughout the East Midlands. Both companies are frequent winners at the National Bus Operator of the Year awards.

Nottingham’s waterways have been extensively used for transport in the past, with the River Trent, up until the mid 20th century, providing important industry transport links, along with both the Nottingham and Beeston Canals. These are now primarily used for leisure.

In September 2010 research by the Campaign for Better Transport rated Nottingham as the least car dependent city in England with London and Brighton & Hove in second and third place respectively.

In November 2010, Nottingham City Council won Transport Authority of the Year by the UK Bus Awards, for services for providing safer and sustainable public transport.