Nottingham's tram network operator says passenger numbers will never get back to what they were before the coronavirus pandemic as it adjusts to more people working from home. Tramlink, which operates the city's trams under the NET brand, made a loss of around £20 million last year as its chief executive spoke of the 'worst performance ever seen' during last summer's heatwave.
Investors in the project are not expected to "get rich" from it, but Tramlink says it is confident of performing well, delivering a good value service and giving shareholders a "moderate return". Tramlink is a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) concession, where private firms manage public projects, with the investment paid back over a set period of time.
It won the 22-year contract from Nottingham City Council in December 2011 to build new extensions to the city's tram network and operate the service under the NET brand. Releasing its accounts for the year ending March 2022, NET says passenger journeys recovered to 9.1 million, compared to 3.4 million in previous years.
