Have your say on Rapid Transist system

Hertfordshire County Council are conducting a public consultation on plans for a Rapid Transit system across the county linking Hemel Hempstead and Harlow.

The Hertfordshire Essex Rapid Transit (HERT) system will serve nine settlements across a 67-kilometre corridor.

With over 50,000 new homes expected along the A414 corridor in the coming years, the new system will provide sustainable east/west transport for the approximate 800,000 residents living in the area, as well as an additional 90,000 in Essex.

Passengers will be able to travel on state-of-the-art, trackless trams from Hemel Hempstead and Croxley in the west to Harlow in the east, connecting some of Hertfordshire’s most important towns, employment centres, areas of new development and five national rail stations.

The HERT will enable passengers travelling north to avoid interchanging in London and to have greater access across the Golden Research Triangle of England’s Economic Heartland.

The system will offer the benefits of light rail at a fraction of the cost, using modern trackless tram technology, providing high-capacity, high-quality public transport within existing highway corridors, reducing infrastructure requirements.

The 140-passenger capacity trackless trams, operating at 10-minute intervals, are forecast to be 90% full during peak hours along sections of the route, thereby meeting a demand that cannot be matched effectively by traditional bus services.

Passengers will also enjoy higher quality end-to-end experience running along existing highway, for the most part, ride comfort; safe, convenient and comfortable waiting and interchange facilities; off-board, seamless payment and integrated first mile (origin to hub) – last mile journeys (hub to destination) with priority and dedicated infrastructure.

Given the limited stop services, the on-highway priority measures and the multi-door trams that enable rapid boarding and alighting journey times will be similar or shorter than those for the private car.

The HERT will be complemented by improved local bus services interchanging at hubs providing better connectivity for the whole of Hertfordshire, all providing integrated ticketing, co-ordinated branding, quality passenger experiences and sharing much of the same infrastructure and benefitting from ITS technology that provides appropriate, selective on-highway priority when and where it is needed.

The fully electric, emission-free system is hoped to encourage a significant shift away from car dependency, helping to reduce congestion, improve air quality and contribute to national decarbonisation objectives.

It is expected that the Rapid Transit System will be implemeted from 2035-2040.

Full details of the proposed system, timescale and funding, can be found at Have Your Say on HERT.