Goose Fair strike shows how close we could be to losing Nottingham's tram network

Tram pictured at The Forest stop in Nottingham
-Credit: (Image: Joseph Raynor/Reach PLC)


Nottingham's tram network has seen some unprecedented upheaval in recent years. Covid, crashes, derailments, power outages, flooding - those managing the city's trams have dealt with it all.

Yet a 10-day strike coinciding with Nottingham's most iconic event was one of the most serious threats to the network yet. That's not hyperbole, but the words of one of the NET directors. Sarah Turner, service delivery and safety director at NET, reacted to the decision of GMB Union members by saying: "The upcoming strike action will have wider implications for the city too.

"Not only will it mean that many people may not be able to travel into the city, but Nottingham's tram network marks a vital part of the city's infrastructure, and the strike action puts its survival at risk." Of course, having more than 200 of your workers walking out during a major 10-day festival is far from ideal.

Yet the idea that a relatively brief period of industrial action poses an existential crisis for the tram network shows its inherent vulnerability. We had the news in late 2023 of a financial restructure, without which the CEO of Tramlink said the company would have "run out of cash."

That restructure was set to provide the tram system with more stability for the years to come, yet the comments from NET this week clearly show their foundations could be stronger for such turbulent times. This is not the first time in recent years that tram workers have threatened to go out on strike.

Staff walked out in November 2021, with tram services suspended for a full day on that occasion. That came after the Christmas the year before, when the GMB said drivers had been offered a free roll or baked potato as a festive bonus.

This year's unrest will therefore have hardly come as a bolt out of the blue, particularly due to the weeks of warning and the fact that strike action during the Goose Fair was also threatened last year. Ultimately, it shows that no matter how much preparation NET may have done to mitigate the impact of the industrial action, it is a network which remains highly vulnerable to such shocks.

There are still 10 years to go until the tram network is handed back over to the public sector, with the East Midlands mayoral authority set to take it on. Ahead of that transfer, discussions have long been under way about extending the tram network to locations ranging from Gedling to East Midlands Airport.

Although extension is the only hope for a sustainable tram network, the question arises as to whether it will survive up to that point. The reaction to this week's unrest shows it's going to be a precarious few years.