9,000 people = 1 tram

12:44pm Wednesday 12th December 2007

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Visitors to the planned arena in Croydon could face "transport chaos" because of a shortage of trams.

An agreement between Arrowcroft, which is trying to build an arena at the Gateway site next to East Croydon station, and Tramtrack shows there would be only one extra tram an hour when more than 9,000 people are at the venue.

“It seems ridiculous – this is just clutching at straws. To suggest that one extra tram an hour – which only carries approximately 100 people – is pathetic and it seems like a recipe for disaster.”

Addiscombe Councillor Andrew Price

And the number will only increase to two trams an hour for 10,000 and three when the crowd is bigger.

One resident said: "It is total madness - there will be people everywhere. We are all encouraged to use public transport but how are 9,000 people going to fit on one tram? There will be transport chaos and the consequence will just be a huge rise in the number of cars coming into Croydon."

Tramtrack has proposed that the Wellesley Road platform - the stop closest to the arena site - will be for alighting only and visitors will be unable to board the tram during the exit hour'.

This would mean crowds would have to board trams at East or West Croydon stations instead.

Roger Harding, general manager at Tramtrack, defended the agreement. He said: "It is an outline of the sort of thing we might have to do when the arena gets a little closer but we are going to sit down with the management and we are going to agree a final position if the arena is given the go ahead."

Ken Frost, a businessman who has campaigned against the arena for years, said: "It is just another nail in the coffin for the so called arena plans. The arena is not going to happen so I honestly don't see the point in fiddling around with a tram timetable - they are absolutely fantasising about it."

Addiscombe Councillor Andrew Price said: "It seems ridiculous - this is just clutching at straws. To suggest that one extra tram an hour - which only carries approximately 100 people - is pathetic and it seems like a recipe for disaster."