City of the Future advocates the creation of a light rail system for Milton Keynes. In the long term, this will provide the backbone of the city’s public transport network. In the shorter term, it will raise the city’s profile nationally and internationally by providing a heritage tramway in the city centre.
Phase One: Midsummer Boulevard Tramway
To establish the principle of light rail in Milton Keynes and to create the core section of the future citywide network, City of the Future is proposing an initial 1.2-mile line along Midsummer Boulevard from Milton Keynes Central station to the Theatre District. This line will be built using an insulated track system to avoid the need for utility diversions.
To keep costs down, the line will initially be operated using second-hand rolling stock imported from Europe. This has the added benefit of giving Milton Keynes a unique heritage tramway with continental-style vehicles, which will serve as a distinctive visitor attraction. For the purposes of planning, we envisage the line using Tatra KT6 vehicles from Prague or Brno in Czechia, which are bi-directional and have a low-floor section to provide accessibility for disabled passengers. These will be maintained at a small purpose-built workshop on Lower Fourth Street.
Below is an interactive map of the proposed line:
Later Phases
The city centre line is designed to function as the core of a future network, to be operated with modern low-floor light rail vehicles (either new or second-hand). Our initial proposed network includes a line running in the central reservation of V8 Marlborough Street, intersecting with the city centre line at the Theatre District. The V8 line would connect at its north end with a Wolverton-Newport Pagnell line on the former railway formation. At the south end, it would run through Mount Farm into Fenny Stratford and Bletchley. This network could be built in three phases:
- Phase 2: MK Central to Wolverton and Stony Stratford
- Phase 3: Theatre District to Glebe Farm
- Phase 4: MK Central to Bletchley
This initial network could also facilitate various further extensions, including:
- Bradville to Newport Pagnell and Olney
- MK Central to Whitehouse and Westcroft
- Bletchley to Lakes Estate and Newton Leys
- Bletchley or Westcroft to South West Milton Keynes and Shenley Park
- Coachway to MK East and Cranfield
- Brooklands to Woburn Sands
City of the Future 