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05
Sept 2024
Knaresborough set to trial land train next month
Knaresborough is set to trial a land train next month.
The land train will ferry people around the hilly town during the autumn half-term holidays from October 26 to November 3.
The vehicle forms part of wider plans to improve connectivity between Waterside and the town centre, which could in the long-term also see the construction of a cliff lift.
Making it easier to get between the river and the town centre is seen as a key way to boost trade.
North Yorkshire Council's Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee is expected to agree to spend £15,000 to test the land train when it meets on Thursday next week.
The sum would include consulting, licensing and operating fees for the road test as well as advertising and a customer satisfaction survey and analysis.
North Yorkshire Council and Knaresborough Town Council have been developing the project as part of North Yorkshire Council’s shared prosperity fund.
The trial will aim to ascertain whether the service is feasible by assessing how popular it is with local people and tourists as well as how well it interacts with other road users. If it proves successful, it could pave the way for a regular service.
The Candy Cane Express road train that runs around Harrogate at Christmas.
The project was discussed at last night's (September 4) Knaresborough & District Chamber meeting at The Mitre pub.
Peter Lacey executive member of the chamber, said:
The land train has been an aspiration, an idea, that has been around for many years but there is now a specific proposal which fits within the budget.
Knaresborough Town Council previously allocated funds to road test a land train, but they were reallocated during the pandemic.
Mr Lacey said the fare to ride the land train had not yet been decided nor had the route been confirmed.
But he added:
I’m fairly confident that we will see a land train traipsing from Conyngham, along Waterside and then finding the appropriate route depending on what vehicle it is, probably along the main road, up to Market Place.
The key thing is that it connects Waterside to the Market Place.
If it becomes permanent, depending on the route, there may need to be some relatively small adjustments to some paths and so on.
One adjustment during the trial period will see the temporary removal of a padlocked bollard on the Waterside.
A refurbished second-hand land train will be used for the trial. If successful, funds would be raised by Knaresborough Town Council to purchase the vehicle, convert it to electric and then operate it.
If all goes to plan, a land train could begin operating regularly in April 2025.
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