Description: NET is Nottingham's state-of-the-art tram system. It runs from Hucknall, through Bulwell and Hyson Green and into the city centre, terminating at Nottingham railway station. There is also a spur line to Phoenix Park (just off the M1 at junction 26). Along the tram route, there are 23 stops with five Park and Ride sites (Hucknall, Moor Bridge, Phoenix Park, Wilkinson Street and The Forest). In the city centre, there are stops at Royal Centre (for the Theatre Royal, Royal Concert Hall and The Cornerhouse), Old Market Square, in the heart of Nottingham and Lace Market, for the National Ice Centre and Hockley. It was back in 1988 that the first plans were laid to bring trams to Nottingham, and July 1994 when Parliament approved the bill authorising the line. The Arrow Consortium was appointed as the project implementation group in September 1997, and government funding announced in December 1998. Finally the contracts were signed in April 2000 and four years of construction and testing started. On 8 March 2004, Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Transport, launched Nottingham Express Transit line 1. (information from www.lrta.org and www.thetram.net)