| Colchester Rapid Transit | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Owner | Colchester City Council, Essex County Council & First Essex |
| Locale | Colchester, England |
| Transit type | Bus rapid transit and Guided busway |
| Number of lines | 1 |
| Number of stations | 8 |
| Headquarters | Colchester, Essex |
| Operation | |
| Operation will start | 2025 |
| Operator(s) | First Essex |
| Headway | Once every 10 minutes |
| Technical | |
| System length | 4.7 mi (8 km) |
Colchester Rapid Transit is a rapid-transit system in Colchester, England, [1] with a main bus line including guided busway, similar to a tramway. It is set to open its first line in spring 2025. [2]
The CRT will serve central Colchester, as well as some suburbs like Highwoods and The Hythe.
The system is being built as a part of multiple transport improvements across the city, such as the A133-A120 link road, [3] and the re-construction of St Botolph's Circus. The guided busway was proposed as a more efficient alternative after some calls for a tram system in the city. [4] It is the only rapid transit system in Essex.
It is to have one line and eight stations, terminating in the proposed new garden community. The guided busway portions are along Cowdray Avenue, and Via Urbis Romanae. [5]
The line will be operated by First Essex, and only Colchester RTS Tram-Buses are allowed on the guided busway and new bus lanes.
The line will have one bus every ten minutes, which would make it the most frequent bus service in Essex. [6]
In central Colchester, St Botolph's Circus is being redesigned to allow the RTS to operate faster services through the area. [7]
The project is set to finish construction by spring 2025, including the construction on Via Urbis Romanae, Cowdray Avenue and in central Colchester.
For the parts of the routes operating on the road, traffic lights along the first route were modified to prioritise the buses to make sure that the route would not be affected by traffic and ensure efficiency across the route.
The project received criticism after it was revealed that cracks appeared on multiple homes after construction started to build the rapid busway. [8]