PIONEERING tram-trains should be tried out in Britain, says a report.
Passengers would be able to board trams which run in city centres and then continue on railway lines as ordinary trains.
It could be an attractive proposition for travellers, says the Huddersfield- based Association of Community Rail Partnerships.
The systems would be based on successful examples in the Germany cities of Karlsruhe and Saarbrucken.
The suggestion is made in an association report published by the association and paid for by the Rail Passengers' Council and the Countryside Agency.
Peter Roberts, the association's chairman, said the proposal was realistic.
He added: "There is a willingness in the industry to explore innovative solutions which need not cost the earth."
Tram-trains which operate on the roads and on railways outside city centres are already being operated in Greater Manchester.
