Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me, Simon Calder,

creaking along, trundling along on one of the world's top five trams.

I'm slightly sniggering because this is actually the Manchester Metro Link,

which in my experience wouldn't even figure in my I think top 100 trams worldwide very sluggish service the tram that I'm on for some reason has been stopping randomly along the way and journeys take generally about three times longer than you would find in

some really good tram efficient locations and there are some wonderful ways to travel by train

and of course it's a great way to see a foreign city because you're you've got street, you're having a lovely green, relatively quiet

time and it's also a very fast way of getting around, particularly compared with smelly old buses.

And indeed in many parts of the world, trams actually, and I'm thinking here perhaps places

like Boston in the US and also many of the world. Trams actually, and I'm thinking here, perhaps places like Boston in the US

and also many German cities, trams go underground and become kind of U-Barns, underground, underground

railways as well. Not this one, which is struggling around a corner. Anyway, I want to bring you

my favourite trams.

In the UK, of course, we've got very few.

There's one in Nottingham.

You've got a tram system in South London,

basically going from Wimbledon to Croydon.

Blackball is the one place which has been keeping the tram spirit alive.

Wonderful journey along the seafront and long made that continue.

But as soon as you get across the channel things improve France,

which was pretty useless, frankly, at getting rid of all its trams,

or rather too good at getting rid of its trams has now

seen the error of its ways and in french cities lyons bordeaux strasbourg you have fabulous tram systems

...