Hugely popular for many decades on the continent, the tram is finally beginning to emerge as on of the more favoured modes of public transport for the 21st century.

This week saw the unveiling of two potential routes for a £225 million tram system for Merseyside, which should see trams running from Liverpool to Kirkby, as early as 2006.

Two different routes are on the drawing board between Liverpool in Kirkby with both including plans for a depot in Kirkby and several new stations. Later phases in the development could see the tram extended to link up with the Liverpool to Wigan railway, Prescott and possibly even Liverpool airport. The two sets of proposals will now go to public enquiry.

The Welsh capital is also gearing up for a new tram system after a 1-kilometre test track was launched yesterday. The Cardiff scheme is a little different to most other trams however, since the 'ULTra' (Urban Light Transport) is actually a battery-powered system driverless cabs taking passengers around a fixed track to destinations selected by smartcard.

The tram, which has been developed by a team at Bristol University, is being seen as an environmentally friendly system that would raise the profile of Cardiff and maybe even set a trend to be followed by other cities in Britain and around the world. The test track has been set up using £3 million of Government funding and further cash will be sought from the Welsh Assembly if the trials are successful.

Deputy Mayor of Cardiff, Christine Priday said: "This will have enormous benefits for the travelling public and give Cardiff something totally unique. Successful cities innovate, and position themselves at the forefront of developments in technology and knowledge. That is why we are actively exploring how our transport system might take advantage of some of the brightest ideas that the world's transport community has to offer."

If the systems end up being implemented in full, Cardiff and Liverpool would become the latest in a growing line of British cities to adopt the tram or light railway systems, following Manchester, London Docklands, Croydon, Birmingham and Sheffield. With London set to get a new tram network running from North to South and Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham and Portsmouth all said to be look at introducing their own systems, the tram really is enjoying a renaissance at the moment.