Britain's first tram trains set to run They are seen as offering seamless travel from the suburbs to the city centre, including rail passengers who in the past have driven to the station. The technology was pioneered in Karlsruhe in Germany, other schemes have been introduced in Kassel and Saarbrucken as well as Mulhouse in France. "Tram Trains have already proved hugely popular on the Continent," said Norman Baker, the local transport minister. Now we will be able to test whether they can bridge the gap between tram and train networks in this country. We will carefully monitor customer satisfaction, passenger demand levels, reliability and the operating and maintenance costs. If Tram Train proves itself in South Yorkshire, I don't doubt that there will be others interested in introducing this technology elsewhere in the UK.