A consultation was launched yesterday into plans to convert the Abbey Flyer branch railway into a tram link to Watford.

In October, transport minister Lord Adonis visited St Albans Abbey to announce the proposals for the route to Watford Junction.

The half-hourly tram would allow passengers to travel between Watford and St Albans and residents are being invited by the Department for Transport and Hertfordshire County Council to have their say.

Lord Adonis said: “We want to encourage more people to use public transport and the creation of a regular tram link on this line to replace the irregular train service would benefit passengers immensely.”

The trams would replace the existing train service link by the end of next year.

Stuart Pile, the county council's executive member for highways and transport, said: “We welcome the opportunity for local control of this line and also the chance to meet our long-term goal to increase the frequency of the service.

“It's very important to us that we know residents' views on these proposals.”

Have your say by visiting the DfT's website at www.dft.gov.uk