 The revival of interest in tramways and light rail transit systems around the start of the 21st century led to the re-introduction of electric trams to a number of British cities and towns such as Manchester, Sheffield, and Croydon.The West London Tram scheme was first announced in 2002 by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, along with other projects such as the Cross River Tram and the Thames Gateway Transit bus rapid transit scheme.Livingstone promoted the project as a solution to traffic congestion problems in the west of London.