At 4.29 this morning the first fare- charging tram service glided out of West Croydon on its 17-minute maiden voyage to New Addington.

It marked the re-birth of a transport system that could once again criss-cross south London.

Within three weeks trams are expected to connect Croydon and Beckenham and the Croydon to Wimbledon route is scheduled to open three weeks later. Crystal Palace, Sutton and Colliers Wood have been touted as possible future destinations.

Services between New Addington and Croydon officially started yesterday morning when 82-year-old Fred Roberts - who half a century a-go was one of the last to drive a tram - joined VIPs to launch the light rail system.

For the rest of the day, and in a bid to win public approval for the long overdue scheme, transport was free. Likewise, tram chiefs also confirmed that passengers who have already bought a bus pass will be able to upgrade to a joint tram/bus pass for free.

"I'm concerned that it has been a long wait for everyone concerned," said Roger Harding the general manager of Tramlink Croydon Limited, the consortium behind the system.

He urged people to: "Just come and try it and make up your own minds."

Businesses reacted positively to the news that after a six month delay, services were starting.

Jan Grasty, chief executive of Croydon Marketing & Development Ltd, said: "Tramlink is the biggest thing that has happened in Croydon in the last 50 years and will provide a real boost to local people.

"Tramlink has sparked new development interest in Croydon with almost £1 billion worth of investment earmarked for sites -along the 28km route. This includes the £500 million, 1.04 million sq ft retail scheme by Minerva set to reinforce the town's status as a prime shopping location for the south east."

"Croydon Tramlink will significantly improve access for thousands of people using the town for both work and leisure."

But New Addington residents, the very people the £200 million scheme is meant to serve, remain sceptical.

"It's caused so much disruption and devastation up here," said Gill Edwards, the chairman of New Addington Residents' Association who refused her invitation to yesterday's opening ceremony.

"There are a vast amount of things that New Addington needs but trams are not one of them."

TRAMLINK

Factfile

p New Addington will be served by two feeder bus routes - free to Tramlink

ticket holders .

p Tramlink will accept London-wide travel cards and Freedom passes.

p Bus passes bought from today will not be valid but it will be possible to buy a combined one-day tram/bus pass from newsagents throughout the borough.

p Each tramstop has its own ticket machine which accepts coins and notes £10 and under (but not cards). An adult single costs 90p (£1.80 return) and a child single costs 40p (80p return). Single tickets and the outbound leg of return tickets are valid for 90 minutes.

p The system will be patrolled by 12 ticket inspectors who will be able to levy fines of £25 for fare dodgers.

p The first tram is 4.29am. The last tram is 0.30am.

p The fleet of 24 trams is expected to carry 20 million passengers in a year and take two million car journeys off Croydon's roads.