Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Posted on Wednesday 24 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Wishing all readers of British Trams Online a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The BTO “offices” will be closed until early in 2026 and in that time no new comments will be approved for publication and emails will not be answered, there will continue to be daily updates though with various news stories due to publish along with our regular photo series “Around the World in Trams”, “Old and New”, “Out and About”, and “Picture in Time”. The extra photo series which had been due to publish over December will not be continued at the moment though, but keep an eye out in the new yar for those! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read any articles this year and, of course, a massive thanks to all those who have contributed something during the year. Here’s hoping for a great year of trams in 2026!

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Around the World in Trams: Bratislava

Posted on Saturday 27 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

One final photo from Bratislava in this current series of “Around the World in Trams”.

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In Pictures: Metrolink 3138 back in service

Posted on Saturday 27 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

There was a bit of an early Christmas present for Manchester Metrolink as 3138 returned to service on Saturday 20th December 2025, following almost five months out of use. Whilst not as severe as some other tram returnees (we’re talking about you 3027!) its return was nonetheless welcome at a busy time for the tramway.

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Independent MSP criticises Edinburgh Trams extension plans

Posted on Saturday 27 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Jeremy Balfour, an Independent MSP for Lothian, has come out fighting against the City of Edinburgh Council’s plans for a north-south tram line between Granton and the BioQuarter claiming it’s a vanity project and that any cash spent towards it would be better spent on other things, such as fixing potholes.

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Tram health and safety reporting reaches major milestone

Posted on Saturday 27 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

A project which is aimed at addressing possible under-reporting of health and safety concerns and hazardous events has reached a major milestone with the completion of research focus groups with frontline staff on four UK tram networks.

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Picture in Time: Midland Metro 06

Posted on Friday 26 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Another “Picture in Time” coming from the Midland Metro and featuring a T69 in action.

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In Pictures: Llandudno & Colwyn Bay 7 parades for Christmas

Posted on Friday 26 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

The last outing of Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Railway 7 for 2025 took place on Saturday 6th December 2025 with the tram taking pride of place in the annual Llandudno Christmas Parade.

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New CCTV cameras to be installed on Tyne and Wear Metro

Posted on Friday 26 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

40 new and improved digital CCTV cameras are to be installed at stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network as part of North East Mayor Kim McGuinness’ commitment to making stations and trains safer for everyone travelling on the trains.

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Focus on Light Rail event highlights collaboration and innovation

Posted on Friday 26 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Focus on Light Rail – an event jointly organised by Rail Forum and UKTram – took place in early November 2025 with representatives from across the sector getting together to explore opportunities and challenges across the evolving public transport landscape.

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In Pictures: The final weekend of EATM’s Ride the Lights 2025

Posted on Thursday 25 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

The final (of three) weekends of Ride the Lights took place at the East Anglia Transport Museum in Carlton Colville on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st December 2025. Once again the museum flung open its doors from the afternoon to allow darkness to talk hold to make the museum even more magical with special Christmas lights surrounding the operating trams and trolleybuses. Bryan Grint paid another visit to the event on Saturday 20th December 2025 as shown in the photos in this latest pictorial article.

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Jobs available to help shape the future of light rail in both Blackpool and Nottingham

Posted on Thursday 25 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Blackpool Transport and Nottingham Express Transit are advertising for major roles to help shape the future of their transport networks. For Blackpool it’s the main Managing Director role which is being advertised whilst in Nottingham they are looking for a Track Asset Manager.

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UKTram share their vision for future growth at UITP meeting in Toronto

Posted on Thursday 25 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Steve Duckering, UKTram’s Operations Manager, spent time at the 81st UITP Light Rail Committee Meeting in Toronto from 27th to 29th October 2025, and whilst there as well as representing the UK light rail sector also shared the UKTram vision for future growth.

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Delay to West Yorkshire tram system

Posted on Wednesday 24 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Will Leeds (and the wider West Yorkshire region) ever get the tram/mass transit scheme they desire? It had seemed that the planned network, which would initially link Leeds and fellow West Yorkshire city Bradford, was full systems go when funding was agreed with central government but now after review it has been officially delayed, but that delay has led some to question whether the scheme will actually go-ahead.

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UKTram and LRSSB support local families through Toy Drive initiative

Posted on Wednesday 24 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Staff at UKTram and LRSSB have joined forces in the lead up to Christmas to support Toys4Bham, a city-wide Christmas Toy Drive appeal which provides gifts for vulnerable children and young people across Birmingham.

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West Midlands Metro confirm new fares from 2026

Posted on Wednesday 24 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

As we reported a few weeks ago, fares on the West Midlands Metro will be increasing from 2nd January 2026. This comes after a comprehensive fares review and is to help meet increased running costs.

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Christmas and New Year services 2025/6

Posted on Wednesday 24 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

This is your regular one-stop guide to planned services over the festive period; with the usual caveat that operational reasons may mean there are some changes so please check with the operator before travelling.

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, Blackpool Tramway, Docklands Light Railway, Dublin Luas, East Anglia Transport Museum, Edinburgh Trams, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Express Transit, Seaton Tramway, South Yorkshire Supertram, Tyne and Wear Metro, West Midlands Metro | Leave a comment

New Metro trains hit target of half in service by end of 2025

Posted on Tuesday 23 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

When the (re-)phased introduction of the new trains on the Tyne and Wear Metro was announced earlier this year, Nexus committed to having 23 of the 46 trains on order in service. And they have now proudly announced that has been achieved, with the press release states that 23 are available for service, although according to our records there have now been 27 which have been used in passenger service (so presumably some are currently unavailable).

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Supertram support charities before Christmas

Posted on Tuesday 23 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

Throughout December, staff at South Yorkshire Supertram got together for a series of Christmas themed fundraising activities as they helped to support the Cash for Kids’ Mission Christmas Toy Appeal.

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Metrolink delays after two incidents

Posted on Tuesday 23 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

There were delays to Manchester Metrolink services on a couple of occasions in mid-December after two unrelated incidents took place. The first of these saw a car blocking the tracks with the second seeing two pedestrians hit by a tram.

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In Pictures: NET 228 back in service

Posted on Monday 22 December 2025 by Gareth Prior

The Nottingham Express Transit fleet has been boosted again following the return to service of one of the trams which suffered damage after being hit by a car earlier in 2025. The tram which has been noted back in use is Citadis 228.

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