Author Archives: Gareth Prior

Mayor pledges to take Metrolink to Stockport

Posted on Friday 24 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has called on the government to help fast track plans to extend the Manchester Metrolink network to Stockport with a hope that work could start as soon as 2025 with trams running within … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Bradley Lane Park and Ride site almost ready

Posted on Friday 24 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

Its well behind schedule but it looks as if the new Park and Ride site adjacent to Bradley Lane stop on the West Midlands Metro is almost ready for opening if the latest pictures are anything to go by. Construction … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Failed Flexity rescued at Fleetwood

Posted on Thursday 23 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

Blackpool’s Flexity2 trams are usually some of the most reliable trams in the UK with reports of complete failures pretty unusual. However, on 3rd January 2020, 013 was declared a failure at Fleetwood Ferry which not only required fitters attention … Continue reading →

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More tram v road vehicle incidents on Metrolink

Posted on Thursday 23 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

The past few days have seen further collisions between road vehicles and trams on Manchester Metrolink – both affecting the Ashton-under-Lyne line. The first incident happened on Saturday 18th January shortly before Manchester City kicked off their match against Crystal … Continue reading →

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Railcoach 678

Posted on Thursday 23 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

We move into the 1990s for this week’s Blackpool archive image as we take a look a look at one of three ex-Towing cars which was never permanently coupled to its trailer.

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Birmingham Eastside extension gets go-ahead

Posted on Wednesday 22 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

It’s all been about the Westside in Birmingham up until now but in the future we will also be looking to the Eastside following the approval of the Transport and Works Act Order for this short 1.7km extension of the … Continue reading →

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Punctuality rises again on Metrolink

Posted on Wednesday 22 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

Its that time again when we take a look at the latest performance statistics for Manchester Metrolink. The latest period being reviewed is period 10 which took place between 9th December 2019 and 4th January 2020 and shows an increase … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: 399 204 returns to service

Posted on Tuesday 21 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

After 15 months out of service a Citylink tram-train with the number 399 204 is back in service on Stagecoach Supertram after the completion of accident repairs. 204 returned to action – very briefly – on Sunday 19th January before … Continue reading →

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Metro punctuality rises again

Posted on Tuesday 21 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

The latest four week performance statistics – 8th December 2019 to 4th January 2020 – for the Tyne and Wear Metro have now been released and there is some good (and some not so good) news included! The percentage of … Continue reading →

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Still standing! Birmingham’s 1st Generation Tram Tracks

Posted on Tuesday 21 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

Whilst our attention recently in the West Midlands has very much been concerned with the laying of new tram tracks for extensions of the West Midlands Metro there are also still some survivors of the original first generation system around … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: First Winter Gold of 2020

Posted on Monday 20 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

It may only be mere weeks since Christmas but the past weekend has seen the first “Gold weekend” of 2020 in Blackpool with six trams scheduled to run on each day with the new timetable seeing regular services running from … Continue reading →

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Full Tram-Train service resumes

Posted on Monday 20 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

For the first time in two months a full three an hour service has resumed on the Stagecoach Supertram Tram-Train service between Cathedral and Rotherham Parkgate. The service has been dogged by issues since the end of 2019 with vehicle … Continue reading →

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Picture in Time: Snaefell Mountain Railway 3

Posted on Sunday 19 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

We stay with the Snaefell Mountain Railway for this week’s non-Blackpool traditional tram archive photo as we head back to a time when the Mountain cars went onto the MER for maintenance.

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Contactless use increases on Tyne and Wear Metro

Posted on Sunday 19 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

More people than ever are now using contactless bank cards to purchase their tickets to travel on the Tyne and Wear Metro, according to the latest figures shared by Nexus. More than half of the eight million transactions in ticket … Continue reading →

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NET delays after smoke comes from brakes

Posted on Sunday 19 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

Services on Nottingham Express Transit between Wilkinson Street and The Forest were temporarily suspended on Monday 13th January after smoke was seen coming from the brakes on a tram which required the local fire service to attend.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 19 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

The first new photos this year have been added as part of a gallery:

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Dinosaur travels on a tram…

Posted on Saturday 18 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

The latest bit of publicity from Edinburgh Trams has seen a dinosaur travel on a tram as it makes its way from the Airport to the city centre. Of course, its not a real dinosaur which decided to take the … Continue reading →

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Around the World in Trams: Potsdam 428

Posted on Saturday 18 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

As we continue our series of photos from Potsdam in Germany we take a look at one of the Stadler Variobahn vehicles which have been running in the city since 2010.

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Man dies after being hit by tram at Shaw & Crompton

Posted on Saturday 18 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

A man has died after he was hit by a tram at Shaw & Crompton early on Friday 17th January. The tragic incident happened shortly after 0600 on the Manchester Metrolink Oldham & Rochdale line and an investigation is now … Continue reading →

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More progress on Crich track relay

Posted on Friday 17 January 2020 by Gareth Prior

As we’ve already reported this winter, the major winter maintenance project at the Crich Tramway Village concerns the relaying of the double track between Victoria Park and the single line post on the way to Wakebridge. Before Christmas we saw … Continue reading →

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