Final piece of track welded into place in Digbeth

Posted on Thursday 18 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

There’s another milestone to report in the construction of an extension of the West Midlands Metro as the final piece of track has been welded into place on the Birmingham Eastside line. Whilst it will be many years before trams can run on this track, this marks the end of track laying and the current phase of construction along Digbeth High Street and follows on from the completion of work on the section of the extension at Lower Bull Street.

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Cold weather disrupts NET

Posted on Thursday 18 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

There was major disruption to services on Nottingham Express Transit during the morning of Thursday 18th January with the severe weather being blamed for a bad start to the day. First announced at around 0600, NET initially confirmed that only two of their 37 trams were out on the network.

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Edinburgh Council to look at removal of parking bays

Posted on Thursday 18 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Since Edinburgh Trams services started running on the extension to Newhaven there have been occasional issues with trams being held up by poorly parked vehicles. Although the situation has improved since the line initially opened it does remain an issue and the Council have now said they will review the parking bays supplied in some areas to see whether it could be improved any further.

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More Metrolink changes

Posted on Wednesday 17 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

The problem with the cracked rail at Victoria has led to more changes for Manchester Metrolink services with now no trams able to run between Victoria and Exchange Square on 2CC to allow full repairs to take place.

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West Midlands Metro support Wolverhampton Literature Festival

Posted on Wednesday 17 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

West Midlands Metro will be one of the key sponsors of the Wolverhampton Literature Festival which is due to take place in the city this February. With Metro services to Wolverhampton Railway Station having started last September, the tram is ideally placed to help people get to one of the region’s cultural calendar highlights.

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In Pictures: Beamish trackwork means rare use of Town crossover (and a chilly tram ride!)

Posted on Tuesday 16 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Whilst many heritage tramways complete track and other maintenance work out of season when they are closed to the public at Beamish it’s a bit different. Although the museum doesn’t open as often in the post Christmas period as it does at other times of the year it does still let the public in which means when some maintenance on the tramway takes place a revised service has to operate. That was the case on Sunday 14th January 2024 when work was underway on the curve at the end of the town leading to the relatively rare use of the crossover in the Town. It was also a day for brave tram crews as Blackpool 31 was in service!

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Cracked rail leads to Metrolink changes

Posted on Tuesday 16 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

A cracked rail at Victoria had meant that from the start of service on Tuesday 16th January 2024 there has been an amendment to the services being operated on the Manchester Metrolink network. Whilst all services are still operating additional routes are being sent via 2CC until the end of service on Friday 19th January 2024.

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In Pictures: 52 definitely enters service on West Midlands Metro!

Posted on Monday 15 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

We now have official confirmation that the last of the Urbos100 trams delivered to West Midlands Metro has definitely entered service. 52’s official first day in service was on Friday 12th January 2024, although it was only used briefly on the day.

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Out and About: West Midlands Metro – November 2023

Posted on Monday 15 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

“Out and About” today is heading off to the West Midlands Metro for another photo.

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Trams &: Blackpool 680 & bus

Posted on Sunday 14 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Its time for another edition of “Trams &” and we’re off to the seaside!

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In Pictures: Trams at NELSAM

Posted on Sunday 14 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Whilst the most high-profile tram collection in the northeast of England is at Beamish with their fleet of trams also operating around the museum tramway, there is, of course, also another set of trams in the region. These are at the North East, Land, Sea and Air Museum under the auspices of the North East Electrical Traction Trust and includes trams from Blackpool as well as further afield.

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Effects of pandemic still hit NET as latest accounts released

Posted on Sunday 14 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit is still suffering the impact of the Covid pandemic impact with passenger numbers only having recovered to 80% of previous levels. This can be seen in the accounts released which report a pre-tax loss of £57.1 million, which is still said to be as per expectations. Despite these losses the concession who operate the network are in a stable position helped by their recent financial restructuring.

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What’s New on British Trams Online? 14th January 2024

Posted on Sunday 14 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

We head to Blackpool back in September 2023 for photos of the modern tramway in action:

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In Pictures: Work on tramstops on West Midlands Metro Dudley extension

Posted on Saturday 13 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

The official word from the Midland Metro Alliance remains that the next West Midlands Metro extension between Wednesbury and Dudley will see its first passengers in 2024 (this is phase one of the Brierley Hill line). With this in mind a lot of work remains to be completed in the next 10-11 months or so, not just limited to significant tracklaying but also the construction of the nine new stops due in this phase. In this pictorial article we head out to see the current state of things at a couple of planned stops on the line.

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Around the World in Trams: Nuremberg 1012

Posted on Saturday 13 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

“Around the World in Trams” continues with a picture of another tram running in Nuremburg.

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Record 4.3 million trips made on Metro with Pop Pay As You Go

Posted on Saturday 13 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

There were a record 4.3 million trips made on the Tyne and Wear Metro using Pop Pay As You Go in 2023 according to new figures released by Nexus. Not only are these passengers saving money when compared to buying paper tickets but its also saving time by not having to queue up and use ticket machines.

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Blackpool Tramway services affected after car and tram collide

Posted on Saturday 13 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

We’re used to reporting on collisions between various road vehicles and trams across the British Isles but in most cases it comes when the two are sharing the same road space. You would have expected that the majority of the Blackpool Tramway would be safe for collisions of this type but that was not the case on Thursday 11th January 2024 when there was an incident on New South Promenade at around 1500.

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In Pictures: Short-running at West End

Posted on Friday 12 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Earlier this week we featured photos from Edinburgh as the split service to allow Hogmanay celebrations to take place along Princes Street was in operation. That article featured photos around Picardy Place as trams from Newhaven used the stop to terminate and then pulled forward to use the crossover at York Place to reverse. Now we return to Hogmanay and we’re at the other end of the split service, West End, for some more photos.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 720

Posted on Friday 12 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Another edition of “Picture in Time” comes from the Blackpool Tramway.

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Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours to run from Starr Gate throughout 2024

Posted on Thursday 11 January 2024 by Gareth Prior

Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours 2023 season finally came to an end on Saturday 6th January 2024 with some extra Illumination Tours (thanks to the lights being extended by a further week) having taken place in the first week of the year after which the trams which had been running since the end of September (Balloon Cars 700 and 717 and illuminated featured cars the Western Train and Frigate) started a break which is due to continue into Easter. With the uncertainty surrounding Rigby Road Depot (aka Tramtown) causing further debate an official statement has been released as an update for what plans are.

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