Nottingham Express Transit extension to Derby is a priority

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

A major expansion of Nottingham Express Transit which would see it running to Derby, East Midlands Airport and the proposed HS2 station at Toton has been named as a priority project as part of devolution negotiations. The 19 local councils in the N2D2 region (Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire) have agreed that this is one of the major projects needed in the region although at this stage there is no firm commitment or indeed any exact plans to achieve this.

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Heaton Park get ready for their Autumn Gala

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The last major event of 2015 takes place at the Heaton Park Tramway on Sunday 15th November with their annual Autumn Gala where you will have the chance to ride on four different trams along with various unique photo opportunities.

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NET Citadis 228 named

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The latest Nottingham Express Transit Citadis to receive a name has been 228 which was named Local Armed Forces Heroes in a ceremony at Toton Lane on Remembrance Day, 11th November. The name was chosen as a tribute to servicemen and women who gave their lives in the two World Wars and more recent conflicts.

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In Pictures: Tramlink 2560 in service

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

As we reported last week London Tramlink Stadler 2560 entered service on Friday 6th November following the completion of its commissioning process. The tram has continued to be used in service over the past week and was caught on camera on Thursday 12th November as shown below.

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Supertram revise Purple route services

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Due to the recent collision at Shalesmoor which has reduced the number of available trams on Stagecoach Supertram it has been announced that the Purple route timetable is to be amended until further notice. On Mondays-Saturdays no trams on this route will run to Meadowhall with all services from Herdings Park terminating at Cathedral. Trams will continue to run through to Meadowhall on Sundays. There will also be some changes to the times of trams on the Purple route as a result of this amendment. Supertram are currently operating with a fleet of 23 trams instead of 25 which is putting an increased pressure on tram availability which had led to frequent service cancellations.

Posted in South Yorkshire Supertram | 5 Comments

Get me there app launched

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

It seems to have been a long time coming but the get me there app has finally been launched which will enable some Manchester Metrolink tickets to be purchased by smartphone saving passengers time in queuing at tramstops. The app is available for download now and works on both Apple and Android smartphones.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

TfL fares to rise by 1%

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

It has been announced that fares across the Transport for London network will rise on average by 1% from 2 January 2016. In real terms this is considered to be a fares freeze as this is the level at which the Retail Price Index was in July. Although the overall average is 1% fares many fares on London Tramlink and the Docklands Light Railway will not actually rise this high.

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Dogs continue to get a ruff deal on Metrolink

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Councillors have rejected proposals to allow dogs in cages to be carried on Manchester Metrolink – despite a recommendation that they should accept the plans for a trial to take place. Councillors said that a recent risk assessment had raised concerns over passenger safety, fouling, damage, animals’ stress-induced behaviour and allergies. The decision has not been universally met with approval, in fact you could say some are barking mad over the news.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 11 Comments

Going for a ride

Posted on Thursday 12 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

As we have now entered the tramological winter period (normally lasts between early November and Easter!) chances to ride on a traditional tram across the British Isles are more limited but that doesn’t mean it is completely barren out there for you. In this last ever (probably – dependent on the new look website being ready in time) “Going for a ride” article we round up just when and where you can go for that ride on a traditional tram over the winter and early spring months (that man in a red coat features quite heavily)…

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Farewell to two old friends at Crich

Posted on Thursday 12 November 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Almost a week after the last paying guests of 2015 left Crich Tramway Village, the museum staged a special open day for Tramway Museum Society members and invited representatives of other closely associated organisations on Saturday 7th November. As well as some more novel attractions for the guests, the day also provided one final opportunity for the time being to ride on both Southampton 45 and Glasgow 812.

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114’s birthday goes with a bang!

Posted on Thursday 12 November 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Beamish Museum’s final enhanced transport weekend event held on 7th & 8th November saw a number of activities taking place around the vast museum site, with the resident fleet of trams and buses taking centre stage. The star of the show was tramcar Newcastle 114 but unfortunately the tram’s 114th birthday celebrations did not go quite according to plan – maybe it objected to being expected to work so hard on its birthday!?

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Santa goes to the seaside

Posted on Wednesday 11 November 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Following a highly successful experiment last year, ‘Santa Specials’ are set to return to the Blackpool tramway on three consecutive Saturdays next month. On 5th, 12th and 19th December a half-hourly heritage tram service will operate between Pleasure Beach and Bispham, whilst the illuminated Western Train 733+734 will be stationed at North Pier acting as Santa’s Grotto, before working a single passenger trip at the end of the day.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 4 Comments

Picture in Time: Manx Electric Railway 1 and Snaefell Mountain Railway 1

Posted on Tuesday 10 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

A trip to the Isle of Man beckons for our latest instalment of Picture in Time as we catch up with the original trams of both the Manx Electric Railway and the Snaefell Mountain Railway at Laxey.

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Posted in Manx Electric Railway, Picture in Time, Snaefell Mountain Railway | 1 Comment

Blackpool’s soggy end to the season

Posted on Monday 9 November 2015 by Andrew Waddington

The final weekend of the 2015 Blackpool illuminations, and with it the end of the resort’s peak season, was marked by an enhanced heritage tram service operating on both Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th November. Both days saw six heritage trams in use during the day, whilst during the evenings the usual illumination tour output was boosted by the use of some more unusual vehicles staying out well past their regular bedtimes!

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 8 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

We have four Photo Galleries plus a host of updates to the Fleet Lists for you in this weeks update:

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Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1016

Posted on Sunday 8 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The latest edition of Picture in Time heads back to Manchester as we take a look at Metrolink’s T68 1016 during the first year of its operation – 1992.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Illumination Tours

Posted on Friday 6 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Over the past couple of months we have been taking a look at the Illuminated trams of the Blackpool Tramway over the past 45 years or so and now to round this off we feature some other trams on Illumination Tours.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Picture in Time | 5 Comments

Overhead problems on Midland Metro

Posted on Friday 6 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Midland Metro services were severely disrupted on Friday 6th November after damage to the overhead at The Hawthorns. The problem was discovered at approximately 1300 and saw through tram services from Wolverhampton St George’s to St Paul’s suspended for several hours whilst repairs were undertaken. And then to compound matters during the evening problems with traffic lights meant no trams could run beyond Priestfield.

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Stadler 2560 enters service

Posted on Friday 6 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Just a few days after playing a starring role in the launch of the new platform at Wimbledon Stadler Variobahn 2560 has become the 31st tram to carry passengers on the London Tramlink network.

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In Pictures: Birmingham City Centre extension

Posted on Friday 6 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The weather might have been a bit grim but the past week has seen significant progress made on Midland Metro’s Birmingham City Centre extension with the major news to report that the old and new lines are now connected up just beyond St Paul’s. Meanwhile progress continues to be made on the overhead throughout the city centre including towards New Street station; although oddly the section closer to St Paul’s – which is due to open before that at New Street – has yet to have even the poles erected.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 3 Comments