399 204 breaks down on test (**Photo now added**)

Firstly, the good news – it is now obvious that test running of the tram-trains is underway on the wider Stagecoach Supertram network. Unfortunately, the reason why we can confirm this is because one of the vehicles broke down in the early hours of Monday 30th January causing delays to Blue route trams at the start of service.

The tram-train which was being used for testing on this night was 399 204 – which has been in South Yorkshire since 19th July 2016 – and everything was fine until around 0500 when the tram was declared a failure at Hackenthorpe (on the Halfway branch of the Blue route). It remained at Hackenthorpe until around 0730 when it was moved from there to Halfway with one of the Siemens Duewag trams used to move it. 399 204 was stabled at the very end of the line at Halfway where it remained for the rest of the day before being returned to depot the following night. It is presumed that this move was made under its own power but this is not confirmed.

The tram-trains will remain testing over the next few months ahead of firstly driver training and then eventually an entry into service. A date for entry into service will not be publicly made until the testing and training phase progresses further but it is hoped this will be sometime during the summer.

399 204 is seen here stabled at the extremity of the line at Halfway after its rescue. Of note in this photo is that a notice is attached to the side cab window saying "Vehicle OK to be used outside Nunnery Depot". (Photograph by Donald Brooks)

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