Citylink trams debut in Sheffield

After announcing only a few days ago that members of the public would finally be able to ride on a tram-train in the UK on Sunday 17th September, Stagecoach Supertram then caught us rather by surprise by debuting one of its newest additions in service on Thursday 14th! 399 402 did the honours, performing a number of historic runs on this first day.

Although not advertised to the public in advance, apart from a brief mention on a local BBC news programme in the morning, press were notified of the event and as a result the launch of the new ‘City Link’ LRV attracted many guests from the media, as well as management and other dignitaries including Transport Minister Paul Maynard MP. The very first trip from Meadowhall to Middlewood departed at 1447 after some photo opportunities for the press, including some with Sheffield Children’s Hospital mascot Theo the bear, who also unveiled his name on the side of 399 402.

Although some enthusiasts have already expressed unhappiness that the first tram train has been launched ahead of Sunday’s charity running day, it is hoped that this will still attract a good audience and that many extra people will support this event, when one of the tram trains will operate to a special timetable with travellers encouraged to donate towards the Children’s Hospital Charity with collection buckets placed on board. There is no word yet as to when the new vehicles will be released into normal service, but these special appearances are certainly a positive sign and it is hoped that they will soon be a common sight on the Supertram network, relieving pressure on the overworked tram fleet which have served the system well since its opening in 1994 without any subsequent additions until now.

We hope to bring readers more coverage of the City Link launch at a later time – if anyone reading this has any images to share then please do contact us!