Some pleasing news to report from Nottingham Express Transit – the service has just published its highest reliability for three years. Statistics for the period between February and April 2019 have shown 95.9% punctuality and 98.8% reliability; it was during 2016 that the figures were this high with tram reliability in recent years preventing such a positive outlook.
NET have confirmed that the main reason for these improved figures is down to a reduction in tram faults; something which it is hoped will continue as the Incentro fleet of trams enjoys full refurbishment with the aim of further improving their reliability.
Indeed NET say the main reason the figures didn’t go higher was because of issues which were out of their control. This included a thunderstorm on 25th April which saw substations affected leading to the overhead power problems. In addition there was planned trackwork on 28th April which meant trams didn’t run between Nottingham Station and Old Market Square.
A NET spokesman commented: “These positive figures reflect the hard work of everyone at NET to deliver the best possible service to customers. Although the majority of reported disruptions are the result of circumstances beyond our control, safety campaigns to reduce avoidable incidents such as road traffic collisions are clearly having a positive impact. We’ve also seen a significant reduction in the number of technical faults and recently embarked on a £3.5 million tram refurbishment programme that will further boost reliability.”
* In other news from Nottingham it has been reported that there remain some faults with the Phase Two extensions which haven’t been repaired yet – some four years after the new lines opened. The defects are said not to affect the safe running of the trams or the roads the trams run on but Nottinghamshire County Council are looking for them to be sorted as soon as possible. Nottingham City Council have said that they are in discussions with contractors Taylor Woodrow Alstom in order to resolve these issues.