Sunday 15th December will see a new timetable introduced for Tram-Train services between Cathedral and Rotherham Parkgate – with services now running later throughout the week. There will also be some frequency changes to early morning services along with a new promotional after 2000 fare also being introduced. But before we get there it has been announced that the service will be down to two an hour until Friday 13th December.
This revised reduced service is necessary because Stadler are carrying out “improvement modifications” to the Citylink tram-trains; this will affect not only the four with the tram-train wheel profiles but also those with can run on the conventional tram network. This will lead to reduced vehicle availability and as such only two services will be able to run to Rotherham Parkgate, departing Cathedral at 01 and 27 past each hour for the main part with the returns from Parkgate at 31 and 59 (on Sundays the first departure is on the hour but returns are the same). The works are due to be completed on Friday 13th December.
And then just two days later it will be the all new timetable operating. Currently the Tram-Train timetable sees the last through service from Cathedral departing at 2200 but this new timetable will see a service depart Cathedral at 2244 with a return from Parkgate at 2316 (again running to Cathedral). These later services will run Mondays to Saturdays and at the same time there will be slightly fewer services early morning before the three tram-trains an hour commences from 0700. Sundays will see the last service from Cathedral to Parkgate at 2032 (return at 2104) instead of the current 1800 (1831 return).
To allow passengers to make use of the new, later services a new promotional “After 8” ticket will be introduced. This will cost £2 and any passenger boarding at Parkgate or Rotherham Central after 2000 will be able to get unlimited travel across the whole Supertram network. This new ticket will be available until 2nd May 2020.
Not previously mentioned on these pages was that after Network Rail completed checks on the line and overhead through Rotherham services were able to resume from the start of Saturday 16th November. No services had been able to run for over a week as a result of the heavy rain which affected the region in early November.