The final phase of the three year Stagecoach Supertram rail replacement project will get underway in May with the first stage of 2020 works being concentrated at Hackenthorpe and Donetsk Way (Area 1). This work will get underway from Monday 4th May and continue for approximately a month necessitating the suspension of all trams beyond Birley Moor Road.
With a revised timetable currently in operation as a result of the Coronavirus restrictions, a further revision will be made to timetables on both the Blue and Purple routes from Monday 4th May.
The changes include:
Blue route: Approximately every 30 minutes during the morning peak Mondays to Fridays and then hourly until approximately 2200. Trams will only run from Birley Lane to Malin Bridge. Saturdays and Sundays sees a straight hourly service all day.
Purple route: Hourly service throughout the day
Meanwhile, the Yellow route (Meadowhall-Middlewood) and Tram-Train service (Cathedral-Rotherham Parkgate) will continue to operate to their current revised timetables.
These timetables are expected to be operational from Monday 4th May until Friday 5th June although dates may change as the work progresses. Anyone wishing to travel beyond Birley Lane is being advised to use either service 120 from Halfway to the City Centre or 80a which operates between Birley Moor Road and the city centre. Full details of the rail replacement scheme will be supplied at www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/RailReplacement from Monday 27th April.
This multi-million pound project has been taking place over the past few years to ensure that the infrastructure on Supertram is renewed for the future. Further areas will follow as 2020 continues, although with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic there may be late changes and alterations to the plans. Volker Rail will once again be undertaking the work.
* The revised Blue and Purple route timetable can be found on the Stagecoach Supertram website.