With the next meeting of the Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transit Advisory Committee due to take place on 13th December the latest performance figures of the network have been released. As this meeting is less than two months since the last meeting of the Committee little performance information is given as only one full month was available but the figures released do show very little change to the last time out.
Its only the figures for October which are noted in the report (those for November weren’t available and are due to be verbally given at the meeting instead) and they show that reliability was at 93.4% and punctuality was at 88%. In the previous report which covered four months between June and September the figures were at 93.1% and 88.5%.
Its said that performance has been impacted by tram driver availability. An increase in positive Covid cases has meant that at times it hasn’t been possible to run a full timetable with some services being cancelled. There have also been continuing supply chain issues which has caused problems with tram availability. The report goes on to say: “Plans are in place to increase resilience in these areas and, during November, there was a significant improvement.”
The period under review here also saw The Goose Fair taken place at The Forest Recreation Ground and with the event extended over two weekends for the first time, NET services were enhanced and saw the two Saturdays carrying more passengers than any day in the last two years. This did though mean that there were extended passenger loading times. The tram service was also impacted by traffic congestion on the surrounding road network.
Also during October there were a power outage between the depot at Wilkinson Street and Basford on Saturday 15th October. This was followed later by another outage from Basford to Highbury Vale. Initially this led to a split service terminating at Old Market Square from Toton Lane and Clifton South and Bulwell from Hucknall. No trams ran to Phoenix Park. Later temporary repairs allowed a 40kph speed restriction to be put in place with a full service resuming the next day.
An increase in road traffic collisions (mostly involving trams but not exclusively) also caused disruption in this period. The majority of cases are said to have been caused by other road users not observing traffic signals. NET are working alongside Nottingham City Council’s Network Management and Road Safety Teams to explore ways to reduce the risk of any further incidents.
November has seen increased traction issues between Nottingham Trent University and The Forest, caused by the change in weather to colder and wetter conditions. With this being the steepest sections on the network there is also significant leaf fall and debris here and additional traffic congestion meaning trams lose momentum has led to delays to the service. Additional sand is being deployed along with extra road sweeping to remove leaf fall.
We mentioned a couple of weeks ago about another car finding its way onto the Lenton Lane Bridge between NG2 and Gregory Street and the report confirms that more improvements are being planned at the Lenton Lane end of the bridge over the winter to try and reduce incidents of this type.
The meeting is also due to discuss an issue raised by a local resident in the Bulwell area. They have made a complaint that trams travelling over points in the area has caused damage to their property. In response Nottingham Trams Limited have conducted a review and concluded that the points are operating as expected and that there has been no overspeeding by trams. The situation will continue to be monitored.
I almost dread thinking about what the Stagecoach punctuality and reliabiltiy figures are for bus routes in Exeter. I could not find any with a quick search. My guess would be 40% or lower. They have been forced to offer free travel during two weekends in December because of their ongoing dreadful performance. It only goes to show how well NET are doing.
A quick bit of clarification: It is correct to write it is the first time Goose Fair has been extended to ten day if one is thinking of the modern era. In fact about ten days was the normal length of the fair until the Victorian prudes tried to ban it. Thankfully the compromise was to allow Goose Fair to run for three days.