Over a two week period in August, Nottingham Express Transit services through The Forest were suspended to allow for some rail replacement works to take place. The latest in a series of renewals which have taken place during the summer in recent years.
Starting on Friday 18th August and continuing through until the end of Thursday 31st August (normal operations resumed on Friday 1st September) no trams ran between Wilkinson Street and Old Market Square with a split service in operation on NET. This saw trams running Phoenix Park and Hucknall to Wilkinson Street and Old Market Square to Toton Lane and Clifton South (at the start of the period no trams also ran to Toton Lane because of an incident which saw the overhead wires damaged in Beeston).
With no access to the depot for trams on the southern section of the network from Old Market Square some were stabled on Nottingham Station viaduct overnight. It was noted that only Alstom Citadis trams operated on this section during the works with none of the earlier Bombardier Incentros spotted in service to Toton Lane and Clifton South.
During the works a replacement bus service was provided to allow people to continue their journeys. This required five buses to maintain a 10 minute frequency with Nottingham City Transport providing the vehicles.
With the work concentrating on the tracks through The Forest stop and the points at each end in this photo taken on 24th August we see that new track has been laid and concrete has also been put down.
Then the day before tram services would resume, 31st August, and we see the completed trackwork. No workmen remain on site and if it wasn’t for the fact that there were a few cones and a complete lack of people and trams you would never know that there had been work going on! (Both Photographs by John Whittingham)