Last time the Greater Nottingham Light Rail Transit Advisory Committee met (in September) the figures released on punctuality and reliability were a cause for concern with it continue to fall after a number of issues which had affected the NET network. Three months later and the Committee are preparing to meet again and there is a more positive picture to report with the figures on the increase – although there have still been challenges allowing the operation of a fully reliable service.
The period under review this time is from the end of August until the end of October and in these three months reliability was at 94.6% and punctuality at 95.1%. In comparison the two months of June and July had seen these figures at 91.3% and 91.4% respectively. Although reliability still hasn’t reached the previous figure to this (95.4%), punctuality has gone above (93.8%).
During these three months a number of issues have impacted services – many of which have been outside the control of NET:
- 17th August – IT network issue led to an outage of the AVLS (radio comms and tram management software) and other safety critical systems at the start of service. All trams were withdrawn back to depot shortly after 0700 for safety reasons as it was not possible for the control room to communicate with drivers. The fault was not identified until late in the day and after repairs normal services resumed first thing the next day.
- 21st August – Just after 0900 a lorry hit the overhead line at Beeston Centre causing over 1km of overhead line to be damaged. The lorry had a telehandler unit on the back which meant it was too high to go under the wires. No service was able to run University Boulevard to Cator Lane and ticket acceptance was agreed with NCT buses. Both the NET engineering team and external contractors were used and after liaison with County Council traffic management teams for road closures work was undertaken. Services resumed from 24th The incident was reported to both the Health and Safety Executive and the Office of the Rail Regulator.
- 20th October – Storm Babet resulted in the Rivers Leen and Trent overflowing in some locations close to the tramway, including at David Lane. Several temporary speed restrictions were implemented where there was standing water.
- 22nd October – a burst water main on Wilford Lane meant no trams could run Southchurch Drive to Wilford Lane – ticket acceptance with NCT buses was again put in place. Services resumed 24th
The Goose Fair also took place during this period and “a robust plan was implemented…to provide a customer-focussed timetable and service”. This saw an extra two minutes added in the core network between The Forest and Nottingham Station. An effective barrier system was introduced to enable crowds to be managed and revenue to be protected. With improved tram and driver availability coupled with the enhanced timetable good performance was reported throughout the Fair.
The report also mentions that there has been a significant increase in contractors undertaking unauthorised work around the tramway which is posing not only safety risks but seeing damage to infrastructure and subsequent delays to the tram service. They are now working with agencies to act against contractors and liaising with other tram operators who are also seeing a similar increase.