Tyne and Wear Metro timetable to change as fleet reliability falls

Posted on Friday 17 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Nexus have announced that a new timetable is to be introduced on the Tyne and Wear Metro. In effect this means that fewer trains will be run at peak times with the extra services which run between Pelaw and Monkseaton no longer operating.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Boat 606

Posted on Friday 17 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Time for another “Picture in Time” and this week we include a couple of photos of one of the always popular Open Boat Cars.

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Crich starts another season – just a bit later than planned!

Posted on Thursday 16 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

The 2023 season is now underway at the Crich Tramway Village, although the first trams ended up running a couple of days later than planned thanks to the snow! Originally due to open for the first time this year on Saturday 11th March there was heavy snow in the Midlands the day before which meant it was not safe for visitors, volunteers or staff to get to the museum so the sensible decision to delay opening was made.

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Double trams on Edinburgh Trams extension

Posted on Thursday 16 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Its certainly been a week to remember for the Trams to Newhaven extension in Edinburgh with the start of testing of the 2.91 mile route. After the first tram (258) undertook the first test on the night of Monday 13th/Tuesday 14th March further testing has been taking place – and this has included two trams on the extension at the same time!

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Plans for Blackpool 619 relaunch event confirmed

Posted on Thursday 16 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

As announced a few weeks ago, Sunday 26th March will not only mark the start of another season at the Heaton Park Tramway but will also see the relaunch into service of Blackpool Replica Vanguard 619. With this tram running for the first time since 2017 (save for some use during Lightopia in December 2022) the day will, unsurprisingly, have a Blackpool theme including a two tram service plus three visiting buses.

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Metrocar 4001 to be preserved

Posted on Wednesday 15 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

It has been confirmed that the first Metrocar is to be preserved at the Stephenson Railway Museum. In a way this will be a homecoming for 4001 as the museum is located where the original Tyne and Wear Metro test track was.

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Overhead problems on Metrolink

Posted on Wednesday 15 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Services on some of the Manchester Metrolink have been disrupted on Wednesday 15th March following an overhead issues at Queens Road Depot. This meant that fewer trams than normal could leave the depot in the morning which of course means fewer services could run.

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In Pictures: Trams to Newhaven testing begins!

Posted on Tuesday 14 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Monday 13th March was a historic day in Edinburgh as for the first time since 1956 a tram ran along Leith Walk. That’s right testing has now begun on the Trams to Newhaven extension of Edinburgh Trams with 258 allocated to the initial slow speed tests starting a little after 2000 and continuing throughout the night and running all the way along the line to Newhaven.

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In Pictures: Demolition continues in Birmingham

Posted on Tuesday 14 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Although we now know that we don’t know when the Birmingham Eastside extension of the West Midlands Metro will open or even whether it will open in two sections because of the complications of HS2 work at Curzon Street, work is continuing on those sections which can be worked on.

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In Pictures: Snowy photos from the West Midlands Metro

Posted on Monday 13 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Our second snowy pictorial of the evening comes from the West Midlands Metro. It was a similar situation on the system as it was on Manchester Metrolink where despite the amount of snow which had fallen there wasn’t any real disruption to the service. But with the snow on the ground it still made for some good photography as we see in the below images courtesy of Andy Walters.

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In Pictures: Snow in Manchester

Posted on Monday 13 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

As we’ve seen the past few days saw snow hit various areas in the UK leading to travel disruption with various media reports of cars stuck on the roads overnight. Despite the heavy snow on the whole tramways in the UK didn’t suffer too much disruption (Sheffield being the exception with the city offering suffering the worst due to its location) which allowed contributors to this website to get out and about and capture some snowy images. In this first of two articles this evening we head onto Manchester Metrolink.

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The Number 20: Blackpool 236

Posted on Monday 13 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of “The Number 20” we are off to the Crich Tramway Village again to take a look at one of the Blackpool trams in the national collection.

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Stop by Stop Nottingham Express Transit: Hucknall & Phoenix Park – Moor Bridge

Posted on Sunday 12 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

All aboard for our continued trip on Nottingham Express Transit towards Hucknall in this latest edition of “Stop by Stop”.

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South Gosforth to Airport Metro to close for upgrade works

Posted on Sunday 12 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

The Tyne and Wear Metro line between South Gosforth and the Airport will close for five days to allow a £1.6 million programme of overhead line renewal work to take place. The line closure will be in place from Monday 20th to Friday 24th March.

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Metro colleagues mark International Women’s Day

Posted on Sunday 12 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

The contribution women are making to the successful operation of West Midlands Metro was celebrated at an event to mark International Women’s Day on 8th March. From driving trams to managing the diverse workforce of over 250 employees women are playing a key role on the West Midlands Metro at a time of major expansion.

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What’s New on British Trams Online? 12th March 2023

Posted on Sunday 12 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Its another two photo gallery week as we hve another “20 Photos of…” as well as heading to Prague:

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Trams to Newhaven from 13th March? Testing set to start

Posted on Saturday 11 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Confirmed that test testing will start during the evening of Monday 13th March.

Its been reported on Edinburgh Live that test running on the Trams to Newhaven extension is set to get underway from Monday 13th March. There has been no confirmation from either the City of Edinburgh Council or Edinburgh Trams that this will be happening but the strong rumours are that the first tram will travel onto the extension in just a couple of days time.

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Around the World in Trams: San Francisco cable car

Posted on Saturday 11 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

A second and final shot of the San Francisco Cable Cars in this edition of “Around the World in Trams”.

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LRSSB appoint a new data analyst

Posted on Saturday 11 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

The Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) have strengthened their team with the appointment of a new data analyst. Mohammed Hefny joins having recently completed a MSc in Business Analytics at Aston University. He will now be heavily involved in the upgrade of a comprehensive Tramway Accident and Incident Reporting (TAIR system).

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Two tram/car collisions in three days on Metrolink

Posted on Saturday 11 March 2023 by Gareth Prior

Recently we reported on how Transport for Greater Manchester had launched a new safety campaign aimed at motorists to reduce the number of collisions between cars and trams. Judging by recent days it hasn’t had much impact as there have been two collisions reported within the space of three days.

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