Lucie arrives at Beamish!

Posted on Thursday 5 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

Lucie – the steam tram engine which started off life in Belgium and has now been restored to operational condition at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway – has arrived at Beamish for a short (and not previously announced) loan period. The loco arrived on 4th June 2025 and it is set to be used on the Colliery Railway during the “A Collier’s Life: At Work & Play” event on 5th and 6th July 2025.

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Nexus employees present over £6,000 to animal charity

Posted on Thursday 5 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

Similar to many organisations across the UK, each year Nexus employees nominate a charity to raise funds for and over the past 12 months they have been completing various activities to support Bryson’s Animal Shelter. They have now been able to present a cheque for over £6,000 for the charity following the culmination of the past year’s activities.

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Posted in Tyne and Wear Metro | 1 Comment

Major funding boost for trams across the English regions

Posted on Wednesday 4 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

Despite fears that the forthcoming government spending review would see funding removed from various transport projects across the English regions (outside of London) the reverse looks set to be the case with Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing £15.6 billion worth of funding during a speech in Greater Manchester. Whilst not all going to tram and light rail projects a sizeable chunk will go that way with a boost for projects in Manchester, Sheffield, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire.

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Posted in Leeds Tram, Manchester Metrolink, South Yorkshire Supertram, Tyne and Wear Metro, West Midlands Metro | 11 Comments

In Pictures: 30 back in service and 50 being tested on West Midlands Metro

Posted on Wednesday 4 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

Article updated 5/6/25 with 50 returning to service.

Over the past few months there seems to have been a very concerted effort by the West Midlands Metro to get more and more trams operational again. Although a normal day only requires 16 trams in service, and they have a complete fleet of 42 (even if some are long-term out of use), a number of trams have returned to action recently, or are being tested ahead of a return.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

Coventry Very Light Rail in the news

Posted on Wednesday 4 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

The Very Light Rail pilot project which is currently under test in Coventry has had a fair bit of news coverage over the past few months, with the BBC picking up on the plans and exploring what it could mean for the future of transport schemes in the UK. That came following a visit to the construction site of the short demonstration track in the West Midlands city by members of both UKTram and the West Midlands Combined Authority at the start of April.

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Posted in Very Light Rail | 2 Comments

In Pictures: A closer look at some of Edinburgh’s Emirates adverts

Posted on Tuesday 3 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

As we reported at the end of May, a number of trams in Edinburgh have received new full wrap adverts for Emirates. At the time of writing six trams – 255, 257, 258, 268, 272 and 273 – have received identical wraps and its expected that more will be on the way with a new tram currently being wrapped on most days. In this article we take a closer look at the new advert on some of the trams.

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WMCA approve refreshed business case for Eastside extension

Posted on Tuesday 3 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

You may be forgiven for thinking I’m sure I’ve heard that approved before, and you’d probably be right, but the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board have recently given approval for sections 3 and 4 of the Birmingham Eastside West Midlands Metro extension. Said in a lot of media reports to be linked to Birmingham City FC’s new ground and larger sports complex, this is actually just a previously approved section of the line already under construction, but its hoped by its approval it will give confidence for a future major expansion further eastwards.

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UKTram joins global transport leaders at UTIP meeting in Turin

Posted on Tuesday 3 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

Taking place between 25th and 27th March 2025, the UTIP Joint Bus and Light Rail Committee met in Turin, Italy as they explored integrated solutions for the future of public transport. UKTram were represented at the meeting by Phillip Terry, Lead Engineer, as best practice examples and case studies from across Europe were showcased.

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Two more new Tyne and Wear Metro units delivered

Posted on Monday 2 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

The early hours of Friday 30th May saw two more new trains arrive on the Tyne and Wear Metro network having made their way across from Switzerland – once again completing the journey solely by rail over several different legs. The two to arrive this time were 555 016 and 555 035.

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Nottingham tram derailed after being hit by car

Posted on Monday 2 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

Article updated 03/06/2025 following resumption of services

Nottingham Express Transit services on the Clifton line have been severely disrupted after a collision between a car and a tram at the Queens Walk/Robin Hood Way junction. Citadis 228 was derailed in the collision with the emergency services stating it would take several days to fix the issue.

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Stop by Stop London Trams: New Addington line – Fieldway

Posted on Monday 2 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

We have another edition of “Stop by Stop” as our journey on London Trams’ New Addington line continues.

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Manchester Metrolink Then & Now: St Peter’s Square

Posted on Sunday 1 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

A return to Manchester for this latest edition of “Then & Now” as we once again look down on St Peter’ Square before and after Metrolink.

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Royal Highland Show returns – Edinburgh Trams best way to get there

Posted on Sunday 1 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

With the Royal Highland Show returning once again to Edinburgh between 19th and 22nd June, Edinburgh Trams are putting plans in place to transport people to the event. The Royal Highland Show is Scotland’s biggest celebration of the best of food, farming, and rural life and Ingliston Park and Ride is just a short distance away from the Royal Highland Centre.

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Winner of West Midlands Metro’s Bull design announced

Posted on Sunday 1 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

Earlier this year West Midlands Metro launched a competition amongst local primary schools to help design a bull for the forthcoming “Bull in the City” art trail (think the Elmer trail in Blackpool last year but will bulls instead of elephants!), and now they have announced the winner although the actual design is remaining under wraps for now.

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What’s New on British Trams Online? 1st June 2025

Posted on Sunday 1 June 2025 by Gareth Prior

This week photos come from Beamish in early May 2025:

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In Pictures: Emirates starts a takeover of Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Saturday 31 May 2025 by Gareth Prior

So far in 2025 its been a relatively quiet year for new adverts on Edinburgh Trams with just eight trams having seen new designs applied. But the end of May 2025 could be the start of that changing with (so far) five trams having received full wraps for Emirates – and if rumours are to believed they may not be alone!

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Around the World in Trams: East Berlin 218 023-8

Posted on Saturday 31 May 2025 by Gareth Prior

Its that time of the week again where we feature a tram from outside the UK, and East Berlin is once again the location.

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West Midlands Metro 45 loses its advert

Posted on Saturday 31 May 2025 by Gareth Prior

Article updated 1/6/25 with photo added.

The longest lived West Midlands Metro advert is no longer the longest lived as 45 has returned to standard fleet livery following the removal of its advertising vinyls for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

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Alstom and ATM join forces to bid for Luas operating contract

Posted on Saturday 31 May 2025 by Gareth Prior

Alstom and ATM Group (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) have announced that they are preparing a joint bid for the upcoming operations and maintenance (O&M) contract for Dublin’s Luas tram system. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) have started a tender process for the contract which has been held by Transdev since the network opened in 2004 and signed their latest contract in 2019 for six years (with an option for a further five).

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Southampton 11 reunited with its truck

Posted on Friday 30 May 2025 by Gareth Prior

Ahead of this year’s Solent Sky Tram Event (21st and 22nd June 2025), Southampton 11 is back on is very own truck and track for the first time in over 75 years! The truck was taken away in January but returned to Southampton after restoration during May to allow the reunion to take place.

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