| News | Features | Comment | Fleet Lists | Gallery | Hall of Fame | Restoration | Tram of the Year | Diary of Events | Links | Message Board | Site Updates | About the Site | How You Can Help | Email us | |
| News...January 2005...News...January 2005...News...January 2005...News This Page was last updated Sunday 30 January 2005 |
| All the news carried on these pages is done so in good faith and the source is always quoted, normally with hyperlinks. If you have a correction to give us on a news story or have any additional news that can be added do not hestiate to email us . We are grateful for those people who have given us permission to use their images and news on this page. |
|
For all previous news pages click here to go to the new News Index page which provides links to news dating back to September 2002. Photos on this page: Blackpool Balloon 721 in all over white. (added 3 January 2005) Rare track used in Blackpool on Princess Street with Centenary 643. (added 16 January 2005) Blackpool Reel Wagon 750 having derailed on Princess Street. (added 26 January 2005) Stagecoach Supertram 105 with new dot matrix destination screens. (added 26 January 2005) |
|
News In Brief Birkenhead: Lisbon 730 has now has its motors fitted to the truck and are ready for testing. Meanwhile the fleet numbers have been fitted to both ends and the interior wiring continues to progress and curved ceiling panels are being put into place. Finally some of the roller window blinds have been re-fitted and restored. (30/1/05 - MTPS) DLR: The latest vehicle to receive the “Back the 2012 Olympic Bid” livery is 92. Meanwhile the City Airport extension from Canning Town is now almost complete structurally. (30/1/05 - Chris Cooper) Manchester: 1003 is now back in service in the revised livery, including the small front a fear fleet numbers. 1013 is back at the Queens Road depot in the revised livery although it currently does not have its motor bogies. 1007 has been fitted with stickers claiming that CCTV is fitted and has a small clear Perspex dome in the ceiling just behind the drivers door. (30/1/05 - Gordon Ferguson) ------------------------------------------------- Blackpool: : On Sunday (23 January) Reel Wagon 750 derailed when returning from North Pier on the Princess Street/Blundell Street track. It was being towed by Engineering Car 754 (on diesel power) when it came off the tracks on the curve leading into Blundell Street. Unimog 940 was summoned and helped to rerail 750. Full coverage in photos can be seen here and here. (26/1/05 - Alan Robson) Blackpool: The TMS Contact reports that on Sunday 27 February there is to be a Heritage Tram Shuttle, “By Tram to Foxhall”. The event is to be jointly organised by BTSL and the LTT and will see trams running from depot to the Prom via the Blundell Street/Princess Street route with a flat fee of £1 – all proceeds going to charity. It would operate between 12noon and 3pm. (26/1/05 - Contact from the TMS) Sheffield: 105 has been fitted with dot matrix destination screens on both the sides and ends. It is not known whether this is part of an experiment or whether all trams will receive this change. 116 now carries a blue all over advert for Meadowhall with 120 returning to standard fleet livery. (26/1/05 - Peter Courtenay) ------------------------------------------------- Croydon: 2549 has now been fitted with CCTV whilst all trams have now received new system maps with updated connection details. (23/1/05 - Unofficial Croydon Tramlink) DLR: New livery update – 24, 26 and 41 are now in service in the new style. Meanwhile there are two different versions of the Olympic Bid all over advert – 08 is Blue/Orange and 13 is Red/White. 06 and 82 have also been put in Olympic Bid adverts.(23/1/05 - Chris) Nottingham: The new NET timetable is now available. It starts on 31 January and sees weekday peak services reformed to run every 5 minutes. The rest of the timetable remains largely unchanged. (23/1/05 - Joe Mills) Sheffield: DNA swab kits are being given out to bus and tram staff in South Yorkshire. This is to catch culprits who spit at the staff. More than 3,000 kits have already been handed out across South Yorkshire. (23/1/05 - Sheffield Today) ------------------------------------------------- Beamish: Blackpool Marton Box 31 has been withdrawn for a truck overhaul. This is necessary as the tram has seen extensive use in the 17 years since its restoration (including a period in Blackpool in 1998). The tram is currently on accommodation bogies whilst its own trucks are dealt with. (16/1/05 - Fylde Tramway News) Birmingham:As reported last week Birmingham City Council have resolved the dispute over where bus services will go in the city centre if the first Midland Metro extension to Five Ways. Strategic director of development, David Pywell told the city’s cabinet meeting: “We can formally inform the Passenger Transport Authority and the Department for Transport that we have a solution to the Bus Mall." The government will now be able to rule on the outcome of last years Public Inquiry. (16/1/05 - icBirmingham) Manchester: Former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock has given his support to Metrolink’s expansion in an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News: “The system is so good that anything that will sustain its evolution is in my view a good thing. Every additional stretch of infrastructure is a good thing. What must not happen is to lose momentum. Don't stop because every delay means that in four years time the price is higher. Just keep doing it." (16/1/05 - Manchester Online) Southport: The contractor who were employed to build the Pier Tramway has gone into administration. At the very least the scheme will be delayed from this summer to 2006 and Sefton Council now face a wait to see whether they will receive specialist parts they have paid nearly £60,000 for. A council spokesman said: “Of course the latest news is a setback. However, we have every intention of overcoming this. The pier tram has always been an integral part of the project and nothing has changed. It may just take us that little bit longer than expected."(16/1/05 - icLiverpool) ------------------------------------------------- DLR: A new timetable will be introduced as from 17 January. Full details will be available on the DLR website from this date but it will retain all 2004 services with slight adjustments to times to further improve the reliability of services for the benefit of customers. There are also to be additional services to increase capacity at the end of peak periods on certain routes. (9/1/05 - DLR) Liverpool: Merseytravel Chief Executive and Director General, Neil Scales has been awarded the OBE in the New Years Honours list for services to Public Transport. Mr Scales said: “This is a great honour and a recognition of the achievements by the whole team at Merseytravel over the past year.” (9/1/05 - Merseytravel) Sheffield: Supertram is involved with the Sheffield Wildlife Trust’s Photographic competition and have offered to show the winning entry on trams and tramstops. Further details can be found here. (9/1/05 - Stagecoach Supertram) ------------------------------------------------- Blackpool: Balloon 721 has returned to the depot following attention in the Paint Shop. It is now finished in white undercoat and is expected to receive a new all over advert for Hot Ice. (3/1/05 - Alan Robson) ------------------------------------------------- Blackpool: It is reported that one of the withdrawn Brush cars, 636, is to be used as the basis of a test tram in the resort. It is not known what equipment is to be tested on 636. (2/1/05 - Trams Magazine) ------------------------------------------------- |
|
NET SEES MORE TRAMS FROM MONDAY Sunday 30 January 2005 The new Nottingham Express Transit timetable starts on Monday and will initially see trams running every 5 minutes all day. Helen Goulding told BBC News Online: “There are times when people cannot get on them in the mornings they are that busy.” This is the third timetable in less than a year that NET have used showing the popularity of the system. NET are keeping the 5 minute frequency throughout the day for a test which must be done for 30 days consecutively. When this test has been completed trams will revert to every 6 minutes outside the peak periods as there is currently not enough staff availability to maintain this service permanently. Source: BBC News Online MIDLAND METRO HOLDS NO FEAR FROM PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY Sunday 30 January 2005 The extensions to the Midland Metro network are now in fresh doubt after a Parliamentary Inquiry was launched into the financial viability of light rail schemes. The move has been welcomed from anti Metro extension MP, Khalid Mahmood who thinks that the transport in the city would be better improved if other forms were used, such as buses. The Transport Committee said that they had launched the inquiry because support for light rail was falling and that there were indications that the DfT were starting to think it would be better to invest in bus routes. It will look into the costs and benefits of light rail, what they need to be successful, how they compare to other forms and how effective they are as part of a good integrated transport system. Despite the news of this inquiry transport bosses in the West Midlands claimed that they had nothing to fear from the outcome. The Director General of Centro, Rob Donald, said: “This inquiry, like the National Audit Office report last year, will highlight some very important truths that need to be aired if we are to get on and deliver and integrated transport system with the same speed and efficiency of other European countries.” He added: “We need a framework that considers the options, gives value for money and leads to a good deal for passengers – but then at the end of the day allows us to build tram lines cheaper and quicker.” His comments were echoed by Councillor Gary Clarke, the Chairman of the West Midlands PTA: “We certainly have nothing to fear from such a high level investigation into the future of modern trams. We will be presenting evidence to the inquiry.” Source: icBirmingham SIX-STOREY TRAM SET FOR LEEDS HOTEL! Sunday 30 January 2005 The Leeds Chamber of Commerce and Industry reaffirmed their commitment to the Supertram project when they asked Metro to organise for the campaign logo and giant animated tram to be projected across the front of the Queens Hotel on Friday (28 January). The Chamber were holding their Annual Dinner in the Hotel and they were determined to demonstrate their members’ ongoing support for the Supertram scheme as publicly as possible. Chamber President, Tom Morton, said: “Our annual dinner seemed an ideal opportunity to restate the Chamber’s commitment to Supertram and we wanted to do it in the biggest and most public way possible. We spoke to Metro and they came up with the idea of projecting it across City Square onto the hotel. With a six-storey high ‘Supertram – It adds up for Leeds’ logo and pictures of the tram stretching across the hotel, I don’t think people will have much doubt about the Chamber’s support for Supertram.” Source: West Yorkshire Metro |
|
Reel Wagon 750 derailed on Sunday 23 January on return to depot at the corner of Princess Street/Blundell Street. It was being towed by Engineering Car 754. A full selection of photos on the derailment and subsequent rerailing can be seen here. In this view we see 750 having left the rails. Photo: Alan Robson |
|
In Sheffield 105 has become the first tram to be fitted with a dot matrix destination display. Here we see the tram on a Yellow route working to Middlewood at Attercliffe. It is not known whether this is just an experiment or something which will happen on all trams. Photo: Peter Courtenay |
|
NO MORE CASH FOR METROLINK Wednesday 26 January 2005 Alan Milburn MP, the man in charge of Labour’s General Election campaign, has warned that there will be no further money available for the Manchester Metrolink extensions. Mr Milburn, in an interview with the Manchester Evening News said that the decision of Alistair Darling was “right for now”. He said: “Manchester has been a huge success story. The trams have been a huge success story. The government has shown it is prepared to commit more than £500m for the Metrolink and Alistair has also said the local transport authority can bid for extra resources. It is now in their hands.” In addition George Boateng MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was asked why the Treasury couldn’t find extra money for Metrolink. He replied: “The costs for the original three-line package escalated massively. What we have done is to commit more than £500m to the Manchester transport network. We are hopeful and believe they will use those funds in a way that benefits as many people as possible in the areas that would have been served by the previous Metrolink plan.” Source: Manchester Online SAVE EALING’S STREETS AIM FOR MORE INFO ON WLT Wednesday 26 January 2005 The new Freedom of Information Act has given Save Ealing’s Streets (SES) new hope in being able to get further details on the proposed West London Tram scheme. Anthony Lewis of the SES said: “Although the public consultation has finished, a lot of important information about the tram scheme has not been made available. Over the last two years we have asked TfL many questions it has not answered. We believe that some of the answers exist in public documents and as the Freedom of Information Act came into force this month this information should now be in the public domain.” The group have written a letter to Tim Jones, Project Manager asking eight specific questions. These requests include how TfL has reached its passenger figures, a breakdown of the capital costs estimates of the scheme including details of how much has already been spent and the latest estimate for project development costs. A spokesman for TfL confirmed they had received a letter from the SES and would reply in accordance with the FOI act. Source: Hillingdon Times CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE NEWS UPDATE Wednesday 26 January 2005 It has now been agreed in principle that Halle 902 will be acquired as the second “Access Tram”. Negotiations are now in hand over either the removal of asbestos before arrival or a derogation allowing import before removal. There is a visit planned to allow both an engineering inspection and also driving tuition. In addition a swap of metre gauge trucks for a standard gauge set is being planned with Leipzig. It is also reported that there is no space in the workshops for any major work on the tram. In other “new” tram news the TMS have provisionally accepted Oporto 65 (a former coal transporter) from the Oporto Tramway Museum reserve collection. This tram would initially be stored at Clay Cross although it is believed the tram is in good condition and would only need wheel re-profiling. Elsewhere Glasgow 22 requires the fitting of replacement controllers, Blackpool Standard 40 is to have its motor refitted, Southampton 45’s work is nearing completion, Sheffield 74 is also seeing good progress on its truck repair and Berlin 3006 has seen treatment to its brake drum. Away from the trams at the Museum, Grant Rail have started work on the track at Town End to level it and also to stabilise the foundations – this has proven to be a bigger job than was originally envisaged. The Traverser has been sent away for repairs but was expected to back 10 days after departure. * Why not become a member of the Tramway Museum Society? There are many benefits including free entry to the Museum, a quarterly magazine, regular local meetings and of course the knowledge that you are helping with securing tramway heritage remains in the UK. Further details can be found either on BRITISH TRAMS ONLINE here or the official website of the Crich Tramway Village, here. Source: Contact from the Tramway Museum Society METROLINK BID FOR EXTRA TRAMS Sunday 23 January 2005 Manchester Metrolink have finally, and for the first time, admitted in public that they are concerned over the level of service they are giving to passengers. The Managing Director of Serco Metrolink, Phil Smith, told the Manchester Evening News: “We are extremely concerned at the level of service we are currently able to offer our customers. Serco Metrolink has operated the Metrolink system since 1997 and during this time our commitment to delivering an outstanding service for our customers has been the main objective. We are continuing to work closely with Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive so that we can reach a speedy conclusion to the problems in order for us to return to delivering a first-class service for our customers.” Things have come to a head now following another road-tram collision in the past week with a car going through traffic lights and hitting a tram in Ordsall Lane, Eccles. There is very little spare capacity in the fleet even when all 32 trams are available and at the moment at least one is out of service at a time for “Mid-Life Refurbishments”. In addition 2005, which was involved in a major collision back in September with a bin truck, is still at Crewe receiving repairs and is not expected to return to service until the spring. Because of these tram shortages the GMPTE are expected to be applying to the government for an additional £80 million of funding to purchase additional trams. Geoff Inskip, Deputy Director of the GMPTE, said: “Quite simply, we need more trams for Serco Metrolink to deliver a thoroughly reliable service - and to meet passenger demand for services.” Source: Manchester Online & BBC News Online BLACKPOOL BARRIERS TO BE REPLACED Sunday 23 January 2005 As reported on BRITISH TRAMS ONLINE a couple of weeks ago there has been concern expressed over the damaged barriers along Queens Promenade in north Blackpool and now something is to be done about it. Earlier this week there was a full Council meeting and Councillor Don Clapham said: “Safety should be a very high priority and these barriers should regularly be checked and repaired, especially as this is Blackpool's fastest stretch of tramway. At the time we were told there was a three-month delay in the delivery of the concrete sections. I was contacted by a Fleetwood firm who was able to provide the same moulds immediately, but the offer was refused.” In response to this Conservative complaint, the ruling Labour group’s Councillor Fred Jackson revealed that there are plans to replace barriers between Leyburn Avenue and Norbreck Castle in March and from Pembroke Avenue to Lowther Avenue in May. Source: Blackpool Today BOY KILLED IN MANCHESTER TRAGIC ACCIDENT Sunday 23 January 2005 A 16 year old boy was struck and killed by a tram in Manchester last weekend (Saturday 15 January) at around 10.30pm when he was reportedly lying across the tracks. James Wright from Altrincham received serious injuries and despite receiving attention from Paramedics was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident happened just outside Navigation Road station in Altrincham and an investigation is currently ongoing with the Greater Manchester Police. A spokesman for Serco Metrolink said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the family. We will be working with Greater Manchester Police to try and understand why he was on the railway line." It was added that the driver is to be offered counselling. Source: Manchester Online & BBC News Online EIGHT YEAR OLD GIRL LEFT ALONE AT SHEFFIELD TRAM STOP Sunday 23 January 2005 Stagecoach Supertram is in trouble after an eight year girl was left abandoned at a tram stop whilst her parents were still getting off the tram. Molly Campbell got off before her parents at Hillsbrough Park and despite passengers and the parents begging the driver to stop he carried on to the next stop at Middlewood leaving the eight old alone. Natalie Campbell told the Sheffield Star: “We told the driver that we had been separated from her as soon as the doors closed but he still drove away. Everyone makes mistakes, but when we told him what had happened he refused to stop. It made me really angry. When we got off the tram in Middlewood we complained and asked for the driver's details, but the man refused to apologise and swore at us. We were more worried about Molly's safety at that point though, so Stephen sprinted off to find her." Fortunately for the child she was found by a hairdresser who took her into her shop until Molly’s parents arrived. Stagecoach Supertram have confirmed they have received a compliant but refused to comment. Source: Sheffield Today |
|
As reported on these pages major trackwork in Blackpool has see the rarely used depot-Prom access used to get trams into service. In this view we have Centenary 643 turning the corner into Princess Street having been taken out of service (it was replaced by sister 644) on 14 January 2005. A full selection of photos on this diversion can be found here. Photo: Alan Robson |
|
MAJOR TRACKWORK COMMENCES IN BLACKPOOL Sunday 16 January 2005 The major track work in the region of Manchester Square started on Monday (10 January). The plan for this work is to replace the points and section of tram track crossing the Promenade road and onto Lytham Road and will involve considerable disruption to both tram services and also road traffic in the area. This phase of the works will go until Easter 2005 with work then suspended before work on Lytham Road continues until the end of April. On Monday trams used the Hopton Road/Lytham Road route onto the Prom but then overnight on Monday/Tuesday (10/11) the power supply was isolated here and from Tuesday morning trams used the rare Blundell Street/Princess Street/Foxhall track. This line has not been used regularly for many years and when used at the 1998 Tramroad Centenary depot open day derailments and dewirements were frequent. When trams return to depot they are met at Tower (where all southbound services terminate for the duration) by an Inspector who frees the single line barrier and the tram then travels to Foxhall Square. Here temporary traffic lights have been installed which are activated when a tram arrives, from here the Inspector escorts the tram along the track – the trams travel at slow speeds. The purpose of this escort is to ensure that no vehicle is approaching Blundell Street/Princess Street junction. Pantographs are then “trollied” across the frog to the Fitting Shop to ensure that the correct line is taken and the tram runs onto Track 2 in the depot. There are also two small blocks welded to the track in Hopton Road to stop trams traversing this track. During this trackwork services have been changed with buses replacing all trams between North Pier and Starr Gate. The service pattern remains the same with trams every 20 minutes from Fleetwood (12, 32 and 52 – the first tram at 0632) until the evening when they change to every 30 minutes (29 and 59). The final tram from Fleetwood is at 0026 (only as far as Rigby Road – in effect North Pier). In the northbound direction as previously noted buses will operate from Starr Gate (00, 20 and 40 in the main part of the day) with a change to tram at North Pier at 22, 42 and 02. On Saturdays in addition to the standard Fleetwood-Starr Gate service the Cleveleys service is replaced by bus throughout. * Photos of trams traversing the rare track and precautions in place to ensure trams do not go where they shouldn’t see here. Source: Paul Turner from Yahoo! Groups Blackpool Transport, Alan Robson, Blackpool Transport & Blackpool Council DERAILMENT CAUSES METROLINK DISRUPTION Sunday 16 January 2005 There was disruption on Manchester Metrolink on Tuesday (11 January) when First Series tram 1015 left the tracks having just departed Piccadilly Station. The incident occurred a little before the days rush hour at 0630. The tram hit one of the overhead poles and the force of the crash caused damage to one of the doors on the side (see a picture on this report here). Serco Metrolink ruled out speed as the cause of the accident and have said that a technical problem was the reason behind the derailment. Engineers are now examining the tram to try to establish what went wrong. There was damage to several doors and the tram is now out of action, adding extra pressure to the already stretched fleet. A Serco Metrolink spokeswoman said: “We would like to apologise to all our customers for the delays that they experienced to their journey. As soon as the derailment was advised to our control room, arrangements were made to implement an emergency timetable. Engineers worked throughout the day to re-rail the vehicle and clear the site in order to carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of the derailment. When the tram left the track it travelled approximately 30 feet before it came to a halt." That emergency timetable saw services suspended initially between Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly Station but this was reportedly changed later on in the day to no services serving either of this stations with passengers having to travel to other stops in the city centre. In total there were delays of 25 minutes on Eccles services with 15 minute delays on the Bury/Altrincham line. Source: Manchester Online & BBC News Online BLACKPOOL AND FLEETWOOD TRAMWAY NEWS UPDATE Sunday 16 January 2005 Balloon 713 continues on schedule to be back in service for the 2005 season with the latest progress seeing the tram in the Fitting Shop. In here the tram has seen progress on its motors and brake pipes. Following completion of this work 713 is due to return to the Body Shop for external panelling attention. Fellow overhaul tram, Jubilee 762, is still on accommodation trucks (those formerly of OMO 11) as its own receive an overhaul. It is in the Body Shop for external panelling amongst other work whilst Centenary 645 remains stored in depot awaiting further progress on its mid-life refurbishment. * Don’t forget the only way to receive FULL monthly news on the Blackpool Tramway is by becoming a member of the Fylde Tramway Society? The Fylde Tramway News has just been redesigned with a much more modern look and is just one of the many benefits of being a member. For further details see or here. Source: Fylde Tramway News TRAMLINK TO SUE TRANSPORT FOR LONDON? Sunday 9 January 2005 Tramtrack Croydon Ltd (TCL) are considering whether to take Transport for London (TfL) to court because of the controversy of fare changes. TfL first started to set fares for buses and trams in the capital since 2000 and TCL claim that in the first 4 years since this happened they have lost up to 8 million passengers as bus fares have fallen (along with Tramlink ones though). Roger Harding, General Manager of TCL, told BBC News Online: “At the time some bus fares became significantly cheaper and we lost passengers, we had to restructure our finances and the losses ran into millions. Since 2004 bus and tram fares have evened out and we have won passengers back but we still want some kind of compensation for how much we lost and the fact we had to restructure our finances.” A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday where TCL hope to be able to resolve the issue before having to take the issue to court, it is claimed that up until 2004 2 million passengers were lost by Tramlink and TCL want compensation for this loss. In the future TCL also want more consultation with TfL over fare changes. A TfL spokesman said: “We are aware of the issues Tramtrack have raised and in no way do these issues impinge on the efficiency of the service. We're very confident that the issues the company are disputing with us will be resolved." * In a separate report in the past week commuters in and around Croydon have complained about fare rises on trains, trams and buses at the start of January. The report was carried in a local Croydon paper and included quotes from many commuters, some complaining others not. Roger Harding said that they had no issue but to raise the fares in line with TfL policy. Source: BBC News Online & icSouthLondon MIDLAND METRO CITY CENTRE EXTENSION MOVES CLOSER Sunday 9 January 2005 The new year has brought good news for future Midland Metro extensions after it appeared that part of the city centre dispute had been resolved. As may be remembered there has been trouble over where buses will go whilst and after the line was built. Birmingham City Council officers have now recommended spending £500,000 on widening the controversial bus mall near the Bullring to dual carriageway. If this is approved later this week then buses will be able to travel both north and southbound for the first time since 2003. The mall had seen several accidents with pedestrians in its initial few weeks which had forced the closure and with the trams being extended through the city centre many buses would have lost their routes in this area. No final decision will be taken over the city centre extension though until after the feasibility study on having an underground railway is completed. * Meanwhile, transport bosses have approved a new way of approving light rail schemes. Under the new scheme design work for the recently approved extensions will be carried out by Centro rather than waiting for the builder of the system (who of course have not yet been chosen). Source: icBirmingham BLACKPOOL TRAMWAY BARRIER DAMAGE A THREAT TO LIFE Sunday 9 January 2005 It has been claimed that missing and damaged fencing panels on the stretch of tramway along Queens Promenade (from Cabin to Bispham) could cause injury or the loss of life. Brian Hague, a local resident, “Children walk across the tracks to get to the walkway (on the cliff top) and nearly all of the fences are damaged or missing. I noticed it a few months ago and it needs to be sorted out before someone gets hurt. The trams go quite fast there but I know they have slowed down on that part because someone might step out in front of them. If they replaced the fences then it might not stop them crossing the tracks there but it might deter them. The council has had to pay out in the past when someone was hit by a tram and it was the taxpayers who had to pay for it." A Bispham ward councillor, Don Clapham said: “As a matter of urgency, it needs to be put right. We have a lot of children that go on the west side of the tram tracks and play on the grass. There are also dog walkers and trams can travel pretty quickly on that stretch.” A spokeswoman for Blackpool Council said: “The council carries out routine inspections and following this report we will be instigating an immediate assessment and will repair any necessary damage as a matter of urgency.” But the question raised here is surely why has it needed a newspaper report to get some action? Source: Blackpool Today |
|
Blackpool Balloon 721 has been the first tram of the 2004/5 winter period to see paint shop attention. The tram is now back in the depot in all over white awaiting completion of an all over advert believed to be for Hot Ice. The date is 29 December 2004. Photo: Alan Robson |
|
MAN INJURED AFTER NET INCIDENT Monday 3 January 2005 On Christmas Eve a 32 year old man was injured when he got stuck between tram 213 and the platform edge at Hyson Green Market. It appears that the man was running when he tripped and fell and managed to get his legs caught between the tram, which had just pulled into the stop, and the edge of the platform. The Fire Brigade used a high pressure air bag to create a space between the tram and platform and the man was taken to the Queens Medical Centre with serious leg injuries having been stuck for approximately 20 minutes. Clive Pennington from NET told BBC News Online: “We have taken a download of the tram’s black box recorder and can confirm the tram behaved exactly as we predicted it would do.” He added that the driver of the tram had reacted “very quickly”. The Police are now examining CCTV coverage to see how the incident occurred. Source: Joe Mills & BBC News Online WORKS BRUSH 259 TO JOIN LTT COLLECTION Monday 3 January 2005 Works Brush Car 259 looks likely as if it will be transferred into the ownership of the Lancastrian Transport Trust sometime during the early part of this year. 259 is currently owned by Blackpool Borough Council and until the last few years was used as a Permanent Way tram, often hauling the Railcrane 260. However, the tram was withdrawn from use in the last couple of years and there have been rumours that it would pass into preservation. It was first used by the Permanent Way department back in November 1971 and as such has many near original features (unlike its Brush sisters in Blackpool) including sliding doors and twin indicators. Of course sister Brush 298 is to move from Salford to Crich early this year for the continuation of its restoration. * Don’t forget that to help restoration projects of Blackpool trams like this you can help by donating money to the Blackpool Tram Restoration Fund. Details can be seen here and here on how you can help. Source: Lancastrian Transport Trust LEEDS HOPE FOR POSITIVE NEWS FROM GOVERNMENT Sunday 2 January 2005 Following the news that Alistair Darling had said that £520 million was available for Manchester to improve their transport (including Metrolink) those in Leeds promoting their Supertram scheme have gained hope that they will receive positive news sometime this year. A spokesman from the West Yorkshire PTE (Metro) said: “It is a positive indication that Mr Darling realises developing light rail is key to growth, regeneration and tackling congestion." Metro bosses are now pressing for a meeting with Mr Darling and DfT officials to show how much support the scheme has in the city. A DfT spokesman said: “We need to do these things on a case by case basis and each city has its own particular issues and solutions.” Source: Yorkshire Post BLACKPOOL ALL OVER ADS TO TRANSFER TO BALLOONS Sunday 2 January 2005 It is reported that with the major withdrawals of trams in Blackpool several liveries are to live on, but on double deckers rather than single deckers. There is no confirmation that this list is 100% certain but it is believed that 707 will receive an advert for the Buccaneer Bar at Coral Island (currently carried on 627). 709 is to receive the advert currently carried by 632 for the SeaLife Centre with 715 receiving the livery for the Mystique show (623) and 721 losing its Michelin style to become the Hot Ice tram. 721 is currently receiving attention in the Paint Shop. This news has been taken from Trams Magazine. This is a quarterly magazine with news from the Blackpool and Isle of Man tramways. It is released in March, June, September and December each along with the Blackpool Tram Video. Further details can be found at the link below. Source: Trams Magazine CROYDON TRAMLINK NEWS UPDATE Sunday 2 January 2005 Further news on the Centrale stop saga is reported on the Unofficial Croydon Tramlink website from the TfL 2005 Business Plan. It is planned that the stop at Centrale will open in the first quarter of 2005/6 (April-June) and that eventually a 25th tram will be used on the system. However, it is not planned to purchase the “new” tram until July-September 2006 – this new tram is expected to be an ex-Koln K-4000 which will have to undergo a few modifications before it enters service in Croydon. Until this happens TfL are going to fund the costs for extra maintenance so that 22 of the 24 current trams can be used daily as from the spring. The cost of Centrale to TfL will be £1.8m (2005/6) and £1.1m (2006/7). Meanwhile, on the trams, all vehicles up to and including 2548 have been fitted with CCTV and electronic passenger counters although 2543 does not currently have the CCTC fitted. A quote is also being got for a total recover of all seats on the trams as although some seats have been recovered over the last few years many are now looking thin and dirty. 2536 was used in early December for tests to try and discover why several bogie mounted components were starting to develop faults. The tram was fitted with 58 tons of weights (to simulate loading) and strain gauges and accelerometers were fitted onto the bogies to try and discover what was causing the faults, which are not described as that serious but any fault on major components are seriously investigated just in case they develop into anything worse. For a full news update on Croydon Tramlink visit the Unofficial Website. Also included is a report on the new tramway which opened in the second half of 2004 in Dublin. Source: Unofficial Croydon Tramlink |