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| News...July 2004...News...July 2004...News...July 2004...News This Page was last updated Sunday 25 July 2004 |
| 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. |
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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 723 showing off its new half all over advert for the Paul Zerdin show on 17 July 2004. (added 18 July 2004) |
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News In Brief Croydon: The power supply for the Tramlink network was shut off on Saturday morning until 4am between Addiscombe Road and Cairo Road. The shut down was so contractors could carry out essential repairs to street lights. (25/7/04 - Croydon Guardian) ------------------------------------------------- Blackpool: Balloon 723 is now back in service after a half repaint. It now features an ad for the Paul Zerdin show at the Horseshoe Showbar at the Pleasure Beach on one end and one side. This replaces the half which advertised Ripley’s whilst the other half still carries an advert for Pasaje del Terror. (18/7/04 - Alan Robson) Croydon: All 3 of the trams that carried half over ads for Ikea in Croydon (2532, 2539 and 2553) had them removed over last weekend. (18/7/04 - Stephen Parascandolo) Manchester: Second Series tram 2003 has been noted at the depot in the revised livery although it would appear unlikely that it has undergone the mid-life overhauls. 1012 has still not re-entered service although has now been reunited with its motor bogies. (18/7/04 - Gordon Ferguson) Manchester: Services are being disrupted from Piccadilly Station to Piccadilly Garden all day today (Sunday 18 July) due to engineering works with buses replacing trams on this section. Meanwhile next Sunday (25 July) there will no services between Piccadilly Station and Eccles until 2.30pm because of the ITU World Cup Triathlon. Again buses will be used as a replacement but will not serve all stations. (18/7/04 - Manchester Metrolink) Nottingham: Two women who were honoured by having a tram named after them and auctioning off their years free travel pass for charity. Angela Alcock (nominated for her work for Oxfam) and Mavis Worthington (nominated for her work with the Homestart project) have decided to raise money for their respective charities. (18/7/04 - This is Nottingham) ------------------------------------------------- Croydon: During last weeks unseasonal heavy wind and rain a tree came down on the tramway at Gravel Hill causing damage to the overhead masts. For a period the tramway was disrupted with a shuttle tram from New Addington-Fieldway and another one from Croydon to Lloyd Park with buses accepting tickets from New Addington to Croydon. (11/7/04 - Croydon Tramlink) ------------------------------------------------- London: A “speakers corner” has been set up in Ealing Broadway for residents and traders to voice their concerns about the proposed West London Tram Scheme. The main concern many residents have over the network is the closure of parts of roads which may mean traffic being diverted on back streets. It is proposed the WLT would operate along Uxbridge Road through Uxbridge to Shepherd’s Bush via Acton, Ealing, Hanwell and Southall. (4/7/04 - BBC News Online). Manchester: 1012 has been repainted into the revised livery and as such is likely to have received the mid-life overhaul. (4/7/04 - Gordon Ferguson) ------------------------------------------------- |
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LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS REJECTED BY DARLING Sunday 25 July 2004 For the full story on this weeks announcement by Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Transport, that light rail schemes in Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester and South Hampshire were not financially viable and some reaction to it see the > news special. DLR TO CONVERT NORTH LONDON LINE Sunday 25 July 2004 In a week of mostly bad news (see news special) the Docklands Light Railway received government support for the plan to convert the current heavy rail North London Line into a DLR route. There will be two services run on the route Stratford International - Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford International - Beckton. The plans will see a small extension on the current Stratford route to serve the new Stratford International station when the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is opened. It will also see brand new stations constructed at Cody Road, Abbey Road and Stratford Market and is serving the existing stations at Canning Town, West Ham and Stratford. The cost is currently estimated at just £90 million and this includes upgrading the trackwork and the power supply, construction of the new stations and purchase new rolling stock. At present the North London Line sees services every 30 minutes but this will be reduced to just every 10 minutes when DLR get their hands on it. The main reason that it has been approved is because it follows the Lower Lea Valley which is central to the governments Olympic 2012 bid. Speaking after the announcement Docklands Light Railway Ltd Director Howard Smith said: “We are delighted to receive Government support. Following the extensions to London City Airport and the planned extension to Woolwich, this is another important piece of the jigsaw in terms of transport and regeneration in Docklands. The link to the high speed line and the Olympic connection make this a significant milestone in the development of the Docklands Light Railway.” If all goes according to plan the line will be carrying passengers from 2009. Source: Docklands Light Railway EMERGENCY BRAKE PROBLEM ON MANCHESTER METROLINK Sunday 25 July 2004 There were problems on Manchester Metrolink on Tuesday morning when a trams emergency brakes kept being applied. The incident occurred at around 8am on Tuesday (20 July) on the Altrincham branch. The tram was passing Sale Water Park between Dane Road and Stretford when the brakes started to automatically apply causing it to stop suddenly. The driver managed to get the tram on to Stretford station where further passengers boarded and the tram continued but the problem remained as it kept on stopping suddenly. The decision was then made to terminate the service at Old Trafford where all the passengers were told to get off. A spokeswoman for Metrolink told the Manchester Evening News: “There was a fault which meant that as the tram went to move forward, it applied the emergency brakes. Following the incident we had to creep the tram along the Altrincham line to move it out of the way. Passengers were de-trained at Old Trafford. We would like to apologise for any delays caused." Delays were inevitable after this incident and many passengers had to wait at stops along the route during the rush hour whilst they got the stricken tram out of the way. Source: Manchester Online |
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Blackpool Balloon 723 has now been finished with in the Paint Shop and has seen its Blue half, which previously advertised Ripley's Believe It Or Not, come out in an ad for The Paul Zerdin show. The other half of the tram retains an advert for Pasaje del Terror. The tram was captured at Cocker Square on 17 July 2004. Photo: Alan Robson |
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WHAT FUTURE FOR METROLINK “BIG BANG”? Sunday 18 July 2004 The Manchester Evening News reports that the future of the Manchester Metrolink so-called “Big Bang” scheme is hanging in the balance after comments made by Kim Howells, the Transport Minister. It is expected that there is to be an announcement made from government next week about the project although industry insiders say that it is likely that the decision will be deferred once again, this time until later this year. Mr Howells said that the rising costs of the scheme were concerning the government greatly and that it was becoming not cost that cost effective. He said he was aware of the shortfall (between the £520 million already promised and the predicted £1 billion now needed) and added: “That is what worries us greatly. The government initially offered over half a billion which is an enormous amount of money but the costs have escalated a great deal. It is only right that they should be examined to see if they can be reduced. These are huge sums of money and we've got to make sure they are used to best effect. Manchester has a very good system already and it has one of the best stations in the whole of Europe. The West Coast Mainline has been the biggest civil engineering project in Europe and we have got a lot of investment in bus services. We have to look at these costs and see if we can get some cuts out of it and if it is cost effective. As it stands it is not." Meanwhile Roger Jones, the chairman of the GMPTE, said: “We are expecting an announcement very soon and we are still hopeful. If it came down to it and they said we could not have enough for the whole scheme it would be very disappointing. If the Manchester scheme doesn't get the go-ahead, I can't see how any other light rail schemes will because we are confident that ours is the best and that it is cost-effective." Source: Manchester Online MERSEYTRAM BIDDERS WANT BUS OPERATOR Sunday 18 July 2004 It has been reported that both of the consortia who are bidding for the DBOM contract on MerseyTram are wanting to buy out Glenvale, one of the region’s bus operators. It is believed that both M-Tram and MET are putting together bids for Glenvale to ensure that there is better integration between trams and buses when MerseyTram is operating. The Managing Director of Glenvale, Dominic Brady told the Liverpool Daily Post that although they had not yet been approached they would be willing to talk to anyone. Most crucially Glenvale control the bus routes on the Line 1 route from Liverpool to Kirkby and it is unlikely that they would be willing to co-operate over integration with the tram as they were one of the major objectors at the recent Public Inquiry into Line 1. A senior source said: “Both consortia are in the running to buy up Glenvale and there may already be an offer on their table. The problem is deciding exactly what you would be buying. Glenvale has a fairly old fleet and you would probably be looking at replacing quite a lot of it. And their protection on the routes concerned runs out in a few months so you could see another operator come in too. So really what you could end up buying is just the goodwill." Source: icLiverpool CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE UPDATE Sunday 18 July 2004 Leeds 345 has now started to move under its own power (see photo on home page) and is reported to be on schedule with things progressing well. Elsewhere in the workshops Blackpool Toastrack 166 sees work continue with 2 of the truck frames now having been cleaned and inspected with the brake rigging removed for attention. Leeds 602 has also seen work commence on it and this will continue as and when time and labour permits. Oporto 273+ is back in service following its motor failure and Berlin 3006 suffered a serious motor failure causing it to be withdrawn from service for a time. The motor had to be sent to a sub-contractor for assessment and repair and this has seen the tram be tested and it is hoped it will be back in service soon. Finally confusion has arisen over the availaibility of a PCC car from Marseilles and as such the possibility is being investigated over the possibility of getting a Tatra car from Halle to become the second Access Tram. Source: Contact: Newsletter of the Tramway Museum Society TRAMS COLLIDE AT BEAMISH Sunday 11 July 2004 Two trams collided on the tramway at the North of England Open Air Museum, Beamish on Monday (5 July) at around 1230. The trams involved were Gateshead 10 and Beamish 196 (ex-Oporto tram) and a picture of the incident can be seen here. The two trams were carrying teenagers from two schools in Sunderland who were at the Museum as part of a school trip. Seven of those on board suffered minor injuries but these were in the main only bruises with around 40 other people being treated for shock at the scene. It is unclear how the two trams came to be travelling in opposite directions on the same stretch of single track as the Museum has safety procedures which should prevent this from happening. It is reported that although one of the trams did manage to stop before arriving at the other tram the collision happened when the other tram driver did not manage to bring his vehicle to a complete stop. Miriam Hart the Director of the Museum said: “Obviously, like most accidents this should not have happened. Two trams should not be on the same piece of track, heading in opposite directions towards each other. In this particular area we rely on communication between the trams and various procedures and of course the attention of the drivers. Basically, some of those systems have failed us in this instance. We are now reviewing our procedures in that regards." The Health and Safety Executive have started an investigation into the accident which will be led by the Railway Inspectorate and Beamish have also announced that they are to hold an internal investigation into how this incident could have happened. The Museum has remained open throughout the investigations and trams have also continued to run on other sections of the track. Source: BBC News Online & icNewcastle CONTROVERSIAL BCBRA MEETING SEES NET PLANS STILL OPPOSED Sunday 11 July 2004 As reported last week a meeting was held during the week by the Beeston and Chilwell Business and Residents’ Association to reaffirm their opposition to the NET extension plans. The meeting was said to be open although this proved not to be the case with members of the BACIT (pro-tram group) committee being ejected from the school before it has started - this fact was not reported in the Nottingham Evening Post article. The major outcome of the meeting was that the BCBRA agreed to write to the Transport Secretary this week to outline their total objection to the scheme. They still claim that the tram will increase traffic congestion, cause fiscal problems for businesses and they are also unhappy that a lot of trees will be axed in order to make way for the tramway. There were 170 residents at the meeting along with Broxtowe MP Nick Palmer and County Council leader Mick Warner - the pair apparently had to correct many statements made during the course of the evening. Mr Palmer and Mr Warner also urged residents to write to the Transport Secretary to air their views on the proposals and it was also mentioned that the likely Public Inquiry would allow people to say what they wanted. The wildest claim of the evening as reported on the Evening Post website was from resident George Reynolds who said: “It will then prevent people being able to sleep - it will wake children up, it will wake dogs up, it will affect everybody's mental health." However of course when most people are asleep trams will not be running unless it is to be the first in the UK to operate 24 hours a day service! Source: This is Nottingham WEST LONDON TRAM SCHEME PUBLIC CONSULTATION UNDERWAY Sunday 11 July 2004 The public consultation for the proposed West London Tram Scheme is now underway and the Mayor for London, Ken Livingstone is urging Londoners to give their views. He said: “West London, like the rest of the capital, has a growing population and we need to take action now to meet future demand. We need to increase public transport and provide an improved service for this area of London. This three month consultation is an opportunity for all Londoners who live, work, travel through, or have an interest in West London to give us their views on the tram. “ As will probably be remembered the WLT is due to be a 20km tramway linking Uxbridge to Shepherd’s Bush with the town centres of Uxbridge, Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, Ealing and Acton also being served and there will be approximately 40 stops en route. The Head of Public Affairs at Transport for London, Bill Hamilton commented: “We are providing a wide range of ways for people to have their say on the proposed West London Tram. People can give us their views, either on-line, at one of the public roadshows or by filling out the questionnaire sent to over 400,000 residences along the proposed route. People have three months to give their views between 29 June until 8 October.” Further details of the public consultation can be found here. Source: Transport for London DLR BIDS FOR POWERS TO ENHANCE CAPACITY Sunday 11 July 2004 At the end of last month the Docklands Light Railway put in a bid to the Government in the form of a Transport and Works Act Application for approval to make improvements to existing lines which would enable major capacity improvements on services. If approved the work will include the lengthening of platforms to enable 3 train sets to operate together on the busy Bank/Tower Gateway to Lewisham route. There will also be the strengthening of bridges and viaducts as well as the funding for an additional 18 trains with an expansion of the Beckton depot. The cost that all of this is expected to come to is £125 million. If everything goes according to plan all the work could be completed in time for late summer/autumn 2009 with a Public Inquiry (if it is needed) being held next year. The construction period is likely to be 2 and a half years. Howard Smith, the Director of DLR Ltd said: “Alternative schemes were considered but would have offered only short-term solutions. This major project will put in place a vastly improved infrastructure enabling us to run three-car trains - increasing capacity and passenger facilities on the railway to cope with continuing growth in Docklands and Thames Gateway.” Source: Docklands Light Railway NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT OVER SPENDING REVIEW SAY NET Sunday 11 July 2004 Nottingham Express Transit have said that they are not worried over the delays to their schedule for Lines 2 and 3 caused by the latest Treasury spending review. The bi-annual spending review has meant that plans by Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council to put in their bid for permission to build the lines to Clifton, Beeston and Chilwell have had to be delayed. Pat Armstrong, the head of Major Transport Projects at the City Council said: “It is unfortunate that progress for NET is caught up in wider Government decisions. This will affect our current timetable for submitting an application for a transport and works act order, by how much we cannot say at this stage. However, given the success of Line One (to Hucknall) and our strong belief that we have robust plans for the next two lines which build on this success, we remain confident that phase two is viable and will be approved following this assessment.” It is hoped that the delay will only be of 6 months but the Nottingham Evening Post has this week run a story that householders on the proposed routes are being left in limbo over not knowing whether they will lose their homes. If the lines do get the go-ahead many homes will be compulsory purchased but at the moment everyone doesn’t quite know what will happen to them. Source: This is Nottingham MERSEY TRAM LINE 2 PUBLIC CONSULATION STARTS MONDAY Sunday 11 July 2004 As previously mentioned on British Trams Online the public consultation for Line 2 of Mersey Tram has recently been officially launched and will now actually go out into the public domain from tomorrow (Monday 12 July). A Merseytravel spokesman said: “We expect to be given approval for Line 1 before the end of this year so we must continue the momentum. There are a number of options available along the route of Line 2 and we intend to fully consult with as many people as possible before making a final decision. The Government has already shown confidence in Merseytram by pledging £170 millions towards the cost of Line 1. We have no doubt that our plans for Line 2 will be equally favourably received.” The route of Line 2, although not finalised with different alignments and the like, will go between the city centre and Whiston Hospital via the University of Liverpool, Old Swan, Wavertree Technology Park, Alder Hey Hospital and Prescot. Initial figures suggest that 10 million passengers will be carried per year and the service levels will see trams running every 10 minutes off peak with a 5 minute frequency in the peak periods. If everything happens successfully for Mersey Tram it will be operational a year after Line 1 in 2008. A full list of where the public exhibition will be can be found here. Source: Merseytravel BLACKPOOL TRAMWAY UPDATE Sunday 11 July 2004 More new liveries or the amendment of existing ones dominates this months update from Blackpool with Centenaries 643 and 647 both have additional signwriting added for their adverts for Grosvenor Casino and Tiffany’s Hotel respectively. More recently the Paint Shop has seen Balloon 723 in for a part repaint and Ex-Towing Railcoach 680 for a start to be made on an all over ad for Central Pier - it might be remembered this tram was repanelled around 4 months ago! Elsewhere in the workshops Balloon 702 has had underframe repairs as part of its mini overhaul and is now in the Body Shop for further work whilst sister 713 is already in the Body Shop and seems to be losing further aspects of its traditional style with the curve corner pillars of the upper decks now being cut away and as such it would appear the tram will appear more like 701 than 700. It is now expected that Balloon 717 will follow 713 through the workshops after a bequest of £101,000 from the estate of Philip Thorpe for the continued tramcar operation in Blackpool direct to Blackpool Transport. Finally progress continues on Coronation 660 and Reel Wagon 750 in the workshops on their overhauls. 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 - details here or here. Other benefits include monthly meetings and regular tram tours. Source: Fylde Tramway News & Paul Turner from the Yahoo! Group Blackpool_Transport NAMES REVEALED FOR NET TRAMS Sunday 4 July 2004 On Thursday (1 July) 9 of the 15 strong fleet of Incentro trams operating on the Nottingham Express Transit were officially named with the remaining tram names revealed and to be named by 15 July. Unfortunately although BBC News Online report that just 9 were to be named they do not actually mention which 9 have been named! Many of the names have previously been revealed on this site and a list of the trams which carry each name is below and will also be on the NET fleet list click here. The names are to be carried on the sides of the drivers cab on both ends and each tram will also have information of the person inside the main passenger areas (like on Midland Metro). The naming ceremonies either took place at the Wilkinson Street depot or the Station Street terminus (depends on which report this is Nottingham report you believe!) and featured a brass band at Station Street as the trams arrived for their naming. The winners of the competition to name the five trams after community heroes have received a years free travel pass throughout the NET network. Colin Lea, spokesman for the Nottingham Tram Consortium said: “It has been great to see so many people important to Nottingham, past and present, recognised here today”. The trams have been named as follows: 201 - Torvill and Dean (Ice Skaters) 202 - DH Lawrence (Novelist) 203 - William "Bendigo" Thompson (Bare Knuckle boxer) 204 - Erica Beardsmore (Unsung hero in the community) 205 - Lord Byron (Poet) 206 - Angela Alcock (Unsung hero in the community) 207 - Mavis Worthington (Unsung hero in the community) 208 - Dinah Minton (Unsung hero in the community) 209 - Sydney Standard (Unsung hero in the community) 210 - Sir Jesse Boot (Founder of Boots the Chemist) 211 - Robin Hood (Robbed the rich and gave to the poor) 212 - William Booth (Founder of the Salvation Army) 213 - Mary Potter (Foundress of the Little Company of Mary Sisters) 214 - Dennis McCarthy, MBE (BBC Radio Nottingham presenter) 215 - Brian Clough (Football legend) Source: This is Nottingham NEW TRAM LOBBY GROUP SET UP Sunday 4 July 2004 A new group interested in seeing tram services extended across South London was last week launched. The group, known as the South London Trams Group, was created by Lambeth Council and the South London Partnership and wants to see the Croydon Tramlink network extended. They would like to see routes constructed connecting Tooting, Crystal Palace, Sutton and Streatham to the current network. The Director of the South London Partnership, Christine Seaman said: “As south London is only served by about 10% of London Underground, it is very dependent upon mainline rail services and car usage. The tram provides an ideal alternative form of public transport for Londoners. It is fast, safe, reliable and accessible." Source: BBC News Online TRAMS UNDER ATTACK IN BIRMINGHAM Sunday 4 July 2004 Thousands of pounds worth of damage has been being caused to trams on the Midland Metro network with vandals throwing bricks and stones at the windows. In the past few months over 20 Midland Metro trams have been attacked and Police have said it is a miracle no passengers have been injured in these incidents. The British Transport Police are now seeking the youths who are said to be aged between 10 and 15 and it is thought are in a gang of up to 6 people. The place where the worst damage was occurring is just outside Priestfield Station where 17 windows have been smashed in this way with the Bradley Lane stop in Wednesbury seeing 5 window smashes. The gang have tended to be attacking in the late afternoon/early evening period, obviously after school has finished for the day. Chief Inspector Colin Edwards of the BTP told the Birmingham Evening Mail that these attacks were causing disruption for passengers: “This affects the standards of service to the travelling community as trams have to be taken out of service and ultimately the cost is being paid for by them.” Source: icBirmingham METROLINK DELAYS COSTING £1MILLION PER DAY Sunday 4 July 2004 The Manchester Evening News reports that the continuing delays to the “Big Bang” of Manchester Metrolink are costing Greater Manchester up to £1 million a day due to lack of investment of revenue. These figures have come from the Greater Manchester PTE who say that the economy of Greater Manchester will be increased by £170 million per year and this works out at £14 million a month, £3.2 million a week and £465,753 a day. And now the GMPTE say figures could be double that hence the £1 million per day figure being mentioned here. Tony Williams, the Manchester area officer for the LRTA said: “There is no doubt that the `big bang' will mean a big boost for several areas, with the Ashton line bringing much-needed regeneration along its route…It can be nothing but a good thing and is bound to bring in a great deal of investment, but it is taking a long time to get there. It seems to be just sitting wherever it is in Whitehall and meanwhile the costs are going up each year.” A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “We have given half a billion pounds to the project, but we want value for money and we are not going to rush. It is a very complicated issue. It will be a matter of weeks before an announcement is made." This statement from the Dft seems to back up what has been stated in Blackpool and Portsmouth over their light rail schemes and it does seem that when the Treasury make their spending review later this month a decision may finally be made on a lot of the light rail schemes in the UK. Watch this space and keep your fingers crossed!! Source: Manchester Online RUNNERS DEFEAT TRAM AT BEAMISH! Sunday 4 July 2004 Last Sunday (27 June) a special event was held at the Open Air Museum in Beamish where runners took on a tram in a race! It was the brainchild of Horrible Histories author and runner Terry Deary and attracted 35 runners. There were two races on the day and the one against the tram was over one lap of the track which is 2.5km with the tram completing the circuit in 8 minutes 58 seconds. Unfortunately eight runners managed to beat this time with Beamish employee Chris Telford first across the line in 8 minutes 5 seconds. One of the event organisers, Harry Manuel told BBC News Online: “We were pleased with how it went. It was the first race of its kind we have organised so it was quite experimental. We are hoping to develop it in future years into a period-themed event." Source: BBC News Online NOTTINGHAM EXTENSION OPPONENTS MEET Sunday 4 July 2004 Opponents to the Beeston/Chilwell extension to Nottingham Express Transit are to meet in preparation for the Public Inquiry likely next year. The Beeston and Chilwell Business and Residents Association (BCBRA) want the community to tell it how they should progress with their opposition to the extension, which has now been approved in principle by both the City and County Councils. The meeting will take place at College House Junior School, Cator Lane in Chilwell on Monday (5 July) and it is hoped that Broxtowe MP Nick Palmer and County Council leader Councillor Mick Warner will attend the meeting. NET declined the chance to send a representative to the meeting. Meanwhile Mr Warner is being told to get off the fence and make a decision as to whether he supports or opposes this NET extension. At the last meeting of the County Council, when they voted in favour of backing the proposal he had to leave the room for “personal reasons” before he could vote on it. And now the opposing Conservative group on the Council have called on him to make up his mind as at the moment he is not representing either faction in his area. Mr Warner said: “I've always been in favour of the tram but in my ward there are a couple of points that I'm still trying to find ways of getting engineered out.” Source: This is Nottingham |