BOAT 600 NAMED DUCHESS OF CORNWALL
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 29th June 2008
Blackpool Boat 600 was named Duchess of Cornwall on Friday 27th June, as part of the Veterans Day events taking place in Blackpool in 2008. The tram has recently undergone a full repaint into the original Green and Cream livery and has wooden nameplates fitted below the side destination indicators. The Duchess herself was in Blackpool for the day and rode on the tram, briefly, between Victoria Street and North Pier.
Source: Yahoo! Groups: Blackpool_Transport
SUPERTRAM 102 IS TWENTIETH TRAM TO BE REFRESHED
South Yorkshire Supertram – Sunday 29th June 2008
Supertram 102 has become the twentieth tram in the South Yorkshire Supertram fleet to have its mid life refresh. The tram is now back in service in the mainly blue Supertram livery and its place in the workshops has been taken by 109.
Source: Stagecoach Supertram
28 MORE TRAMS ORDERED FOR METROLINK PHASE 3A
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 29th June 2008
The GMPTE have ordered an additional 28 trams as part of the £575 million project to build new lines to Oldham and Rochdale, Droylsden and Chorlton. This order is on top of 12 trams already ordered to alleviate overcrowding and provide the MediaCity:UK service.
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MORE DLR SERVICE CHANGES
Docklands Light Railway – Sunday 29th June 2008
With the engineering works taking place across the DLR network to enable three car trains to operate there are to be more service changes from Monday 30th June with Tower Gateway station closing for works from Saturday 28th June.
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NEXT STAGE OF TRAM WORKS COMMENCE
Trams for Edinburgh – Sunday 29th June 2008
The next stage of the utility diversion work in Edinburgh for the tram project will get underway on Monday 30th June, with a “controversial” one way system put into place on Leith Walk. Southbound traffic will continue to use Leith Walk but northbound traffic will be diverted onto Easter Road. The section of Leith Walk affected will be between Dalmeny Street and Manderston Street.
Source: The Scotsman
NET SERVICE ALTERATIONS 28TH & 29TH JUNE
Nottingham Express Transit – Sunday 29th June 2008
Services on Nottingham Express Transit will only operate between The Forest and Hucknall/Phoenix Park throughout the weekend of Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th June because of finishing works to the trackwork undertaken last month at Royal Centre.
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METROLINK ENGINEERING WORKS ON 6TH JULY
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 29th June 2008
Trams will not run in Manchester city centre on Sunday 6th July because of essential engineering works. Trams will run as normal from Bury-Victoria, Altrincham-G-Mex and Eccles-G-Mex with a replacement bus service running between Victoria, Piccadilly, Piccadilly Gardens, St Peters Square and G-Mex every 12 minutes.
Source: GMPTE
NEW ALL OVER ADVERT FOR BLACKPOOL TRAM SOON
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 29th June 2008
A new all over advert for Wynsors World of Shoes, which has just opened on Tyldesley Road in Blackpool, is expected to be applied to an unnamed Blackpool tram in the forthcoming weeks. An article in the Blackpool Gazette says: “Wynsors will also have a presence along the Promenade in the shape of a sponsored tram for 12 months. The tram is being launched in two weeks.” It is not known which tram will carry the advert.
Source: Blackpool Gazette
CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE NEWS ROUND-UP
Crich Tramway Village – Sunday 29th June 2008
It’s time for our usual monthly news round-up of the latest goings on at the Crich Tramway Village – home of the National Tramway Museum. This month we have news on Blackpool 40, Cardiff 131, London United Tramways 159, Blackpool 166 and Modern Tower Wagon TW3.
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HOTEL TO OPEN IN EDINBURGH DUE TO TRAM PROJECT
Trams for Edinburgh – Sunday 29th June 2008
An Irish-American “hotel giant” has reportedly bought a former Georgian Townhouse by the Edinburgh Playhouse in the city centre to transform into a 150 room boutique hotel and the Trams for Edinburgh project has said to be a key feature of having the development.
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CARS COLLIDE ON TRAMLINK AT EAST CROYDON
Croydon Tramlink – Sunday 29th June 2008
Two cars collided on the Tramlink system near to East Croydon system on Tuesday 24th June at approximately 1830 – one of them a British Transport Police car. Tram services had to be stopped for around 40 minutes whilst the incident was dealt with. The driver of the other car had to be treated for her injuries at the scene. It is not known whether the driver of the other car had a green traffic light or not.
Source: This is Croydon Today
DEAL SIGNED FOR METROLINK “LITTLE BANG”
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 22nd June 2008
Greater Manchester PTE have officially appointed M-Pact Thales to design, build and maintain the Metrolink “little bang” extensions, which should see new lines start to open in spring 2011. GMPTE have also announced more details about the timescales for expansion.
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LED MATRIX DISPLAY FITTED TO METROLINK 1010
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 22nd June 2008
Metrolink 1010 has become the first of the First Series trams to be fitted with orange LED Matrix destination displays, replacing the traditional roller blinds. Internally the tram has also been fitted with matrix displays showing the name of the next stop.
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762 NAMED AFTER STUART PILLAR
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 22nd June 2008
Not previously reported on British Trams Online is the naming of Jubilee 762 after former Blackpool Transport Chief Engineer – and the man heavily involved in the design of the Jubilees - Stuart L Pillar.
Source: Yahoo! Groups: Blackpool_Transport
COUNCIL LAND TO BE SOLD TO HELP FUND TRAMS
Trams for Edinburgh – Sunday 22nd June 2008
Five plots of council land are to be put up for sale by the City of Edinburgh Council – and it is hoped that £10 million will be raised to aid the construction of the Trams for Edinburgh project. Most of the land will be sold for housing and is on the route of the Newhaven to Airport route.
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CAMPAIGN FOR BIKES TO BE ALLOWED ON METROLINK
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 22nd June 2008
Friends of the Earth have launched a campaign – “Love Your Bike” – to allow bikes, currently banned, to be allowed onto Manchester Metrolink. They want to see the next set of trams to be built for the forthcoming extensions have cycle storage bays.
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JUBILEE 762 INVOLVED IN COLLISION WITH CAR
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 22nd June 2008
Recently named Jubilee 762 was involved in a collision with a car at Victoria Square, Cleveleys on Saturday 7th June 2008. The incident happened with a silver Ford Focus believed to have not taken any notice of the traffic lights at this location and driving into the path of the tram which did not have the chance to stop. No one was injured and 762 returned to depot.
Source: Blackpool Gazette
METROLINK DISRUPTED AFTER MAN KILLED BY TRAM
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 22nd June 2008
A man died after he was hit by a tram at the bridge near to G-Mex and Windmill Street in Manchester City Centre at 1041 on Friday 20th June, causing serious disruption to Metrolink services. It is believed the man jumped in front of the tram and became trapped and had to be freed by the fire service. The man was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary where he later died whilst the tram driver had to be treated for shock. Trams from Altrincham terminated at Old Trafford, those from Eccles at Salford Quays and the Bury-Altrincham direct service didn’t run with all Bury trams running to Piccadilly.
Source: Manchester Metrolink & Manchester Evening News
METROLINK TO GET “BIG BANG” AFTER TIF BID SUCCESSFUL
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 15th June 2008
Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Transport, has announced that the bid for £3 billion to improve further the public transport of Greater Manchester has been approved for programme entry by the Department for Transport.
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BOAT 600 FOR REPAINT
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 15th June 2008
Blackpool Boat 600 has been moved to the Paint Shop for a full repaint into Original Green and Cream. This is the first repaint the tram has had since April 1998 and is believed to be in conjunction with the forthcoming Veterans Weekend events at the end of June.
Source: Yahoo! Groups Blackpool Transport
METRO DIRECTOR TO BE EMPLOYED
Midland Metro – Sunday 15th June 2008
A director is to be employed to chase funding for proposed Midland Metro extensions in July at the cost of £100,000 and funded jointly by councils in Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall along with Centro. The post will initially be for 12 months and the role of the individual employed will be to lobby the government for funding to extend the line from Wednesbury to Walsall and Brierley Hill.
Source: Wolverhampton Express and Star
TRAM WORK TO MOVE ON TO HAYMARKET
Trams for Edinburgh – Sunday 15th June 2008
The final phase of the tram utility diversion work is to commence in Edinburgh city centre at the Haymarket Interchange starting in July. The work will take place in five distinct stages ending in February 2009. The first three of the stages will be completed by early November.
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BLACKPOOL COUNCIL AGREES TO LOOK AT TRAM-TRAINS
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 15th June 2008
Blackpool Borough Council have agreed to a submission for cash from the European Regional Development Fund for a feasibility study into the possibility of introducing tram-trains in Blackpool and onto the South Fylde railway line. The idea was originally revealed back in February by ReBlackpool the local regeneration group and now the Council have agreed to back the plans.
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METRO ENGINEERING WORKS PLANNED FOR SUNDAY 15TH JUNE
Midland Metro – Sunday 15th June 2008
Throughout the day today (Sunday 15th June) trams are not operating between Wednesbury Parkway and Birmingham Snow Hill because of essential engineering works. Several items of work need to be carried out including replacement of rails in Hill Top tunnel, replacement of track components at Snow Hill and replacement of overhead power cables at Winson Green. A 15 minute service will continue to operate between Wolverhampton St Georges and Wednesbury Parkway.
Source: Midland Metro
DLR SERVICE CHANGES FROM 28TH JUNE
Docklands Light Railway – Sunday 15th June 2008
As part of the ongoing “Improvement Works” on the Docklands Light Railway to enable three car trains to operate from 2010 there will be changes to the service offered from 28th June. Tower Gateway station (as previously reported) will close from 28th June and remain so until spring 2009 and in addition there will be a reduced service offered between Lewisham and Crossharbour between 30th June and 25th August. DLR advise any passengers planning on travelling between these dates on these routes to check the Journey Planner.
Source: Docklands Light Railway
CENTRO GO ON KASSEL FACT FINDING MISSION
Midland Metro – Sunday 15th June 2008
A delegation from Centro went on a fact finding mission to Kassel in Germany at the start of June to see first hand how trams and heavy rail share the same track. It is hoped that future extensions of Midland Metro may well see track sharing used.
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MIDLAND METRO PERFORMANCE UPDATE
Midland Metro – Sunday 15th June 2008
The latest edition of Tramlines is now out and the main news from it not previously featured here is to do with the latest performance figures. The April 2008 figures dipped down to 92% mainly due to two separate incidents of damage to the overhead power lines disrupting services on the southern part of the route between 1st and 3rd and on 11th April. To read the full Tramlines follow the link below.
Source: Midland Metro
£3.2 MILLION WILL BE PAID IF GRANTON SPUR IS NOT BUILT
Trams for Edinburgh – Sunday 15th June 2008
It has been revealed that if tie do not take up the option of constructing the spur of the Trams for Edinburgh project from Haymarket to Granton at the fixed price of £87 million by spring 2009 a contingency fee of £3.2 million will have to be paid to contractors. This was part of the deal recently agreed with the contractors and was necessary as without it they would not have agreed to keep the spur construction costs at the £87 million figure. A decision has yet to be made on whether the spur will indeed be constructed.
Source: The Scotsman
MORE SERVICE DISRUPTION ON MIDLAND METRO
Midland Metro – Sunday 15th June 2008
Midland Metro was hit by more service disruption on the evening of Tuesday 10th June between Handsworth Booth Street and The Hawthorns because of overhead line equipment problems. The problems were put down to both the heat and previous problems experienced in this area. Trams were using the crossover at West Bromwich Central and travelling single line to The Hawthorns in both directions whilst services from Birmingham were using the crossover at Handsworth.
Source: Stephen Leigh
CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE NEWS ROUND-UP
Crich Tramway Village – Sunday 15th June 2008
Our usual round-up of all the news from the trams of the Crich Tramway Village – home of the National Tramway Museum. This month’s update includes news of Edinburgh 35, Blackpool 40, Cardiff 131, London United Tramways 159 and Blackpool 166.
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METROLINK TO RUN ON WATER!
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 15th June 2008
Manchester Metrolink has become the first tram system in the UK to run on water after signing a deal with Scottish and Southern Energy to use hydroelectricity to run the service.
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TRAMGATE FINES TO BE REPAID
South Yorkshire Supertram – Sunday 15th June 2008
Sheffield City Council have backed down in the face of a threatened legal challenge and have decided they will repay all 13,353 drivers fined at the Hillsborough tramgates since July 2007. The signs on Middlewood Road and Langsett Road were said to be inadequate and as such the tramgates are said to be illegal until this is changed. Changes are to be made to the signs and the tramgates should be up and running again within a few months.
Source: Sheffield Star
TRAM WORK WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FESTIVAL
Trams for Edinburgh – Sunday 1st June 2008
Despite previous saying that all tram work would be stopped for six weeks during the annual Edinburgh Festival, tie have now revealed that some areas will still see utility diversion work taking place. Both Shandwick Place and Princes Street (central areas of the city) will see work stopped but areas such as Leith and London Road will see some work continuing.
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EMERGENCY ENGINEERING WORKS FOR DLR
Docklands Light Railway – Sunday 1st June 2008
There have been no DLR services between Westferry and West India Quay all week because of “additional” engineering works, it is expected that services will resume as normally on Monday (2nd June). These works are necessary because a bridge at Poplar was discovered to need more work than originally thought for the three car upgrade.
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SUMMER TIMETABLE COMMENCES IN BLACKPOOL
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 1st June 2008