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MANCHESTER 765 HEADS TO BLACKPOOL AS VANGUARD 619 ARRIVES AT HEATON PARK
Heaton Park Tramway/Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 20th June 2010
Manchester 765 has become the first visiting tram for the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Blackpool Tramway to arrive in the resort with movement taking place during the afternoon of Tuesday (15th June). Meanwhile, Blackpool Replica Vanguard 619 made the opposite move during the morning of the same day as a swap for 765.
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VAMBAC 11 NO GO FOR BLACKPOOL 125
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway/East Anglian Transport Museum – Sunday 20th June 2010
One of the expected highlights of the 125th anniversary celebrations in Blackpool – the loan of Blackpool Marton Vambac 11 from the East Anglian Transport Museum – has been cancelled after the two parties could not agree an acceptable loan agreement. It is believed the EATM were putting severe restrictions on the operation of 11 and with a Boat car due to go from Blackpool (which would have no such restrictions) it was decided that the expense and effort of swapping the two tramcars was not worth it. Although a huge disappointment to many it should still be remembered that there will be so much to see and do during the anniversary week in September!
Source: Nick Meskell (Trams Magazine) on Yahoo! Groups: Tramgen
METROLINK TO ASHTON & DIDSBURY WILL GO-AHEAD
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 20th June 2010
The new coalition government have confirmed that the extensions of Manchester Metrolink between Droylsden and Ashton-under-Lyne and from Chorlton to Didsbury can still go-ahead despite falling under the spending review currently being undertaken. Funding for the two new schemes was approved in March (falling into the spending review timescale which was looking at all funding agreed since January) but an announcement by the Treasury in the House of Commons this week revealed that the schemes had been re-confirmed.
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OFFICIAL EDINBURGH TRAMS UPDATE
Edinburgh Trams – Sunday 20th June 2010
Following on from all the rumour and supposition Edinburgh City Council have put a press release detailing the official current position of the trams project. This press release is a result of a formal report submitted by tie to the Council which is due to be presented official to a Full Council meeting on Thursday 24th June. The report gives the latest information on the various talking points of the scheme including the continued dispute between tie and Bilfinger Berger, the funding situation and also the possibility of phasing the opening of the line.
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NOTTINGHAM POLITICIANS UPBEAT AFTER TRANSPORT MINISTER MEETING
Nottingham Express Transit – Sunday 20th June 2010
Politicians from Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire were said to be positive after a meeting with Transport Minister Norman Baker MP about the future of NET Phase Two. The pro-tram group, which included councillors from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, met Mr Baker on Tuesday (15th June) to discuss whether the new coalition government would continue to fund the project to extend NET to Beeston, Chilwell and Clifton.
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BRIGHTON 53 GROUP LAUNCH WEBSITE
Brighton 53 – Sunday 20th June 2010
The Brighton Tram 53 Group who are aiming to restore the tram of the same number have launched a website to go alongside their Blog. The website remains under construction but can be found at www.brightontram53.org.uk where outline details of what they are planning to do can be found.
Source: Brighton Tram 53
SOUTHAMPTON HERITAGE TRAM PLANS RESURFACE
Southampton – Sunday 20th June 2010
Plans, which could see two old Southampton trams restored to operational standard, have gone on display in the south coast City. The full plans would see a £8 million museum built celebrating the city’s maritime and aviation history at the historic Docks. Historic aircraft and ships (including a full sized replica of Titanic’s sister ship SS Olympic) would be on display and the trams would be used to transport people to and from the Aeronautica attraction. A feasibility study by Civil engineering students at Southampton University estimated the 700 metre tram route would cost around £800,000.
Source: BBC News Online & Daily Echo
TRAMLINK PAY DEAL AGREED
London Tramlink – Sunday 20th June 2010
Drivers on London Tramlink have agreed the deal which will see them get a 2% pay rise, an extra three days holiday, a gradual reduction of one hour in the working week and an one off payment of £350. The 100 drivers voted 60 to 40 in favour of accepting the three year deal and putting an end to the threat of a strike.
Source: This is Croydon Today
METROLINK NEWS UPDATE
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 20th June 2010
3017 has now arrived at the Queen’s Road Depot (believed to be on Saturday 12th June) whilst there are now five M5000s stored at the Old Trafford Depot - 3001, 3013, 3014, 3015 and 3016. A photo of the LRVs at Old Trafford can be found by clicking the link below.
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MPS URGE METROLINK TO ALLOW SCOOTERS ON TRAMS
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 20th June 2010
Four MPs from Greater Manchester have signed a motion in the House of Commons urging Manchester Metrolink to lift their ban on people taking electric scooters on board the trams saying it discriminates against the disabled.
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BLACKPOOL TRAMWAY ENGINEERING WORKS
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 20th June 2010
Further engineering works on the Blackpool Tramway will see no trams running between Bispham and Cleveleys on Wednesday 23rd June until 1100. A normal service will continue to operate between Pleasure Beach and Bispham whilst passengers for locations further north are advised to travel on the parallel Line 1 bus service.
Source: Blackpool Transport
NEW MANCHESTER TRAM BOOK RELEASED
Books – Sunday 20th June 2010
A new book entitled The Pilcher Pullman Cars Built 1930-1932 has now been released and is available from the Heaton Park Tramway shop, costing £8.50. It can also be bought directly from Heaton Park Tramway’s Operations Manager John Whitehouse on 01282 436802.
Source: Heaton Park Tramway
SEATON 12 RECEIVES 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATORY LIVERY
Seaton Tramway – Sunday 13th June 2010
As part of their celebrations for their 40th anniversary the Seaton Tramway unveiled tram 12 - what a Feltham would have looked like if it had been open-top! – in a new livery. The tram remains mainly red but now had yellow window surrounds and special celebratory vinyls. It was officially launched on Saturday 5th June by BBC TV newsreader Nicholas Owen and Eurovision winners from 1976 Brotherhood of Man (who sang two songs on the top deck!). The tram then travelled from Seaton to Colyton (for a concert featuring Brotherhood of Man being held that evening) with Mr Owen driving before entering passenger service again the following day. Click below for photos.
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MUSEUM OF MUSEUMS OPENS – HEATON PARK TRAMS ON DISPLAY
Museum of Museums/Heaton Park Tramway – Sunday 13th June 2010
The Museum of Museums at The Trafford Centre in Manchester has now opened with the two trams recently moved for the Heaton Park Tramway from Blackpool - Brush 623 and Balloon 702 - just two of the items on display. The Heaton Park Tramway is just one a number of Museums (also including the National Football Museum and Manchester Museum of Transport of Transport) exhibiting at this unique location which aims to be a breakthrough in cultural attractions. Admission is currently free (although will not remain that way!) and further details are available on the Museum of Museums website.
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CRICH LAUNCH WORLD CUP TRAM!
Crich Tramway Village – Sunday 13th June 2010
With the football World Cup now having started in South Africa, the Crich Tramway Village have launched their very own World Cup Tram - Johannesburg 60! The tram contains all 32 nation flags including the South African flag on one end and the English flag on the other. 60 will be in operation like this throughout the World Cup (the final is on 11th July) and on days when it is not running it will be put on display. Photos of the tram can be seen on the official Crich blog here.
Source: Crich Tramway Village
FRIENDS OF FLEETWOOD TRAMS SEEK TO SAVE THREE MORE BLACKPOOL TRAMS
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 13th June 2010
A new group of enthusiasts – The Friends of Fleetwood Trams – has been set up in order to save more Blackpool trams, this time for display in Fleetwood. The group have secured in agreement with Blackpool Transport Brush 627, Balloon 710 and Ex-Towing Railcoach 678 and hope to be able to put them on display in Fleetwood from 2012. But first they are seeking to get funds to enable them to do this.
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2010 LTT TRAM TOURS CONFIRMED
Lancastrian Transport Trust – Sunday 13th June 2010
The Lancastrian Transport Trust have confirmed the details of their forthcoming tram tours in the lead up to the 125th anniversary of the Blackpool Tramway whilst also giving further details of their proposed tours during the anniversary week in September.
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MARTON BOX 31 REPAINT NEARS COMPLETION
Beamish Tramway – Sunday 13th June 2010
The repaint of Beamish based Blackpool Marton Box 31 back into its Red, White and Teak fleet livery is nearing completion in readiness for the tram to return to Blackpool for a starring role in 125th anniversary of the tramway. The tram should make the move sometime this month with Blackpool Balloon 703 - or Sunderland 101 if you prefer now! – making the return journey. A sneak preview of 31’s repaint can be seen on the official Beamish blog – link below.
Source: Beamish Transport
BALLOON 703 RUNS FAREWELL PHOTOGRAPHERS SPECIAL
Lancastrian Transport Trust – Sunday 13th June 2010
Blackpool Balloon 703 ran a photographers special on Monday (7th June) – its first and only trip in Blackpool as a Sunderland tram! The tram ran the trip during the afternoon and ran as far as Bispham in the north and Pleasure Beach in the south and included several photo stops with a bus used to follow it for those photographers who wished to avail themselves of it. Of course the tram has been painted in Sunderland streamlined colours and is now known as Sunderland 101 for when it moves to Beamish, which is expected to be sometime this month.
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BLACKPOOL REPAINT UPDATE
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 13th June 2010
Since our last news update there have been a couple of repaints in Blackpool with Balloon 711 receiving a new vinyl livery for Blackpool Zoo whilst Centenary 644 has lost the Fleetwood Market half of its livery leaving a blank yellow side and end with the other half keeping its Farmer Parrs Animal World advert. Click below for a photo of 711.
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TROUBLED EDINBURGH TRAM SCHEME LURCHES FROM ONE CRISIS TO THE NEXT
Edinburgh Trams – Sunday 13th June 2010
Since our last news update on British Trams Online the scheme to return trams to the streets of Edinburgh has seemingly lurched from once crisis to the next – even throwing the whole project into doubt. It has been confirmed that the trams will miss the 2012 deadline (not that this was highly unexpected) as progress on the construction of the tramway grinds to a halt with no end in sight to the dispute between tie and Bilfinger Berger whilst funding is rapidly running out with meetings being held between the Council and Scottish Government to see if any further money can be forthcoming.
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MP TO MET TRANSPORT MINISTER URGING NET BEESTON EXTENSION TO BE SHELVED
Nottingham Express Transit – Sunday 13th June 2010
Anna Soubry, Conservative MP for Broxtowe, is to meet with Norman Baker (Transport Minister in charge of regional transport issues) tomorrow (Monday 14th June) urging him to cancel the Nottingham Express Transit extension through Beeston – because she believes the route is flawed.
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METRO EXTENSIONS AT BOTH ENDS IN DOUBT
Midland Metro – Sunday 13th June 2010
The planned extensions of Midland Metro at both the Birmingham and Wolverhampton ends have been thrown into doubt with the news that all transport schemes which have yet to be contracted have been put “on hold” by the coalition government (affecting the Birmingham City Centre line) whilst Wolverhampton City Councillors have said that the Wolverhampton loop extension has been put on the “back burner”.
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CITY & COUNTY COUNCILS TO GO TO COURT OVER LAND NEEDED FOR TRAM?
Nottingham Express Transit – Sunday 13th June 2010
Nottingham City Council are considering going down the route of compulsory purchase order over a strip of land in Chilwell after the County Council refused to release it without a guarantee if the tramway doesn’t go ahead the land will be kept for public use.
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RAIB RELEASE FATAL NORBRECK TRAM ACCIDENT – DRIVER TO BE CHARGED
Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway – Sunday 13th June 2010
The RAIB have released their report into the fatal collision between Blackpool Balloon 719 and a pedestrian at Norbreck on 5th August 2009 and following the report the CPS have confirmed that the tram driver involved is to be charged with causing death by driving without due care and attention.
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RMT PLAN THREE DAY DLR STRIKE
Docklands Light Railway – Sunday 13th June 2010
The RMT Union have announced that they are planning a three day strike of their members on the Docklands Light Railway between 0400 on 23rd June to 0400 on 26th June. The dispute centres on a belief their members are not being paid enough for the extra responsibilities following the introduction of three car trains on the Bank-Lewisham route.
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TRAMLINK DRIVERS TO MAKE DECISION ON PAY OFFER
London Tramlink – Sunday 13th June 2010
Drivers on London Tramlink are expected to make a decision tomorrow (Monday 14th June) on whether to accept the latest pay offer. The dispute has been ongoing since late last year and there was a strike planned at the start of May which was cancelled to allow further negotiations. The latest offer is part of a three year deal and includes a 2% pay rise, an extra three days holiday, a gradual reduction of one hour in the working week and a £350 one-off payment to compensate for the fact the deal should have been reached last November. It is expected that the deal will be accepted by ASLEF members.
Source: This is Croydon Today
PRINCES STREET DISPLAY TRAM POPULAR WITH PUBLIC
Edinburgh Trams – Sunday 13th June 2010
The first Edinburgh tram - 252 which arrived in April – is continuing to be a popular crowd puller with the public with over 37,000 people now having visited it at its temporary home of Princes Street. It is now open daily between 1100 and 1700 with members of staff from Edinburgh Trams on hand to answer questions. The tram has already undergone a repaint with branding added to bring its livery into line with that which the trams will carry when the line finally opens – it is now in a white, madder (maroon) and gold livery. Maintenance is due to be carried out on the vehicle on Sunday 20th June between 2000 and 0000 and this will involve the closure of Princes Street westbound between The Mound and Frederick Street.
Source: Edinburgh Trams & The Scotsman
LOCAL POLITICIANS VISIT SOUTH MANCHESTER METROLINK EXTENSION
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 13th June 2010
A group of local politicians have been given a special tour of the new South Manchester Metrolink line to see the latest progress of the extension which is due to open in spring 2011.
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MER JOINS IN HISTORIC JOURNEY ACROSS ISLE OF MAN
Manx Electric Railway – Sunday 13th June 2010
The Manx Electric Railway is to be just part of a special historic journey across the Isle of Man on 3rd July to celebrate the launch of a set of stamps featuring the island’s steam, electric and mountain railways.
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LIVINGSTONE PROMISES TRAMLINK TO CRYSTAL PALACE
London Tramlink – Sunday 13th June 2010
Ken Livingstone – former Mayor of London – has pledged that extending Tramlink to Crystal Palace will be one of his main priorities if he gets back into power. Mr Livingstone was speaking as he visited Croydon as part of his campaign to get the Labour Party nomination for the next Mayoral elections. He claimed that the decision of current incumbent Boris Johnson to axe the plan due to a lack of funding was a mistake and that the plan would be one of the highest priorities for him.
Source: This is Croydon Today
BANK HOLIDAY SUPERTRAM ENGINEERING WORKS
South Yorkshire Supertram – Sunday 13th June 2010
South Yorkshire Supertram this time at the University of Sheffield. During the work four trams were isolated at the Hillsborough side with 109, 110 and 124 in service and 118 stored under the subway as a reserve. A replacement bus shuttle was operated by three Stagecoach Yorkshire single-deckers from Shalesmoor-City-West Street-University-Shalesmoor. The trams ran to Netherthorpe then ran wrong line back to Shalesmoor and ran alternate Middlewood/Malin Bridge journeys. Click below for a selection of photos of the work and tram movements.
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BILSTON CENTRAL SEES REPAIR WORK
Midland Metro – Sunday 13th June 2010
Work to repair the steps at the Bilston Central stop on Midland Metro was undertaken for a week from Monday 1st June. The Wolverhampton bound platform was dealt with first followed by the steps on the Birmingham bound platform.
Source: Midland Metro
METROLINK ENGINEERING WORKS
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 13th June 2010
Services between Altrincham and Timperley will be suspended all day today (Sunday 13th June) to allow Network Rail to replace a set of points at Navigation Road. A replacement bus service will be in operation instead serving Altrincham, Navigation Road and Timperley all day. All other Metrolink services will run as normal.
Source: GMPTE
EXTRA TIME NEEDED FOR OLDHAM BRIDGES
Manchester Metrolink – Sunday 13th June 2010
GMPTE have announced that refurbishment work on two bridges that will take Metrolink to Oldham and Rochdale will take longer than originally thought, meaning the road closures in place will have to be extended. The bridges concerned are both in Oldham and are at Hardman Lane and Drury Lane. The former was originally due to be reopened in May with the latter in June but it has now been discovered more extensive refurbishments will now be required.
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ABANDONED CAR CAUSES NET DISRUPTION
Nottingham Express Transit – Sunday 13th June 2010
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