| 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...May 2005...News...May 2005...News...May 2005...News This Page was last updated Sunday 29 May 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 Jubilee 762 in the Paint Shop in Yellow base for a new ad for Unison. (added 8 May 2005) Sheffield Works Car 330 in VE Day Weekend make-up. (added 15 May 2005) New signage on the doors of NET trams. (added 15 May 2005) Manchester Metrolink 1013 back in service after Mid-Life Refurbishment. (added 15 May 2005) |
|
News In Brief Blackpool: Balloon 715 is currently receiving vinyls and lettering for its new all over advert for Mystique at the Pleasure Beach. This will be only the second new advert completed during the winter 2004/5 period. (29/5/05 - Paul Turner from Yahoo! Groups Blackpool_Transport) Manchester: 1013 has only been reunited with its The Grenadier Guardsman name on one side only whilst 1010 has received the A and B end stickers next to the fleet numbers on each end dash. The car park at Bessses o’th’Barn has now been finished but is only available for dropping off and disabled parking. (29/5/05 - Peter Courtenay) Nottingham: The railgrinding in Nottingham has now commenced with the work, as previously reported, taking place in the dead of night. Photos of the railgrinding unit in action and at the depot can be found here. (29/5/05 - Peter Courtenay) Nottingham: A sniffer dog was used for the first time on trams and buses last week as part of a crackdown on drugs. Two people were arrested during Tuesday evening after a four hour patrol of the city centre. (29/5/05 - BBC News Online) Nottingham: A pregnant woman has had her bag stolen whilst she was helping a collapsed passenger on NET on Thursday 19 May. It is believed that two youths were responsible for the theft as they were seen getting off the tram around the time of the incident which happened at around 5.30pm. The youths are described as being 18 or 20 years old with one wearing a red top and baseball cap an the other a white top and cap. (29/5/05 - This is Nottingham) Sheffield: There were delays on the Supertram network on Tuesday (24 May) after a derailment at Woodburn Road. The derailment affected trams between Meadowhall and the city centre with services running from Nunnery Square to the city centre and Meadowhall to Sheffield Arena. It was expected that the derailed tram would be towed away on Tuesday afternoon. (29/5/05 - BBC News Online) ------------------------------------------------- DLR: The latest units to receive the new style fleet livery are 25, 42, 46, 69, 74 and 88. This means there is one less all over advert with 74 losing its vinyls for the now defunct London Knights Ice Hockey team. In other livery changes, 40 has lost its experimental livery and is now in a very tatty version of the old livery but with green doors whilst 54 has lost its all over advert for Visit Britain and is back in the old livery. (22/5/05 - Chris Cooper) Manchester: 1013 has been reunited with it’s The Grenadier Guardsman name stickers after its refurbishment whilst 2004 has been noted as back in service. (22/5/05 - Gordon Ferguson) Sheffield: The Essential maintenance work will take place at the Cathedral tram stop on Sunday 29 and Monday 30 May until 12.30pm meaning a replacement bus service will be in place between Fitzalan Square and Shalesmoor. All trams from Halfway, Herdings Park and Meadowhall will terminate at Fitzalan Square whilst trams from Middlewood and Malin Bridge will terminate at The University of Sheffield. A normal Sunday service will resume on each day once work is completed. (22/5/05 - Stagecoach Supertram) ------------------------------------------------- Birmingham: Politicians in Walsall are expected to put their approval towards to the West Midland Local Transport Plan. The plan includes a proposed Midland Metro line from Walsall to Wolverhampton. (15/5/05 - icBirmingham) Crich: Both Southampton 45 and Leeds 180 have returned to service following attention in the workshops during the winter and Sheffield 74 is believed to be close to a return having been noted on test. Glasgow 1297 has had its bogies removed and is currently on trestles/jacks in the workshop. (15/5/05) Manchester: 1013 has returned to service following refurbishment and is in use without any name stickers applied. 1014 is believed to be out of service at the moment and was separated from its motor bogies for a couple of weeks, but is now reunited with these although is not back in service. 1015, 2004 and 2005 have also not been seen recently by our correspondent. It appears that there are continuing tram shortages with local radio reporting that the Eccles service was only operating every 24 minutes with 3 trams. (15/5/05 - Gordon Ferguson) Manchester: Services will be suspended from G-Mex to Piccadilly from 8.15am to 11.15am on Sunday 22 May due to the Great Manchester Run. Normal services will operate between Bury and Piccadilly, Eccles and G-Mex and Altrincham and G-Mex during this time. (15/5/05 - Manchester Metrolink) Nottingham: The trams are currently receiving new clearer signage. Included in this are improved maps mentioning local attractions and clearer red stickers on doors telling passengers on the Don’ts of travelling on NET. (15/5/05 - NETnews & Nick Forgham) ------------------------------------------------- Birmingham: As from 24 July over 60s in the Centro region will be able to travel for free on buses, trains and trams. This is part of Gordon Brown’s recent Budget statement that over 60s would get free bus travel from 1 April 2006 but Centro have decided to bring that date forward. (8/5/05 - icBirmingham) DLR: Further engineering work will take place next weekend (14/15 May), this time between Stratford and Canary Wharf. A bus service will run between this locations via Blackwall for connection with existing DLR services. All other routes are operating as normal for the whole weekend and as usual a valid DLR ticket is required before boarding the bus. (8/5/05 - DLR) Sheffield: Photos are now available of the demolition of the Grange Tower block near to the Park Grange stop and images of trams during, before and after the event at The Trams.co.uk – link here. (8/5/05 - Peter Courtenay) ------------------------------------------------- Blackpool: Balloon 709 is nearing completion in the Electrical Compound with vinyls for its all over advert for the Sealife Centre. Sisters 721 (also in the Electrical Compound), 707 and 715 (both stored on track 1) are awaiting the application of vinyls for their respective adverts. Jubilee 762 is approaching the end of is overhaul and is currently receiving a yellow base for a new ad for Unison. The Railcrane 260 is receiving a new braking system in the Fitting Shop whilst Centenary 645 and Balloon 713 are in the Body Shop receiving further attention for their overhauls. (1/5/05 - Paul Turner from Yahoo! Groups Blackpool_Transport) DLR: A Saturday service is to operate on the network on Bank Holiday Monday 2 May. (1/5/05 - DLR) ------------------------------------------------- |
|
GOVERNMENT TO MAKE EARLY DECISION ON METROLINK FUNDING Sunday 29 May 2005 Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling has told MPs that he hoped to reach a decision “imminently” on the £100 million bid from the GMPTE for upgrading Phases 1 and 2 of Manchester Metrolink. Mr Darling was asked about the plans to build the three new lines to Oldham and Rochdale, south Manchester and the airport and Ashton and Heywood in Parliament by Middleton MP Jim Dobbin. He said: “We have said that the PTE should work up plans for the Metrolink and other measures aimed at managing traffic within Greater Manchester, either from their own resources or bidding for cash from the Transport Innovation Fund. I hope Manchester will consider all aspects of its transport and come up with a series of proposals, some of which I hope we can fund. That will include the Metrolink.” Councillor Roger Jones, chairman of the GMPTA said: “It is very good new that he was talking about making a decision imminently. More and more Metrolink travellers are seeing a great system slowly deteriorating. Trams are packed at rush hour and repairs are needed.” Councillor Jones added: “I think we can say the “Big Bang” idea is gone now – the best we can hope for is to strike the best possible deal for one lien and then set a timetable to build the others in the next eight to ten years.” Meanwhile, new Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale, Paul Rowen’s maiden speech in the Commons was about the length of time it has taken to get Metrolink to his constituency. He mentioned a 1989 leaflet in which the GMPTA promised Metrolink would be running to Rochdale by 1992. Mr Rowen said: “Sixteen years later, after eight years of Conservative Government and eight years of Labour Government, we are still waiting. I hope that this session we will see progress on that” He added that if Metrolink did not get the go-ahead around £60 million would have to be spent to keep the Oldham-Rochdale rail loop line working: “That is a quarter of the cost of the Metrolink. The money would be much better spent on a new “Supertram” system than on keeping heavy rail going.” Shadow Transport Secretary, Alan Duncan, has also got in the act of Metrolink this week. He said: “In April the Prime Minister, needless to say before the election, talking of Metrolink in Oldham said “I’ll think you’ll find something to celebrate in our manifesto. Well they didn’t find anything and they are certainly not celebrating. When will the work start? When will it finish?” Source: Manchester Online BLOW FOR NOTTINGHAM TRAM EXPANSION Sunday 29 May 2005 Hopes in Nottingham that a decision is imminent on plans for two new lines of NET have been dealt a blow in Parliament this week. New Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman was asked about the NET extensions during Transport Questions on Tuesday (24 May). Nottingham South MP, Alan Simpson asked Dr Ladyman: “He will know that Line One of the tram in Nottingham had been phenomenally successful, incredibly popular, Eight-and-a-half million passengers in the first year against the target of seven million. We need to make progress. Can the Minister tell me if there is a date when the trams currently stuck at the depot in the Department for Transport can make their way to the first stop at the Treasury?” Dr Ladyman replied: “The department has received a bid for the extensions, and is discussing procurement and financing aspects with the promoters. Following this, we will make a decision as soon as we can to grant provisional approval.” He added: “I am pleased Line One has been so successful. So far as Lines Two and Three are concerned, I have to say to him the situation is not quite as simple s he described – there is still a lot more work to be done before approval can be given. But given the success of Line One, if that work is done then we will certainly be encouraged to look very closely at them, and we will give a decision to him as early as we possibly can.” A Nottinghamshire County Council spokesman said: “As before the local election we are awaiting Government provisional approval before we seek the council’s approval to submit a transport and works act order. We do however recognise that the Department for Transport will take some time to consider this following the national elections. We are hopeful to hear before the summer recess.” Source: This is Nottingham TRAMLINK ENGINEERING WORK CAUSES ROAD DELAYS Sunday 29 May 2005 As previously reported on BRITISH TRAMS ONLINE this weekend Croydon Tramlink services are disrupted due to the replacement of track at West Croydon. However the engineering work has already hit the news with major delays for motorists on Tuesday afternoon as preparatory work was underway. Shoppers were trying to leave the Allders multi-storey car park but many were left waiting in their cars for up to four hours with queues stretching for all of the 13 floors. Tramtrack Croydon had hoped that the roadworks would cause minimal delays but that obviously didn’t happen. Roger Harding, Tramtrack Croydon’s General Manager said: “Motorists were advised to find alternative routes and local business were told what we were doing. This is the first time we have attempted something like this in central Croydon and hopefully, with the new tracks we are using, we won’t have to do it again anytime soon.” However, Tim Cowan on National Car Parks claimed that they had received no official notification and believed problems would only be caused at night. He said: “We monitor local public notices and saw that the notice pertaining to these roadworks suggested most of the disruption would happen at night. As a result, we did not believe there would be a problem for our customers during the day.” Source: icSouthLondon & Croydon Guardian BLACKPOOL’S SUPERTRAM PLAN RETURNS Sunday 29 May 2005 The team at Blackpool Council in charge of the Supertram upgrade plan have revealed that they hope to have their revised plans in to the Department for Transport by June. Reg Haslam, Head of Planning and Transportation, said: “At the moment we are looking to have our bid in by June which is a tough delaine, but one we are confident we can meet. We then hope to have a decision as to whether they will fund the scheme within a couple of months.” The DfT have given assurances to Blackpool that their bid will get early consideration ahead of rival towns and cities. Mr Haslam added: “We are looking at all aspects of the scheme including building, infrastructure, the cost of acquiring new rolling stock and running costs, to come up with a new plan which is both innovative and value for money for the Government. Those are the important things they want to see. Where we have fallen down before is that the Government raised the bar to qualify for funding because it had seen so many similar schemes going over budget.” Transport chiefs in the resort are hopeful that the £900,000 grant given for the Manchester Square maintenance is a good omen for the major bid, which is seen as integral to Blackpool’s Masterplan. Source: Blackpool Today BLAIR ACCUSED OVER LEEDS TRAM “FAILURE” Sunday 29 May 2005 The new Leeds Liberal Democrat MP, Greg Mulholland, has accused Tony Blair of insulting Leeds with the continuing delays over Supertram which could cause it to fail by default. Last September transport chiefs from Leeds wrote to the government demanding answers and all they received was a two sentence reply from the Downing Street “direct communications unit” rather than Mr Blair himself. Mr Mulholland said: “Not to reply to the leaders of Leeds City Council is deeply insulting to the people of Leeds and indicates that Tony Blair doesn’t listen to people. And it is my job to make sure he does, because we have been fobbed off too often.” A Downing Street spokeswoman said it was not possible for Mr Blair to reply personally to Leeds as he received thousands of letters a week, so the correspondence was passed in the normal way to the DfT for a Minister to respond. The DfT have said that it has been in “ongoing and constructive discussion” with Leeds for a while and that the last of the information asked for was received on 10 May. They added that a decision would be made on the Leeds Supertram as soon as possible. Source: Yorkshire Post CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE NEWS UPDATE Sunday 29 May 2005 The investigative work on London United Tramways 159 has now been completed and when the outcome of the bid for a grant from PRISM is known the major work will be able to commence. The current major restoration project, Leeds 345, has now seen the fitment of the missing vestibule door furniture whilst the seat cushions are now nearing completion whilst progress is being made on redesigning the upper saloon front corner seats to alter them from single to 2/3 seats. The second access trams, Halle 902, continues to be tested with no news yet on when it will be ready for service to relieve the pressure off Berlin 3006. The workshops have also been busy with progress on Glasgow 1297’s return to service. The roof structure has had its required treatment and this is now in very good condition whilst the upper deck ceiling has been cleaned and re-fitted. The car has been lifted (as previously reported) and the motors, trucks and air brake cylinders are currently being overhauled whilst the Museum are sourcing material for a replacement bow plank with the bow components being cleaned, stripped and repainted. Finally, both London Transport 1622 and Leeds 345 are to be fitted with correct period advertisements. Source: Contact from the Tramway Museum Society CHAOS ON METROLINK AFTER COMPUTER FAILURE Sunday 22 May 2005 There was a major computer failure on Manchester Metrolink on Monday afternoon which caused chaos throughout the network. Initial problems were seen at around 3.10pm when the Control Systems started to show technical faults. Serco Metrolink immediately stopped all tram services in order to reset the systems to solve the problems. At first it appeared all was well with trams resuming services at around 3.30pm, however it was soon realised that the problems had not been rectified and so a decision was taken, in conjunction with the system support engineer to stop the system whilst it was fixed. It was discovered that the computer terminals at the Control Centre in Cheetham Hill were refusing to accept information from the track signals as correct and so no trams could move forward in safety. The track operators were left with no way of knowing where their trams were or how to plot safe routes and it is believed that up to 10,000 people were affected by the complete system shutdown. Serco Metrolink’s Managing Director, Phil Smith, said: “The system went down completely. It crashed, the screens went blank. The controllers had no way of knowing where the trams were or tracking their routes and we do not regard it as safe to operate blind. There was no question of two trams being on the same part of the network at the same time. The signals were operating on a failsafe system and were working. This problem was with computers talking to each other. We still don't know exactly what went wrong. We are very concerned and regret the inconvenience it has caused." As soon as the nature of the fault was identified, Metrolink engineers and manufacture support staff worked throughout the early evening in order to restore the computer problem. The first trams were back in service at approximately 7.30pm, with a 15 minute service back in operation by 9.45pm and a full service back by the following morning. During the system shutdown a replacement bus service was put into use. Obviously many of the passengers affected were not happy at the situation although some were complimentary about the way Serco Metrolink dealt with the situation. Brian Guest, who travels from St Peters Square to Altrincham told the Manchester Evening News: “I work at the city council and when I got on to the tram it looked like there was a problem because there were seats available. It went from half an hour to an hour and then an hour and a half. To be fair we were kept informed and it is normally a good service. You only notice it when it goes wrong." However, on the other side Gary Levine was stranded at Piccadilly and called the situation as absolutely appalling, he said: “I've been sitting on the tram for an hour and a half and when I called customer services they can't tell me anything." Source: Manchester Online, Manchester Metrolink & BBC News Online TfL BOARD GIVE APPROVAL TO PROGRESS WITH DLR STRATFORD EXTENSION Sunday 22 May 2005 There was a boost for the Docklands Light Railway this week when the Transport for London Board gave permission for them to submit an application for a Transport and Works Act for the Stratford International extension. If the TWA is given it would enable the DLR to convert the current North London heavy rail line between Canning Town and Stratford International. There would be new stations built at Star Lane, Abbey Road and Stratford High Street with existing stations at Canning Town, West Ham and Stratford being modified and in addition a new station will be opened at Stratford International to provide interchange with Eurostar services. Jonathan Fox, Director of the DLR said: “This is an important step forward in bringing further transport improvements to east London. This extension will help meet the growing demand for quality public transport in the Lower Lea Valley, bringing vital regeneration benefits to the area. We will continue to push this project forward and have it up and running by the end of 2009.” The £110 million project is funded as part of the TfL Five Year £10bn Investment Programme. Source: Docklands Light Railway NET SUFFER FROM TRAM SHORTAGE Sunday 22 May 2005 Last Saturday (14 May) saw major tram shortages on Nottingham Express Transit, and a bus service used to substitute trams from Phoenix Park to the city centre. Nine trams were taken out of service after a software fault was discovered meaning only six trams were available for use. During the morning two trams were operating Station Street to Hucknall, one from Station Street to Phoenix Park and another from Station Street to The Forest. In the afternoon the Phoenix Park tram was taken out of service and replaced by the aforementioned bus. Engineers worked flat out over the weekend to make sure enough trams were available for the start of service on Monday morning. Source: NETnews & This is Nottingham DfT CONFIRM FUNDING FOR SOUTH HANTS LRT Sunday 22 May 2005 The Official Hampshire County Council SHLRT website states in a simple message that “results of detailed discussion with officials at the Department for Transport and the Promoting Councils have now confirmed the funding to deliver the modified light rail scheme.” This obviously seems to suggest that the South Hampshire Light Rapid Transit system is back on track, although the site also states that the promoters (Portsmouth city council and Hampshire County Council) have requested that Ministers deal with the funding submission before the end of July 2005. The site also has a downloadable PDF file which gives a summary of the Business Case submission. Source: South Hampshire Light Rapid Transit LEEDS PRESS GOVERNMENT FOR FINAL DECISION ON SUPERTRAM Sunday 22 May 2005 Now that the UK General Election is over the team at Metro (the West Yorkshire PTE) in charge of developing the Supertram project are anxious that a swift positive decision is made in Whitehall. The team have now submitted to the DfT all of the additional information requested at a meeting held back in March between city leaders and then Transport Minister Tony McNulty. The decision is now needed swiftly as the relevant Compulsory Purchase Powers expire in March 2006 with the latest deadline in respect to this being in September, something which would be difficult to meet if no decision is forthcoming before the Commons break up for summer on 28 July. Metro’s Chairman, the three joint leaders of Leeds City Council and the leader of the opposition in Leeds are all writing to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling urging the DfT to give the fastest possible approval for the scheme. The Yorkshire Post has also recently got involved in the delays claiming in an editorial of Monday 16 May that “the loss of Supertram threatens to put the city’s success and prosperity into serious jeopardy” and warned that Leeds “may rue the day it lost its last chance to acquire a public transport system which no great Continental city would be without – and of which both Sheffield and Manchester have discovered the value.” The information which has been forwarded onto the DfT in the hope of getting an early decision includes some additional financial modelling which have been approved by the District Auditor and the Audit Commission. Source: Leeds Supertram MANCHESTER LOOK TO PUSH FURTHER ON “BIG BANG” Sunday 22 May 2005 Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Transport, is going to be a busy man with all these letters he is getting, in addition to Leeds (see separate story) political leaders from Greater Manchester have written to him asking to meet with him on the “Big Bang” extensions. Roger Jones, Chairman of the GMPTA, has written to Mr Darling saying: “My colleagues and I are acutely aware that, despite all that has happened since your statement last July, we have never met to discuss this project which is so vital to our regeneration and competitiveness strategies across the sub-region. We would find it immensely encouraging if you were to find the time in your diary to meet with us so that we can talk about these matters directly with you. If you are agreeable to this, I will ask my office to contact yours in the next few days to make appropriate arrangements for us all to meet." Chris Mulligan, Director General of the GMPTE, said: “Because we have conducted a lot of our discussions through intermediaries in the past, I think it is a good idea for a face to face meeting to take place. Things are really only just settling down after the election and we will need to see what Mr Darling says in response to our letter and what comes from our forthcoming meetings with officers. I think the fact that Metrolink was in Labour's manifesto is encouraging, as was the Prime Minister's comments when he visited Rochdale. What we have to do now is bring the technical and the political together and to keep up the lobbying." Source: Manchester Online MASSIVE SUPPORT FOR TRAMLINK EXTENSIONS Sunday 22 May 2005 A survey, run by the South London Guardian series of newspapers, has shown that there is major support for extending Croydon Tramlink throughout the area. Hundreds of people responded to the survey which asked them for comments on the four proposed extensions which could see Sutton, Tooting, Crystal Palace, Purley and Streatham added to the network. The survey was presented to Mayor for London, Ken Livingstone, on the Fifth Anniversary Day when he said: “Everyone's in favour until they see the plan and where it will go. My staff will start looking at that the extension as soon as we have finished the planning stage for the west London tram." At the moment the Crystal Palace line is included in the London £10 billion transport strategy, mainly because this would be the easiest to construct. Meanwhile, Transport for London are looking at the feasibility of extending the tram network on all the other proposed routings. Source: Croydon Guardian MERSEYTRAVEL REVEALS PLANS FOR CONTROL CENTRE Sunday 22 May 2005 Merseytravel have submitted plans for the main operations centre for the Merseytram network. As well as the tram service control room there will a 600 space Park and Ride car park, the tram depot including washing facilities. If permission is granted it will be constructed on a former GEC factory site alongside the East Lancashire Road in Gilmoss. Source: icLiverpool |
| Last weekend was the VE Day celebration at the Crich Tramway Village. For the event Sheffield Works Car 330 was dressed up as a "Victory" tram, in whic guise it is seen in the depot yard on 7 May 2005. |
|
DLR MAKES ORDER FOR 24 NEW “LIGHT RAIL CARS” Sunday 15 May 2005 The Docklands Light Railway have put an order in with Bombardier Transportation for 24 new trains to operate on the network, with an option for a further 9. For the first time the DLR will see a different basic design of vehicle in operation on the network, with the new cars being both technically and aesthetically different, being of superior design. The contract has the approximate value of $94 million US (that’s 73 million Euros) and if the option is taken it will amount to $126 million US (98 million Euros). Previous DLR orders have been constructed at Brugge but this one will see the vehicles being manufactured at Bautzen in Germany, with electrical equipment being supplied from Mannheim and the bogies being manufactured at Siegen in Germany. They are scheduled to be delivered between May 2007 and September 2008. Jonathan Fox, Director of Docklands Light Railway Ltd, said: “This is great news for our passengers as this investment means that 24 brand-new vehicles will be in service from mid-2007. The continued success of DLR and the growth of its widening catchment area requires new extensions and the upgrading of the Bank to Lewisham route. The new vehicles will serve these routes and give our increasing number of travellers a more comfortable journey." Walter Grawenhoff, the President for Bombardier Light Rail Vehicles added: “During the past 15 years the Docklands Light Railway has become the backbone of public transport between the centre of London and fast developing Docklands area. Bombardier's relationship with DLR is built on a long-standing cooperation which includes the delivery of state-of-the-art light rail vehicles to the first fully automated system in England. This additional order is a tribute to the excellent reliability of these vehicles and the trust in our engineering competence.” An artist’s impression of the new vehicle is available from the Bombardier website. Source: Bombardier Transportation CROYDON TRAMLINK CELEBRATES FIFTH BIRTHDAY Sunday 15 May 2005 Last Tuesday (10 May) Croydon Tramlink celebrated its fifth birthday with a party held at Jury’s Inn, Wellesley Road. In attendance at this party were the mayors of several London boroughs and TV News Presenter Nicholas Owen. There was a special cake in the shape of a tram which was cut by the Managing Director of Tramtrack Croydon Limited and Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Brenda Kirby. Roger Harding, General Manager of Tramtrack, had earlier said that Tramlink was in a good condition and that since January 2004 passenger numbers had risen: “It began slowly, but harmonisation of fares with the buses and the acceptance of all travel passes from January 2004 saw a 12 per cent rise in passenger numbers, and that despite bus mileage in Croydon having risen by 25 per cent since the tram concession was granted." Source: icSouthLondon & Unofficial Croydon Tramlink GRINDING TO COMMENCE ON NET Sunday 15 May 2005 Nottingham Express Transit have revealed that they are to commence grinding on the network soon, in order to reduce noise and ensure the tracks are in good order. The work will take place at night and will involve a small rail based vehicle travelling slowly along the tracks and grinding a layer of metal off the top of the rails. NET explain that the work has to be undertaken at night because the machine needs complete access to the track without any trams interrupting the process. The way the machine works sees it having to make several passes over the same piece of track – sometimes as many as five times. NET apologise to local residents but tell them that the noise shouldn’t be too bad if they take sensible precautions such as closing their windows during the night. The work has been split into two different parts, part 1 is Hucknall to Bulwell (just south of the tram stop) whilst the second part will concentrate on Cinderhill to Highbury Vale and Bulwell to Wilkinson Street. It is hoped that the first section will be finished in the first week (works commence on Saturday 21 May) with the remaining grinding taking place in the following 1-2 weeks. No other parts of the network will be tackled at this time. Source: This is Nottingham |
|
As mentioned in the "News in Brief" box, NET's trams are receving revised signage both internally and externally. This view shows a close up on the What Nots to Do on the trams. These were previously green but now stand out much more. For more photos on NET's new signage visit here. Photo: Nick Forgham |
|
PARK AND RIDE SITE TO BE CREATED ON METROLINK Sunday 15 May 2005 The Whitefield tram stop on Manchester Metrolink’s Bury line is to be turned into a Park and Ride site in the next few months, in the hope of helping traffic congestion. A site has been cleared next to the stop and when the car park is completed there should be space for 133 cars. Construction work should commence some time during the early summer and funding has been given by the GMPTE. The GMPTA’s chairman Roger Jones said: “Metrolink already takes millions of car journeys off the roads each year and park and ride facilities such as this will give even more people the option to leave their cars behind. By encouraging as many people as possible to use public transport we will help keep road congestion in check across Greater Manchester." The development is part of a major push to improve parking at tram stops along the Bury line, in order to try and encourage people to leave their cars behind and use public transport to get to Manchester city centre. Smaller schemes to improve parking are almost finished at Crumpsall and Besses o’th Barn. Source: Manchester Online |
|
The latest tram on Metrolink to return to service after Mid-Life Refurbishment is 1013. The tram features the now standard revised livery, but has not received any name stickers and from this shot does not have working destination blinds. 1013 was captured in Lower Mosley Street. Photo: Gordon Ferguson |
|
CARLISLE MP CALLS FOR TRAM INVESTIGATION Sunday 15 May 2005 The MP for Carlisle, Eric Martlew, has called for a study to be introduced to see if trams could be the solution to continuing congestion problems. He said: “I think we should look at a study and see if it will work for Carlisle. It is working for other cities. What's happened, and partly it is the problem of success of course, we have got a booming economy, more people have cars and Carlisle has benefited from that. But we are in a situation now where the slightest accident or road repairs actually creates gridlock." Drivers are currently suffering severe delays in the city centre because of major roadworks linked to the replacement of water mains. Cumbria County Council have said they are looking at introducing a traffic tsar and that schemes are in place to improve traffic flow. Source: BBC News Online NEW MPs URGE BLAIR TO KEEP METROLINK PLEDGE Sunday 15 May 2005 In a correction to last weeks story, two Labour MPs in the Manchester area lost their seats to be replaced by Liberal Democrats and it now appears that the Metrolink “Big Bang” debate could get even more heated in the local area. Keith Bradley (Withington) and Lorna Fitzsimmons (Rochdale) were replaced by Lib Dems John Leech and Paul Rowen respectively and Mr Rowen has already said he intends to bring the Metrolink debate up as soon as possible. He said: “The first thing I am going to do is ask the Prime Minister where our Metrolink is because the government has been promising it for eight years. Once parliament opens I will be tabling a question asking how and when we will be getting Metrolink. He has said we can have it, but he has not promised any new money for it. He has created a minister for communities and he has said he wants to listen to people. So if he is genuine in wanting to help communities, he will give us the Metrolink as soon as possible. If he is serious about regenerating areas, cutting traffic congestion and bringing prosperity to areas that have not had their fair share of help, then this is the best way to do it. Metrolink has had a great positive influence on the areas where it has been introduced and we want that influence extended very soon. Having two non-Labour MPs in areas affected by the extension may mean that the debate becomes less than polite at times. But we are happy to work with all MPs in Greater Manchester to push for the Metrolink extension as soon as possible. MPs of all parties realise the benefits it brings." Only time will now tell whether the Labour government keep to their promise of backing the “Big Bang” extensions as mentioned in their election manifesto. Source: Manchester Online BLACKPOOL TRAMWAY NEWS UPDATE Sunday 15 May 2005 A notorious road crossing at Broadwater was removed in April which necessitated the closure of the northbound tram stop whilst this took place. This crossing was only a minor one and was immediately to the north of the loading stop and offered no visibility to westbound motorists or southbound tram drivers because of the reconstructed Co-Op store. On the tram front work continues on Balloon 713 (exterior panelling), Centenary 645 (in Body Shop) and Jubilee 762 (receiving new all over advert following completion on its body overhaul) whilst Coronation 660 has finally had its mini overhaul finished following a complete internal repaint. Brush 636, which has been converted to a test tram, has had one saloon obscured by the painting over of the window units. Finally, Balloons 702 and 703 have now taken on the driver training duties replacing halogen lamp fitted pair 711 and 723, which are required for service. This months Fylde Tramway News also comes with an appeal to raise money for the restoration of OMO 8. As has been previously reported Blackpool Transport have offered to find space in the workshops for external restoration this year but the Lancastrian Transport Trust are looking to get a extra £3,000 to help achieve this. For anyone who donates there is the chance to have a say as to which livery the tram will be painted in – either Maroon and Yellow or Red and White. For further details see the LTT’s website where contact details are available. * 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 here and here. Source: Fylde Tramway News CROYDON TRAMLINK NEWS UPDATE Sunday 15 May 2005 On the tram front they have all recently received London 2012 Back the Bid stickers on the leading right hand set of doors. These are a round version of the stickers which have appeared on trains, tubes and buses across the capital and beyond. 2543 has had “Check Signal” stickers fitted to the outer mirrors as an experiment, no further ones will be fitted until driver feedback is received. All the trams are to have internal layout changes because the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations exemption is not to be extended. This means that each tram will have to have the padded perch rail along the side of the wheelchair bay removed by 31 December 2005 and it replaced by horizontal handrails, supporting a solid panel across the front of the double seats that face onto the bay. Wheelchair users will then have to back to this panel to prevent them from tipping in the event of sudden deceleration. As mentioned in the last Croydon update there is to be engineering work at West Croydon on Sunday 29 and Monday 30 May, involving the splitting of the tram service. During the blockade trams are to operate normally each side of the town centre with passengers expected to either walk between East Croydon and Reeves Corner or catch the shuttle bus (operating from 0915 and 1800 only). Six service trams are to be kept to the east of the blockade, overnight they will be stabled in Sandilands tunnel. Both night crews and security staff will be on guard with the trams from on both Saturday and Sunday nights. The trams will be still be cleaned on Sunday night by a team of cleaners at East Croydon with the night crews moving the trams here for the task to be completed, cleaning on Saturday night will presumably be done before leaving depot after the last tram in service on that day runs into depot (approximately 0100). If a spare tram is required due to breakdowns etc a Police escort will be necessary to move the tram wrong line up Church Street and Crown Hill. Further wrong line running will be necessary in service with the Wimbledon line trams terminating at Reeves Corner and then running wrong line back to Jubilee Bridge. For more on these stories and more news from Croydon visit the Unofficial Croydon Tramlink website. Source: Unofficial Croydon Tramlink |
|
Activity has finally got under way in Blackpool with new adverts and liveries now appearing. On 30 April 2004, Jubilee 762 is seen in the Paint Shop undergoing a repaint into a new all over ad for Unison. This tram is of course currently undergoing an overhaul, as can be seen from the slightly chaged shape - particularly at the top. This view was taken as part of the FTS Annual Convention. Photo: Alan Robson. Follow the link for further images from the FTS weekend. |
|
COUNCIL BLOCK PARK LINE FOR MERSEYTRAM Sunday 8 May 2005 A couple of weeks ago BRITISH TRAMS ONLINE reported that some Liberal Democrat councillors were trying to block a route of Merseytram Line 2, this has now been successful. The Liberal Democrat majority of the City Council passed a motion at a meeting forbidding any reduction in Liverpool’s open space as a result of the Merseytram project. Councillor Mark Dowd, Chairman of Merseytravel, accused the council of putting the future of the project in jeopardy – yet again. He was present at the meeting but was not allowed to speak on the subject. He told the Liverpool Daily Post: “The amount of open space we are talking about for the tram at Botanic Park is 500sq m out of a total of 187,000sq m, the equivalent of 0.25%. We'd refurbish and build a new children's play area. The tram would be great for the park and bring in a lot more people to use it. For the sake of a small plot of land at the edge of the park, which they have known about for a long time, they are prepared to demolish the tram system.” At the meeting the councillors also called for regular fortnightly meetings between council and Merseytravel leaders to thrash out contentious issues. Mr Dowd added: “The city council has done everything in its power to stop trams coming to Merseyside. We have a very tight timescale to stick to. If this goes through it will kill off Line Two. How can we run a tram there if the council do not want it? I will now be seeking advice from Merseytravel's legal people as to what we do next." In respect of the call for regular meetings between the two parties Mr Dowd said that a forum already existed in the form of the tram committee which had representatives from Merseytravel and the City Council. Councillor Richard Marbrow, one of the “Lib Dem Three” responded to these criticisms saying: “Merseytravel has shown a complete lack of respect for parkland. To say that you can run a tram close to children's play equipment and not have an impact is absolutely laughable. The motion doesn't mean that we're against the tram, just that we're not for it at all costs." This is of course not the first time that the City Council have put major obstacles in the way of Merseytravel progressing with the Merseytram project and I am sure it will not be the last. Source: icLiverpool BID LAUNCHED TO RESTORE WESTERN TRAIN Sunday 8 May 2005 Blackpool Transport have launched a bid to help restore the Illuminated Western Train 733+734 to operational status. The Managing Director of Blackpool Transport, Steve Burd, said: "It will cost the best part of £300,000 to refurbish the tram and we hope to get the bulk of that from the Lottery. But they are spending the public's money so we need to prove that we have support from the people of Blackpool. We want to hear from all sections of society and we are especially interested in getting young families and local schools involved. The Lottery are keen the project has an educational aspect and we will be writing to the schools to find out if they would use it as a resource. The illuminated trams are an important part of our rich cultural heritage in Blackpool and having them back on show would add to the range of attractions we have to offer. We have had comments from people in the past asking where these trams are and when they will run again, so we know there is backing out there. What we need is a concerted campaign to show the Lottery that people want to see the Western Train restored." Because of the educational aspect of the bid the tram would be home to a permanent exhibition on the history of the trams and the illuminations. Anybody who wishes to support this venture should write directly to Blackpool Transport at: Western Tram Restoration Project, Blackpool Transport, Rigby Road, Blackpool, FY1 5DD. Source: Blackpool Today POLICE PRESENCE ON TRAMS IN CROYDON A SUCCESS Sunday 8 May 2005 The officer in charge of the West Croydon British Transport Police, Inspector Jack Ioannou has said that the recent police presence on trams between Wandle Park and Arena stops was a success. He said: “This was a successful partnership operation during which we recorded no robberies or serious offences committed on the tram system. I was particularly pleased with the positive comments by passengers who felt reassured by the extra presence of police officers." The operation took place from 11 to 22 April and in addition to the British Transport Police featured Tramlink revenue staff and it was codenamed “Hereford”. Source: icSouthLondon TRAMS PLAY NO PART IN GENERAL ELECTION Sunday 8 May 2005 As far as I can tell trams did not play a part in deciding any seats in the UK General Election on Thursday (5 May). The situation in Manchester did threaten at one stage to be an issue but from what I can tell very few seats in the area changed hands and if they did Metrolink would likely be a small issue in the scheme of things. One seat which did change hands was Croydon Central which went to the Conservatives by just 75 votes but again there is no suggestion that Tramlink extensions played any part at all. Meanwhile in Nottingham before the election the Conservatives were hoping that the tram extension may play a part in ousting Nick Palmer as the MP. The Nottingham Evening Post ran an article which explained how they thought it would be an issue, including all candidates views on the proposed extension through the Constituency. However, Dr Palmer retained his seat although with a reduced majority with a swing of just over 3% to the Tories. As a matter of interest here are the Candidates views on extending Nottingham Express Transit: Conservatives: Opposed the route completely. Bob Seely, the candidate, said: “We believe this route is entirely wrong. It will be extremely expensive, will damage our environment, will destroy people's homes and may even create more traffic problems." Green: Candidate Paul Anderson said: “We're in favour of it but we have some doubts about the route. It's national policy to support local light rail transport, as long as the environmental damage is not significant and local people want it." Labour: Supported the extension in general but opposed certain parts of the routing. Dr Palmer said: “The approach I've taken is to propose changes to the route so we get it both ways - the advantages of being joined to the tram without the impact on the retirement home and people's gardens. That's more constructive and more credible." Liberal Democrats: Candidate David Watts said: “I'm unashamedly pro-tram. I think it's essential for the future of Nottingham and I will work to make sure we get the best possible route. The route we've got seems close -there's some minor adjustments." UKIP: Candidate Patricia Wolfe said: “It's worth looking at. They've got good arguments for having it, but the Conservatives have also got reasonably good arguments." Veritas: Candidate Damian Hockney said: “The only way to resolve it would be for the two sides to put their case and have a local vote." Source: This is Nottingham BLACKPOOL TRAMWAY FULLY REOPENED Sunday 1 May 2005 The Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramway fully reopened on schedule following the track works around Manchester Square on Friday 28 April. John Shaw, Blackpool Council’s Head of Technical Services said: “We are very happy with how the tramway works has gone and that it has all been completed on schedule. We would like to thank the local residents for being patient while this vital work was carried out.” During the works trams had to use the Princess Street exit/entrance from depot as the normal main way from the Promenade was involved in this £1 million project. Temporary traffic lights and traffic diversions were removed during Friday and now everything is back to normal in this area. Work commenced at Manchester Square with the points and Promenade track in January and was suspended over Easter before the Phase 2 was untaken over the past month on the Lytham Road track. With the tramway opening in time for the Bank Holiday Weekend the Fylde Tramway Society’s Annual Convention Weekend is now able to run as according to the original plan and includes appearances by several mothballed tramcars (although by the time you read this the majority of the events will have taken place). Source: Blackpool Council & BBC News Online DLR ACHIEVES RECORD BREAKING RELIABILITY Sunday 1 May 2005 Serco Docklands has achieved a record breaking high in reliability during the 4 week period in March with 98.05% of trains running on time. This becomes the first time that the DLR has broken the 98% and compares favourably with the average National Rail level of 83%. The Managing Director of Serco Docklands, Neil McLean said: “This is a great result for passengers who have experienced the most reliable Docklands Light Railway ever over the last four weeks. It is also a proud moment for all our staff as it represents hard work across the whole company.” This result is another impressive achievement for the operator which began the year with best ever Customer Satisfaction score in DLR’s history with 95.98% of passengers saying they were satisfied or better with the service on DLR in the last quarter of 2004. Source: Docklands Light Railway SHUDEHILL INTERCHANGE TO FINALLY FULLY OPEN Sunday 1 May 2005 It now looks likely that the much delayed Shudehill Transport Interchange in Manchester is to finally open completely in the autumn. The tram station section of the Interchange opened in April 2003 and it was expected that the remainder would be opened by that summer but a number of factors caused delays meaning that it is still not open. Full building work only commenced 18 months ago on the concrete bus station which also features an airport style lounge, shops, cafes and 777 space car park. Mike Renshaw, GMPTE’s Project Director, said: “People will be able to see a flurry of activity now and we are aiming to open in the autumn, hopefully October. Christmas is very much in our minds and we will certainly have the interchange up and running by then." The complete project will cost £24 million with GMPTE giving £3.5 million and the remainder coming from a combination of European grants and Manchester City Council. Mr Renshaw added: “We want people to see it an exciting place to be, much like a railway station or airport. If people see it as an attractive place we have a better chance of tempting them out of their cars." Source: Manchester Online NET WILL HAVE TO BID FOR FURTHER CASH Sunday 1 May 2005 Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt described Nottingham Express Transit as brilliant during a visit to the city this week but she said that they will have to bid for any extra cash as would any other place in the UK. She said: “We need to look nationally, regionally and locally at what more investment should go to Nottingham. The East Midlands Development Agency, the city council and the Government need to work together." She was in the city to launch Labour’s latest election document, “Strong Economy, Great Cities” which is all about Labour’s urban regeneration efforts. Nottingham has been named one of the UK’s eight “core cities” along with fellow tram city Manchester. In Manchester the document makes a point about the £520 million the government have given to Metrolink extensions. Source: This is Nottingham & Manchester Online DELAY TO START OF SERVICE ON NET Sunday 1 May 2005 Passengers on NET were met by a delay to the start of service on 18 April for almost an hour because of a communications problem. Radio contact was lost between the control room and the trams before services began which meant the trams could not be guided around the system. The back-up system was put into place but the effects of this were not felt until 6.50am – 50 minutes after the scheduled start of services. Colin Lea, the Marketing Manager said: “The fault has now been fixed and we are getting trams back out there. We lost about the first hour of operations. It is the first time this has happened, but we have got various back-up systems. We will be looking into what caused the problem. We hope to give out tokens for free journeys to customers who were affected. We are extremely sorry over the situation but safety is our number one priority and we won't run trams unless we're sure they're safe." One disrupted passenger was Roger Hibbert who was left waiting at Hucknall tram stop, he said: “I got to Hucknall to catch the 6.24am but all it was saying on the indicator board was "no service until further notice". I tried to phone the information line but it was engaged all the time." Source: This is Nottingham CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE NEWS UPDATE Sunday 1 May 2005 The latest progress on Leeds 345 sees work continuing on the seat upholstery, the lower saloon has been finished with concentration now on the upper saloon. Other recent work has seen attention to the destination equipment and missing vestibule door furniture has been manufactured. Halle 902 has started test running and has also had its pantograph replaced by the one removed from the Berlin Works Car last year. Test runs will now resume to settle some concerns regarding possible engineering modifications for operations at Crich. The investigative work on LUT 159 has almost been completed and any further work will be delayed until both the PRISM grant application and the negotiations with the LCCTT are completed. Elsewhere Glasgow 1297 has had some investigative work of its own, on its roof. This has found that it is in reasonable condition with no rot and limited corrosion to the steel carlines. The original Glasgow bow plank has been removed to reveal that this has been badly damaged which has allowed water ingress. Remedial work on the roof in underway with the planking replaced and the roof sealed and repainted. Liverpool 869 should be able t return to service soon as a serviceable compressor has been moved from the Clay Cross store for fitting. On a general tram note the paintwork of the trams is starting to become a concern and after 345 is finished Leeds 602 is to be repainted and this will be followed by a programme of work on cars such as Paisley 68, LCC 106 and Sheffield 510. In addition attention is required on the traction wiring of Blackpool 166, Sheffield 510 and Glasgow 812 and the controllers of MET 331 and Glasgow 812. Source: This is Nottingham |