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| News...October 2004...News...October 2004...News...October 2004...News This Page was last updated Sunday 31 October 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. |
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News In Brief Blackpool: : Jubilee 762 has entered the workshops for a start to be made on an overhaul (expected to take up to a year). Meanwhile Twin Trailer Car 685 is in the Paint Shop receiving the Line 5 Metro Coastlines Red & Yellow livery as already received by its Towing Car 675. (31/10/04 - Paul Turner from Yahoo! Groups Blackpool_Transport) Manchester: 1010 is back after overhaul and has been spotted at the depot in the new livery. There are still ongoing tram availability issues with most days seeing e-mails sent from the Metrolink Service Disruption about no double units running or delays on certain routes. (31/10/04 - Gordon Ferguson) ------------------------------------------------- Birkenhead: Hong Kong 69 has returned to service and is reported to be running smoothly following a full truck overhaul. (17/10/04 - MTPS) Croydon: The Mayor of London’s £10bn, five-year transport investment programme officially reveals the backing for the Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace. (17/10/04 - icSouthLondon) Croydon: TfL are expected to announce by the end of the month whether they will provide funding to enable the stop outside the Central tram stop to be used by trams. (17/10/04 - icSouthLondon) Manchester: : On Thursday (14 October) services were suspended between Old Trafford and Altrincham because of a vehicle failure. The delays did not last too long though and were running the full distance again within a couple of hours. There have also been limited double units running on the Burt-Altrincham service due to continuing tram shortages. (17/10/04 - Manchester Metrolink) Sheffield: A change in liveries in South Yorkshire with firstly, 120 losing its all over advert for Meadowhall and then 116 gaining an all over advert for…Meadowhall! 116 features a new design for the big shopping centre at the end of one of the routes. (17/10/04 - Fylde Tramway News) ------------------------------------------------- Blackpool: A new trial Park and Ride scheme has started at weekends in Blackpool to try and cure Illumination traffic congestion. The scheme sees a P&R site at the Airport with a shuttle bus taking people to Starr Gate where they can then board a tram to travel through the lights. Shuttle buses run every 15 minutes from 6.30pm, with the final bus leaving Starr Gate at 12.15am - the cost is £3 each (for the bus). If a success it may see extended use next year. (10/10/04 - Blackpool Today) NETCo: The New Edinburgh Tramways Company have revealed on their website (link below) that they have been working in the background on several exciting projects in the last year. However they can not reveal any details about them! In addition they mention that the TRAM project continues and it is currently being refitted and refurbished (could this be heading to Blackpool). (10/10/04 - New Edinburgh Tramways) ------------------------------------------------- Blackpool: Twin Motor Car 675 has finally been completed in the Paint Shop in the Line 5 Metro Coastlines livery (Red & Yellow) - the trailer car still requires attention. Coronation 660 has also now had a paint job finished and remains in the cream and green livery (minus beading). Balloon 722 has now entered the Paint Shop for an unknown repaint - although it may just be a repaint of the domes which have recently seen attention. (3/10/04 - Paul Turner from Yahoo! Groups Blackpool_Transport) Heaton Park: I have been asked to point out that last weeks story on the possible pull out of the tramway from the park has no foundation and the MEN story was not endorsed by either the Tramway Society or Park Trust. The tramway are not looking at withdrawing and in fact planning big celebrations next year for their 25th Anniversary. (3/10/04 - John Whitehouse, Traffic and Commercial Manager) Seaton: Full details of the End of Season Gala have now been revealed and can be seen in depth on the Diary of Events. The two day gala will feature Tram Driving Experiences, guided tours of the depot, Works Car 2 being out and about, tram birthday party and twilight running in of trams to the depot. Obviously all events are not on both days so check the Diary of Events. (3/10/04 - Seaton Tramway) ------------------------------------------------- |
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CENTRALE STOP TO OPEN & TRAMLINK TO GET NEW TRAM Sunday 31 October 2004 In a Press Release sent out in the past week Transport for London confirmed that the Tamworth Road (Centrale) stop is to open in 2005. In a more exciting move it was also revealed that they are to fund the purchase of an extra tram so that the stop can be served whilst not impacting on other services. In order to accommodate the stop it is expected that there will be a change in services run which will see improved access to Croydon town centre and will provide a more reliable, robust and improved capacity on the Wimbledon line. It is speculated that the new service will see a Wimbledon to New Addington (via Croydon - every 8 minutes) service and a Beckenham Junction to Elmer’s End (via the Croydon loop - every 10 minutes) service. It is not yet known where the new tram will come from or what the new tram will be. TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, Peter Hendy said: “I am pleased we can make the financial provision which enables this tram stop to open in 2005. Whilst more people will opt to catch the tram instead of using their cars once the tram stop is fully operational, without TfL’s contribution the stop could not be opened as there would be insufficient additional revenue to justify the extra costs involved to the Concessionaire.” In other news on Croydon Tramlink there have been few RTCs (Road Traffic Collisions) recently including one at Oaks Road on 14 October - in the same position as a major collision between a car and tram in March of this year. In this incident two people were injured when their car struck the side of 2531. The tram was not damaged too badly and it continued in service although New Addington services were disrupted for around an hour. Speaking to the Croydon Advertiser Charles Tomlinson, head of Safety for Tramlink said: “Many incidents have involved people jumping red lights. About 90 per cent of the accidents we investigate are caused by people going through lights on red or amber. There is nothing we can do to prevent that happening except warn people of the danger." On Saturday 25 September there were major delays caused by the snapping of the Overhead wire on the Addington Village crossover. The incident happened at approximately 0510 and tripped the breakers for the Oaks Road to Addington Village section meaning that a tram was stranded at Gravel Hill with no power. It took a long time comparatively to repair the wire with the line not opening fully again until Monday morning. A replacement bus service of sorts was eventually restored with trams having to terminate at Lloyd Park and buses completing the journeys. Finally from Croydon a pensioner has complained that emergency work carried out on the tramway in Addiscombe Road at night is causing her to lose sleep. Lorna Clare, who is 75 years old, is not averse to complaining about Tramlink and hijacked a visit by John Prescott to Croydon in 2000 telling about her complaints. Mrs Clare said: “We usually get letters to let us know work is going to be happening, but recently we haven't. Either way it is a lot of noise and disturbance when people are trying to sleep. We have had to put up with this kind of work for the last four years, but lately it is happening so often. They should stop the trams and do the work at a more sociable time. Why should people living round here have to suffer?" Croydon Tramlink’s Managing Director Roger Harding said: “We do our best to be good neighbours and we inform people that work is due to be carried out, unless the work has to be done as an emergency. Recently there was some emergency work in the Addiscombe Road area to deal with a collapsing manhole cover. If this had not been dealt with rapidly it would have created a much more significant problem." To keep up-to-date with the complete latest news on Croydon Tramlink, visit the Unofficial site here. Source: Unofficial Croydon Tramlink, icSouthLondon & Transport for London CRITICISM OVER TRAM PLAN IN BLACKPOOL Sunday 31 October 2004 Conservative council leader Peter Callow has criticised the Labour led council for not doing enough to try and get the government to reverse their decision to reject funding for the light rail upgrade. Councillor Callow (Norbreck) said: “I can't help thinking that if we had made a stronger demonstration when the Government refused our bid we would be seeing a result as well. The light rail system is central to all our plans for the future. The casino bid is looking increasingly like it is not going to happen and now the tramway is doomed. If these two projects collapse we have nothing. Not enough was done to try to make the Government see they were wrong to shelve our bid to rejuvenate the trams.” He also said that he had offered to invite Alistair Darling to the Illumination switch on so he could see for himself that the tramway needed investment. The Leader of the Council, Roy Fisher, countered Councillor Callow’s claims: “I want to stress that we are making positive progress in the approach we are making, one which has been recommended to us by the Department of Transport. Our bid is very different to Manchester's. It is at a different stage and needs to be revised in different ways. However fundamentally we are progressing at the same rate. We are working very hard behind the scenes on scheme options and operational and procurement aspects to develop the best value for money proposals that will form the basis for detailed dialogue with the department's officials.” Source: Blackpool Today CAMPAIGN FOR TRAMLINK EXTENSIONS CONTINUES Sunday 31 October 2004 The South London Partnership held a public meeting on Monday 18 October bringing together councillors, businesses and community organisations to see how they could demonstrate the breadth and strength of support for Tramlink extensions. Bruce McDonald, Chief Executive of the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames: said “With transport investment (as with so many other issues) south London is the poor relation and we recognise that if this is to change then we must make a great deal of noise in south London. Recognising this South London Partnership decided to set up a lobby group to make our case - and we see the business and community voice as the most powerful aspect of that lobby.” The South London Partnership has pledged its support by offering marketing materials, speakers for meetings and events and familiarisation visits to the Tramlink depot. They are also encouraging businesses and organisations to think of ways they can help to educate people about the proposed extensions and the benefits they will bring. The Director of the South London Partnership, Christine Seaman, added: “We were delighted so many people took the time to contribute their ideas and support. I would urge anyone organising an event or meeting which could include an opportunity to promote the case for the tram extensions to contact the South London Partnership. Our success is dependent on demonstrating that south London is united in its commitment to securing the extensions to the already successful, efficient and hugely popular Tramlink.” Source: Unofficial Croydon Tramlink MANCHESTER “GET BACK ON TRACK” CAMPAIGN LATEST Sunday 31 October 2004 There are more encouraging signs coming from government over the “Big Bang” expansion of Manchester Metrolink this week. Transport Minister Tony McNulty said on the BBC Politics Show in the North West last Sunday: “We are having very serious discussions with Manchester and I would say that they have been extremely fruitful and productive. We want to find a way out of the position we're in now. The future of light rail isn't completely dead in Manchester or elsewhere but there are serious questions we need to look at in terms of the various aspects of funding." These comments were of course welcomed by Roger Jones, chairman of the GMPTE, who said: “I'm delighted with what the minister's had to say but there's a fair way to go yet. What we need is his support to convince the Treasury that we can refund and repackage Metrolink. It's not just reducing costs, it's changing the whole package so that the public sector and private sector share the cost of the scheme." It seems that the “Get Back on Track” campaign, originally led by the Manchester Evening News, has persuaded the government to look again at the scheme. The campaign was praised by MPs in Parliament this week during a debate on extending Metrolink by Ian Stewart (MP for Eccles). Mr Stewart said: “I call for future extensions of the Metrolink out to the Barton economic zone where we hope that Salford Reds rugby league club will be successful in building their new stadium and for the line to cross the Manchester Ship Canal to the Trafford Centre." He added that: “Metrolink extensions would be good value for money, environmentally sound and the CBI North West had told Tony Blair that withdrawal of government support for Metrolink was a hammer blow to the confidence and prospects of northern England.” Meanwhile, this week, the first President of the newly formed Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has criticised the government over their rejection of the “Big Bang” of Metrolink. John Early, a director of AMEC (an international project management and services giant) said: “If we compare our public transport system with others in Europe, we would find it woefully inadequate. We can't instantly reverse decades of under- investment, but I do think that if the government had been more decisive earlier in the decision-making process, we could have extended the Metrolink well before the Commonwealth Games even happened. We've got to keep the pressure on government to get the decision to withdraw funding for Phase Three reversed. Failure to do so would be a disaster." Source: Manchester Online & BBC News Online) NOTTINGHAM EXPRESS TRANSIT NEWS UPDATE Sunday 31 October 2004 Unfortunately, just like all tram systems in the UK, NET is suffering from vandals. The two all over adverted Powergen trams, 201 and 213, have seen vandals attack the doors and on replacement by NET normal fleet liveried doors are used. The advertising contractor has to provide the vinyl’s to be used and as such it looks untidy on the trams. It is not yet the plan to remove the adverts as the contracts remain it is just down to the vandalism. There were severe service disruptions on NET on Thursday (28 October) due to a lack of serviceable trams. It is believed that between 3 and 8 trams were out of service although there is no confirmation as to how many were exactly out of service. At 1700 one tram was out of use due to a group of youths throwing stones at a tram near Bulwell, one was out of service due to a RTC at Radford Road in the morning and two had mechanical faults. NET ticket holders were being accepted on both Central Trains Robin Hood services and NCT buses. On Saturday 23 October, 211 developed a brake fault and wheel flats and ground to a halt at Lace Market in the City centre. It did manage to get moving again but was taken out of service at The Forest with 215 replacing it in passenger use. Because of this delay both Hucknall and Phoenix Park were without trams for 40 minutes. Congestion was also caused at The Forest where on one occasion seven trams were in the vicinity operating services. The full picture of all these NET news stories can be seen here at Joe Mills’ website. Source: Joe Mills CRICH TRAMWAY VILLAGE UPDATE Sunday 31 October 2004 It is planned that London United Tramways 159, the next major restoration project to be undertaken at the Museum after Leeds 345 is completed, will move to Crich from Clay Cross as soon as the LCCTT agree to proceed with the work. Meanwhile glazing is virtually complete on 345 although there still remains a large amount of work to finish the car. The only major areas of the tram that remain to be completed are the dashes. Elsewhere in the workshops Leeds 602 has seen attention to the main canvassed area of the roof (where there were water ingress problems) and work continues on remedial electrical work. Southampton 45 has been lifted and stripped down to its general main component parts with the motor parts and wheel sets being sent to a sub contractor (and now returned) for overhaul and repair. Other work also continues on this tram which will be at the forefront of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations in 2005. The workshops have also seen Glasgow 22 (replacement controller units) and Sheffield 510 (roof) receiving attention. Finally, the Museum will not be proceeding with a second Access tram from Marseilles due to ownership issues and residual asbestos, a car from Halle is now being investigated for this purpose. Why not become a member of the Tramway Museum Society to help support tramcar restoration? You receive a quarterly magazine, free entry to the museum at Crich (except special events) and a monthly newsletters amonst other benefits. For more details see here. Source: Contact (Tramway Museum Society Newsletter) MERSEY TRAM BID IN ON TIME...JUST Sunday 24 October 2004 The bid to Design, Build, Operate and Maintain Merseytram was received this week by Merseytravel, with just one hour to spare before the midnight deadline was reached on Tuesday (19 October). The one remaining bidder in the race, Mersey Express Tramway, is made up of Keolis, Balfour Beattie and Parsons Brinckenhoff and it is believed that the bid they have placed is within the required budget. However city sources have revealed to the Liverpool Daily Post that it does propose postponing construction of part of the tramway in the city centre until after 2008 - the year of the Capital of Culture. This means that part of the loop going round Liverpool City Centre will be moved from being part of Line 1 to be constructed along with Line 2. The part of the route that this affects will be section down Dale Street, Water Street, the Pier Head and the Strand. It is hoped that this change will help to keep the project both on time and within the specified budget. There would also be a delay in the demolition of the Churchill Way South flyover although a source close to Merseytravel has said that it is expected that the flyover will be demolished and the remainder of the loop constructed in 2009 alongside the construction of Line 2. Merseytravel Chief Executive, Neil Scales said: “We are delighted we have received a bid despite all the problems over the last few weeks. We'll be looking at it closely with our lawyers." The provisional budget for the scheme is £228 million (£170 million from the government) although this budget increases by 7% each year with inflation which is added by the government. If all goes according to plan construction will commence on 1 April 2005. Source: icLiverpool MANCHESTER UPSET OVER MERSEYTRAM GETTING GO-AHEAD Sunday 24 October 2004 The Manchester Evening News have this week carried a story again bemoaning their luck that they did not get funds for the “Big Bang” whilst their “rival” in Liverpool have money set a side for Merseytram. They claim to have seen Department for Transport documents which list the Cost Benefit Ratio for lots of government approved transport projects in the UK and this shows that Metrolink would be better value for money than Liverpool’s Merseytram. The government figures show that whilst Metrolink would generate £1.60 of benefits for every £1 invested, Merseytram would only generate £1.10 worth of benefits. This, however, seems to be missing the entire point of the refusal of funding, as the reason given was not that it wasn’t a good idea but rather that the costs had spiralled out of control. This was confirmed by a DfT spokesman: “The fact is the costs rose dramatically. We would not have put up £520m if we did not think it was a good scheme. This was not an issue of benefit-cost ratio. It was an issue of cost control." However, of course, this does not satisfy some in Manchester with Conservative MP, Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale West), complaining: “I think the people of Greater Manchester deserve an explanation as to why these factors count in favour of the Merseyside scheme but not for Metrolink. They have been given the go ahead when we are left high and dry." Source: Manchester Online MERSEY TRAM IS BACK ON THE RAILS! Sunday 17 October 2004 Liverpool City Council and Merseytravel (the PTE) seem to have put their differences behind them with the council pledging their full support for Merseytram. Sir David Henshaw, council Chief Executive, told the city’s regeneration select committee: “The critical nature of Line Two has only just been realised in the last two months and within the last year the importance of the airport for the city has grown. We believe on a level playing field we should go to the airport earlier. But as a result of the objection from Merseytravel, the proposal will go to the executive board that we step aside and ignore our views." However Mike Storey, council leader made a parting shot at Merseytravel: “I regret that Merseytravel has a lack of understanding about what consultation is about. In hindsight I should have realised that when we were consulted on our views for Line Two that once we gave our views we would be accused of derailing the project. I have to say that I have never had the feeling that Merseytravel represents Merseyside completely. It seems to my mind to be quite divorced from Liverpool. I would like to see a closer relationship and if that means banging heads together, then so be it." Despite these assurances that the council will not try and de-rail the plans anymore, the one remaining bidder for the Merseytram contract, Mersey Express Tramway (MET) asked for a further extension to the deadline for submitted bids to Tuesday (19 October). It is believed that they were dismayed at the delays in finding out what the council were going to do about the Line 2/3 debate. MET project director Mike Flynn spoke exclusively to the Liverpool Daily Post: “We have asked Merseytravel for a further extension in the deadline so that we have time to consider what the council's official position on the tram is following their executive board meeting on Friday. We have a bid prepared that delivers Merseytram within budget and in time for the Capital of Culture celebrations; but we are still unsure of what the council's official position is." He added that they were unable to submit a bid when they did not know what the council’s true position was in respect to Line 2: “On September 17, the Council adopted as their policy an alternate route to the line two proposals presently with Central Government awaiting approval, and on which we had invested much time - over a year, money - several millions, and effort preparing our proposals. We cannot invest many millions based on a nod and a wink from council officers. Whatever decisions are made by the council on Friday will materially affect our bid, if we are able to submit one at all." The ball is now firmly in the court of MET, as if they decide the risk is too much to put a bid in at all then the whole Merseytram project is dead - no bidders = no project it is as simple as that. Source: icLiverpool BIRMINGHAM CITY CENTRE ROW RESURFACES Sunday 17 October 2004 In the last week the row over whether future Midland Metro Birmingham city centre extensions should be over or under ground resurfaced when it was claimed that Centro had backtracked on their previous viewpoint and had agreed to give £50,000 to a feasibility study. In rows, which seem to be echoing disagreements between the PTE and council in Liverpool, the council believe that there is no room for any surface lines through the city centre at all (including the Five Ways line - currently awaiting results from a Public Inquiry). City council leader Mike Whitby told the Birmingham Post: “There is a problem with the metro extension as planned and we would rather see it going underground if that is possible. That is why we are funding a feasibility study. It is certainly my personal preference. It is not only the council but also businesses that want it underground." Earlier in the week Councillor Whitby had suggested that Centro had decided to give £50,000 towards the £150,000 feasibility study ordered earlier this month. However this version of events was not clarified by Centro who said they had had only preliminary discussions and they had not even been asked to contribute funds. They added that they had not changed their minds and believed there was still room for two surface lines in Birmingham city centre. Source: icBirmingham CENTENARY 645 COMMENCES MID-LIFE OVERHAUL Sunday 17 October 2004 Centenary 645 has been transferred into the Body Shop for a start to be made on its mid-life overhaul. This becomes the seventh class member to undergo this overhaul although it is currently unclear what style it is to be released in as the HSE has expressed concern over the shape of the latest rebuilds. It also means that the first time in many years Bispham and Cleveleys Kitchens do not have an all over adverted tram. Elsewhere, as reported in our Blackpool 2004 report, the Cleveleys service was disrupted for a period in September with short (and long) running being used after the crossover wire lost its tension. This service is now back to normal. The Fylde Tramway News also report that the Boats, except 600, are now classified as out of service and are likely to remain this way because of the downsizing of the tram fleet expected this winter. Finally, 260 the Railcrane has been moved to the Fitting Shop for an assessment to be made as to what modifications can be made to bring it up to the standard of Reel Wagon 750. This news has been taken from the Fylde Tramway News - the Journal of the Fylde Tramway Society. The only way to receive this monthly magazine (the only way to get full monthly Blackpool Tramway news) is by becoming a FTS member - see here or here for more details. Source: Fylde Tramway News TV POLL BACKS NORTH WEST TRAM SCHEMES Sunday 17 October 2004 A Granada Television programme, broadcast last week, has shown there is strong public support for both the Metrolink “Big Bang” and the Blackpool Tramway upgrade, both of which were rejected by the government in July. In the documentary an opinion poll asked: “Do you think the government should reverse its decision?” The results showed that 73% said yes, 10% no and 17% did not know. The programme focused on the north/south divide and how the decision has affected businesses and families in the area. In Blackpool Councillor Eddie Collett, deputy leader and portfolio holder for tourism and regeneration, welcomed the news of this support: “It does not surprise us that 73 per cent of people want to see Blackpool's strong tram heritage continue. Trams have long been an enjoyable aspect of visiting Blackpool and the council sees a modern tram system as an essential element of the resort's masterplan. Our trams provide vital public transport for visitors travelling between hotels and attractions and for local people going to and from work. If the trams are not upgraded Blackpool will not be able to transport the increased numbers of tourists we want to attract.” Meanwhile in Manchester, Tony Morris, Granada TV presenter, said: “The people of the north west are clearly starting to realise that by acting together, in support of each other, we can achieve our fair share of government resources. The programme looks at the north/south divide. It's been getting wider and wider for 40 years. I think the Metrolink decision has been the catalyst for the people of the North West to stand up and shout: `This far and no further!'" Source: Blackpool Today & Manchester Online CAR USE RISES IN METROLINK-LESS TOWNS Sunday 17 October 2004 Car mileage has grown by almost double the national average in Tameside and Oldham in the past 10 years - both of these towns were to be on the Manchester Metrolink network. Tameside has seen a 39% increase whilst in Oldham it has been 35% - the national average is 19%, a figure also being seen across the north west. In Rochdale (another town which should have been getting Metrolink) also sees an above average increase (24%) whilst Bury, which is already on the Metrolink network, seeing a 25% increase in car journey mileage. It is hoped that these findings, from a BT survey, will help the “Get Metrolink Back on Track” campaign urging the government to reverse their decision to refuse funding for the “Big Bang”. Elsewhere in Manchester this week Junior Transport Minister, Charlotte Atkins, visited to test a government funded bus service upgrade. She admitted that the tram would form an important part of an integrated transport system for the region but she also said that if “Big Bang” was to be revived it would have to come at the right price. Source: Manchester Online MERSEYTRAM BACK ON TRACK AND THEN IT ISN’T AGAIN Sunday 10 October 2004 The MerseyTram scheme seemed to be getting back on track last week when the City Council told Merseytravel to ignore their views on changing Lines 2 and 3 round. However at the end of the week one of the two consortia interested, M-Tram, withdrew their bid leaving just MET as a bidder to get the DBOM contract. It is reported that the city council still have major doubts over whether MerseyTram can be built and opened in time and as one councillor put it when talking to the Liverpool Daily Post: “Do it your way and, if it doesn't work out, it's not our fault." In an official council statement they have reaffirmed their support for the scheme: “It (the city council) has informed Merseytravel, that if the John Lennon Airport link is likely to jeopardise Line One, Merseytravel should proceed instead with the current proposals for Line Two which links the city centre with Whiston Hospital. However, this is subject to addressing the technical concerns which are already being identified. The city council wants to ensure bids are submitted for Line Two. It is keen to see that work in line with its implementation agreement with Merseytravel to construct Line One can start as soon as the necessary approvals and funding are given by the Secretary of State." The council Chief Executive, David Henshaw, added: “Merseytravel has said that the city's suggested preference for the Liverpool John Lennon Airport link was the obstacle to the submission of bids. We have removed the obstacle and now look forward to seeing bids by October 14 to enable the concessionaire to be appointed and the construction of the tram to be completed by the end of 2007." Despite the fact that the council had gone public with their “backing” of the scheme Merseytravel were still very cautious as regards how MerseyTram can proceed. Councillor Mark Dowd, Chairman, said: “I am glad that the city council appears to have reversed its decision, but their public announcement against the scheme has caused some serious problems. Confidence has been shaken and their actions could lead to an increase in costs. I look forward to the city council's full support in future to ensure that we deliver the tram and the immediate withdrawal of the council's resolution which caused the problems in the first instance." And the comments of Councillor Dowd seemed to be proved at the end of the week when the Serco led consortium, M-Tram (also including Mitsubishi and NedRailways) announced that they were withdrawing from the race to bid for the contract. The decision was revealed in a letter at a meeting of local Labour MPs. In this letter Serco said: “The city's recent calls, so late in the day, for JLA (John Lennon Airport) to be included in Line 2 give rise to major concerns and we now consider the project risk too high to continue. We remain fully supportive of the development of a tram system for Merseyside in any alternative solution where Serco could use its light rail expertise together with the current Merseyrail operation." This of course means that there is only one consortium bidding for the right to construct the system, MET who said on hearing of the council’s decision not to fight Line 2: “We are delighted that the city council and Merseytravel seem to have sorted out their differences and we hope we can now move forward on delivering this excellent scheme for the people of Merseyside." This at least sounds slightly on the positive side - however I would have thought that M-Tram was the favourite to win the race as Serco/NedRailways already run the rail services in the region. Source: icLiverpool & BBC News Online TRAM SHORTAGE HITS METROLINK Sunday 10 October 2004 Following the recent accident involving Second Series tram 2005 (now confirmed), Manchester Metrolink are suffering with tram shortages meaning double units are not being run in the morning and evening peaks. 2005 has been sent away for repairs (no confirmed reports of where to but Wolverton is a possibility as this is where I am sure I have read that the mid life refurbishment vehicles are sent) and this means there are now no spare trams. The situation was exacerbated on Wednesday when a tram suffered a minor technical fault meaning it was out of service for the morning peak. It meant that passengers on the Eccles line had to wait up to 24 minutes for a tram - luckily engineers at the depot managed to work quickly to get the tram back into service by the evening rush hour. This situation has added fuel to the “Get Back on Track” campaign with Roger Jones, chairman of the GMPTE, saying: “This is the kind of thing we were trying to tell the government. As these trams get older - a lot have been running for 12 years now - we start to see these problems but we don't have enough spares. We should have at least six or seven but we've got one. If there is a problem we have to cut services and I'm sure that is most infuriating for the passengers. All I can say to the public is that if we succeed we will have sufficient new trams to cover Phase 2 as well as the new lines. We've told the government we need £90m. At the moment we can't pick up enough people at rush hour." A spokeswoman for Serco Metrolink added: “It is a knock-on effect from the dustbin wagon crash a week last Sunday. The vehicle was badly damaged and has to go away for repairs. That means we have a shortage of vehicles and customers will have seen a gap in services every so often, literally a gap every hour on the Eccles line where the vehicle is missing. We can only apologise to customers." Source: Manchester Online & Gordon Ferguson TRAMS FOR SWANSEA? Sunday 10 October 2004 It has been reported that trams could return to the Welsh city of Swansea to help relieve congestion. Councillors have set up a working group to see whether trams would be an answer to the city’s problems. Chairman of the council committee, Rob Speht said: “If it works out as a viable option for the city, this could be a fantastic opportunity for Swansea.” He added that they were only conducting a feasibility study at the moment and that schemes in other cities would be examined and if necessary a team of consultants would be brought in. A number of routes are to be looked at including linking the city centre with Mumbles, the new sports stadium at Morfa, the Fabian Way Park and Ride site and the SA1 development. No decision is likely on whether to proceed with tram plans before 2006. Source: BBC News Online WOMAN DRIVES CAR ONTO NET TRAM ONLY VIADUCT Sunday 10 October 2004 A female driver managed to miss both no entry signs and the flashing lights of a stationary tram to drive onto the tram only viaduct at the Station Street end of the line on Wednesday (6 October). The incident happened at around 4.40pm and the car didn’t stop until it was around 80 metres from the Station Street terminus blocking one of the two tracks into the platforms. This meant that the non-preferred platform had to be used for the rest of the day as the car was blocking the preferred one and the car was not removed until after service had finished for the day. The driver of the car was reported as being shaken but not injured after the incident and it is reported that she was arrested. Helen Goulding, General Manager of the Nottingham Tram Consortium said: “I don't understand how she came so far onto the bridge." In other news on NET there has been an intensive tram service at the end of last week as the annual Goose Fair has been taking place on the Forest recreation ground next to The Forest tram stop. Extra trams have been used to help move the large crowds. Full coverage of the trams can be found at Stephen Dee’s website, click here. Source: This is Nottingham THE ARGUMENTS CONTINUE ON MERSEYTRAM Sunday 3 October 2004 The saga continues. As previously reported on BRITISH TRAMS ONLINE the argument between Mersey Travel and Liverpool City Council continues to escalate with the whole Mersey Tram project now rumoured to be in serious doubt…again. The whole thing has become more than just an argument between these two parties now as the two consortia who were interested in obtaining the DBOM contract have failed to meet the deadline for submitting bids. The deadline was earlier last week. Both consortia are apparently unhappy about the Council’s wish to switch Lines 2 and 3 over, especially at this late stage. They both believe it is utterly ridiculous to change the routes at this late stage and they have been given a 2 week extension to the deadline to review the actions of the Council and to decide whether they will submit bids at all. If they decide not to put bids in then the whole MerseyTram scheme will be dead in the water. It is believed that if the plug is pulled on the scheme then other regeneration projects in the area will also be put into jeopardy. Councillor Storey, the leader of Liverpool Council, has urged both parties to get together to avoid disaster in the region, he said: “We cannot go on like this. We owe it to future generations on Merseyside. This scheme is too important not to happen for Liverpool and future generations and any personal differences that these two men (the Chief Executives of the City Council and Merseytravel) may have should be put to one side in the best interests of Liverpool and Merseyside. We are going to be European Capital of Culture in 2008 and we need a proper tram system either started or completed. Sir David (Chief Executive of council) is back from leave on Wednesday and I will arrange for us to meet Mr Scales (Chief Executive of Merseytravel) and Mark Dowd (Merseytravel chairman) to sort this out." Both sides of the argument have denied that there is any personality clash between the two men but the fears are that the dispute over Route 2 (see September news story) may already have done irreparable damage. A source at one of the consortia said: “We were getting ready to submit our Best and Final Offer (BAFO) documents but our board has asked us to review the situation in the light of the council's actions. We have asked for an extension until next Friday.” At the Labour Party Conference there were fears amongst delegates from Liverpool that the cash that had been earmarked for MerseyTram could end up with local rival Manchester. Louise Ellman, MP for Riverside, said: “We fought long and hard to get this money. The tram system was originally turned down, but our efforts got it back. It puts a big question mark over our ability to deliver. It's extremely serious and I am looking at the parties involved to get their act together and sort this out." Source: icLiverpool LEEDS ON TARGET FOR SUPERTRAM SAVINGS Sunday 3 October 2004 Metro (West Yorkshire PTE) and Leeds City Council chiefs have said in a letter sent out to businesses, organisations and individuals across the region that they are well on target to reduce the costs of Supertram to such a degree that they are very close to the DfT’s figure of £355 million. The next step for the scheme backers is to present a revised plan to government and this they hope to do by the end of this month. Metro’s Director General Kieran Preston said: “The major part of these significant savings is likely to be achieved through a better balance of risk sharing between the successful concessionaire, the public sector and the Department for Transport for the operation of the tram system.” However it would appear that a lot of the savings for the scheme may come from the axing of part of the original route - the south route between Balm Road and Tingley. Mr Preston added: “Metro has already started investigating future routes for the Supertram system and the delayed 7km stretch between Balm Road and Tingley, would remain an option for the future. We welcome reports from Brighton this week that Mr Darling remains committed to a Leeds Supertram system. The city has also been working with the Department for Transport, as directed by Mr Darling, to investigate lower cost alternatives for the Supertram routes and having looked at these alternatives, remain sure that none of them can deliver the benefits the tram network would provide.” Source: Metro & Yorkshire Today METROLINK CAMPAIGNERS LEAVE LABOUR CONFERENCE HAPPIER Sunday 3 October 2004 Although there has still been no go ahead for the stalled “Big Bang” expansion of Manchester Metrolink, campaigners have left the Labour Party Conference feeling a lot more confident that something positive may indeed happy. There was a packed meeting on the Conference fringe where Transport Minister Tony McNulty reiterated the fact that the government were not totally anti tram systems in the UK but at present costs they could not accept the plans. Keith Bradley, MP for Withington and also Chairman of then working party set up on getting Metrolink Back on Track, said: “We are in serious negotiations in a genuine effort to find a solution." Most people at the Conference felt that the government’s language tone had changed significantly during the week but that without the support of the public and media they would not get anywhere. Earlier in the week in Brighton there was a face-to-face meeting between 16 local councillors and the Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling MP, himself. Jim McMahon, councillor for Failsworth, told the Manchester Evening News: “The key question we put to Mr Darling was whether the money that the government had set aside for Metrolink had been reallocated to some other transport project. He assured us that it had not." Mr Darling also revealed to delegates that there was a possibility that he could return a degree of bus regulation to the GMPTE as a way of moving forward and to keep costs down. Source: Manchester Online ACCIDENT CAUSES ECCLES LINES CLOSURE Sunday 3 October 2004 Manchester Metrolink services on the Eccles line were disrupted for several hours last Sunday (26 September) when a bin truck collided with a tram. The incident occurred at approximately 10.30am near to the Exchange Quays tram stop (originally reported as Salford Quays but later corrected). The driver of the bin truck had to cut from the wreckage as his legs were trapped but he received only minor injuries. There was one injury on board the tram with a passenger needing hospital treatment for minor injuries. Serco Metrolink had to introduce a replacement bus service from Piccadilly Gardens and Salford Quays. The line was shut for just 3 hours whilst the wreckage was cleared. It is not known which tram was involved in the incident but photos on the Manchester Online website show it was definitely a Phase 2 vehicle. Source: Manchester Online & BBC News Online |