Article amended 04/04/2024 as of course this is actually 26‘s second trip to Worksop!
It seems to have been a while (but is only around six weeks) since we last reported on a tram being moved for storage at Worksop so its obviously overdue to do the same! The latest tram to make the move from West Midlands Metro’s Wednesbury Depot is 26 which was loaded up and made the move on Tuesday 2nd April 2024.
Nottingham Express Transit services were suspended for several hours on the Toton Lane line during the evening of Thursday 21st March after a collision between a car and a tram.
And repeat! The Seaton Tramway is once again celebrating success at an award ceremony with the unique attraction receiving two more accolades at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards bringing the grand total of awards for the past year to 11!
In the days of the traditional tramway in Blackpool it always used to be the tradition that each Easter there would be new all over adverts making their debuts. Since the upgrade of the tramway this hasn’t happened as much with the majority of the full adverts that we’ve seen being applied at other times of the year but this year we’ve gone back to how it once was as Good Friday (29th March) saw the debut of a new advert and it’s an attraction who had adverts on the traditional trams but hadn’t previously advertised in this form on a modern tramway.
With no trams running between Wednesbury Great Western Street and Edgbaston Village to allow the Dudley extension to be connected to the original Birmingham to Wolverhampton line, West Midlands Metro are also taking the opportunity to undertake a few bits of other maintenance work on the closed section of line. This has mainly see track being relaid through various tramstops but the local Council are also working on replacing a bridge which goes over the tracks at Dudley Street whilst the muddy mess at Edgbaston Village is also been attended to.
This time “Out and About” goes to the very end of the Edinburgh Trams line at Newhaven.
Its no April Fool! Your main site update of British Trams Online is on a day late this week as we head to the East Anglia Transport Museum for the launch of Blackpool 634:
Another stop is reached on the London Trams network.
Wednesday 13th March saw Supertram services towards Malin Bridge and Middlewood have to turn short at Hillsborough after a collision involving two cars blocked the tracks. The collision happened around lunchtime and led to the sight of trams using the crossover at Hillsborough. Stuart Cooke was on hand to capture these photos.
Confidence in Nottingham Express Transit is continuing to increase according to the results of a new survey conducted by behavioural science experts, Mindfield Research. The survey asked 1,200 people living in and around Nottingham City Centre with 92% of those questioned stating they would recommend Nottingham’s tram network.
Co-Op Live – the new entertainment venue due to open this April at Etihad Campus – has teamed up with Transport for Greater Manchester to provide public transport options to events in what is being described as a “first of its kind initiative”. Anyone heading to an event at the venue will have tram travel included as part of their ticket (at least for the first three months) whilst there will also be a shuttle bus service running from Etihad Campus.
Good Friday (29th March) saw Blackpool Brush Car 634 run for the first time in almost 20 years when it was officially launched back into service at the East Anglia Transport Museum. The tram – now owned by the Fylde Transport Trust – is on a five year loan to the museum near Lowestoft in Suffolk and after the completion of commissioning it is back in service and will be regularly used as part of the operating fleet.
As March comes towards an end its time for our last visit to Vienna.
It does sound a bit like a stuck record but the latest performance poster for the Tyne and Wear Metro shows that the number of trains running on time remains at a low level. The fact that the service isn’t working as it should is not lost on Nexus though as the latest poster does have an apology of sorts along with the attempt to make things a little more positive.
West Midlands Metro services to Edgbaston Village were disrupted on Friday 8th March following a problem with the signals allowing the trams to go to and from the stop. Work was taking place on the traffic signals at this location at the time which also impacted the trams.
Coming quickly after a very similar advert was added to West Midlands Metro 44, Manchester Metrolink 3116 is now running in new vinyls for the National Trust. In doing so it becomes the fourteenth tram on the network to be carrying advertising vinyls of some type.
After the much publicised and debated lack of operating trams at the Crich Tramway Village this year it has been confirmed that they will start running again from Saturday 30th March – that’s tomorrow! Now that news surely does make it a Good Friday!
The cost of travelling on the Blackpool Tramway will increase again from 31st March with a single fare between any two stops setting you back £3.50 – a 30p increase from the current fee. The fares structure remains the same so it’s a simple flat free for travel – whether you’re going from North Pier to Tower or Starr Gate to Fleetwood.
Another “Picture in Time” with Supertram still the focus of our attention.
All 27 trams in Edinburgh are now proudly carrying commercial advertising following the removal of the Trams to Newhaven vinyls on 258 and their replacement by a new contract for the Rio Brazilian Steakhouse.
