Performance up again on Metrolink

Posted on Sunday 14 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

For the second successive month performance on Manchester Metrolink has increased according to the latest figures released by KeolisAmey Metrolink. Both Punctuality and Reliability were up and in both cases these are the highest figures for this operating year. In all 99.4% of scheduled mileage was run although there were some problems on the Ashton-under-Lyne line with third party RTCs blocking the line at times.

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Woman hit by tram at Kenrick Park

Posted on Sunday 14 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

A woman has suffered serious injuries after being hit by a tram at Kenrick Park on West Midlands Metro. She was hit by a tram at approximately 1140 on Thursday 11th October and was taken to Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital by road. Whilst the emergency services dealt with the incident trams were only able to run between Grand Central and The Hawthorns and from Wolverhampton St George’s and West Bromwich Central.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 14 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Coverage this week comes from Blackpool with photos now added from the Anniversary Spectacular:

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VER car 6 finally enters service

Posted on Saturday 13 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

It may have returned to Brighton way back on 14th February but after a period of testing found a number of adjustments were required Volk’s Electric Railway car 6 finally returned to service on Thursday 4th October, bolstering the operating fleet at the end of the 2018 season.

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Around the World in Trams: Augsburg 415

Posted on Saturday 13 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Today we are back in Germany for the continuation of a series of trams from around the world. The city featured this time around is Augsburg.

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South Shields Metro station closed for five weeks

Posted on Saturday 13 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Continued modernisation works on the Tyne and Wear Metro has seen the station at South Shields closed for five weeks whilst platform 2 at Chichester will be closed for six months from the start of November. A new bus and train interchange is being constructed at South Shields which necessitates track and signalling upgrades.

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Rare outside appearance for Seaton 7

Posted on Friday 12 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

A tram which has often featured in our archive photo series is the Seaton Tramways no. 7, a tram which has been stored at the back of Riverside Depot for many years but has recently been pushed out into the open air – albeit very briefly!

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Timetable and fares announced for Tram-Train service

Posted on Friday 12 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Passengers will be able to travel between Sheffield City Centre and Rotherham in under 30 minutes when the new Tram-Train service launches on Thursday 25th October. Three services an hour will run between 0527 and 2127 each weekday, although as previously reported these will not be evenly spaced because of constraints on the railway with Northern services having to also be fitted in.

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Tyne & Wear Metro disruption caused by power failure

Posted on Thursday 11 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Services on the Tyne and Wear Metro were partially suspended on Thursday 11th October after a major power failure. No trains were able to run through South Gosforth and Newcastle City Centre to Heworth or the Airport from just after 0600 until 0900 as a result causing disruption for passengers and leading to an apology from Nexus.

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Picture in Time: South Yorkshire Supertram 21

Posted on Thursday 11 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of Picture in Time we are in Sheffield as we feature one of the Siemens Duewag trams built for the opening of the Supertram network in the 1990s.

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More replica blinds completed in Blackpool and Heaton Park

Posted on Wednesday 10 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Destination blind maestro Peter Watts has once again been in the UK delivering his latest replica blinds for use in Blackpool whilst a visit to Heaton Park Tramway also saw a few more destinations added to the replica blinds already fitted to Blackpool Brush 623 (from its time on loan in Blackpool). Four all new blinds were presented to Blackpool for use on trams which are currently operating and also some which will hopefully be in service once again soon.

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In Pictures: Sunderland 16 on the move at Beamish

Posted on Wednesday 10 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

We recently briefly reported on the continued overhaul of Grimsby & Immingham 26 at Beamish whilst also mentioning that work is also taking place on Sunderland 16 with a view to the double decker from the Wear returning to service in the short-term. Since that report 16 has been moved from the side shed (road 1) to the main tram depot and is now situated over the pit on road 3. Sunderland 16 had been taken out of service for attention to its wheels which were returned at the start of September. With autumn soon to become winter the return of 16 is sure to be welcomed by passengers and tram crews alike.

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In Pictures: Wirral Bus and Tram Show 2018

Posted on Tuesday 9 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Bringing an end to a very busy six weeks of tram events the 21st Wirral Bus and Tram Show took place on Sunday 7th October with a four tram service offered alongside all the other sights of buses and other visiting vehicles. With Birkenhead 20 still in Blackpool all four true operational electric heritage trams were used – Wallasey 78, Liverpool 245, Lisbon 730 and Liverpool 762 – during the day.

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North Station extension works to continue over the winter

Posted on Tuesday 9 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Blackpool Council have confirmed that the Promenade road at Talbot Square will be closed as soon as the illuminations end at the start of November as work to construct the tramway extension up Talbot Road to North Station continues. The news of the major road closure – which will encompass the Christmas shopping period and beyond – has been met with disappointment and anger in Blackpool but will be necessary for the tracks to be connected if the opening date of Easter 2019 is to be met.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Illuminated Western Train 733+734

Posted on Tuesday 9 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Another look at one of Blackpool’s illuminated feature cars in this edition of Picture in Time and this time around it is probably the most popular of all – the Western Train.

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In Pictures: Dusseldorf 392 in service at Summerlee

Posted on Monday 8 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

A little while ago we featured some images of trams in service at Summerlee in early September when Lanarkshire 53 was in action with Dusseldorf 392 as the back-up and now it is the German tram that we feature in this article. These photos were taken on 21st September and 392 was the sole tram in service on a fairly quiet day at the museum, shortly after Storm Ali and with the schools well and truly back into the swing of things. Photos from Peter Narramore.

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Stone throwing children apologise to tram drivers

Posted on Monday 8 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Five children – all aged 10 – who threw stones at trams in Manchester have recently attended Queen’s Road Depot to find out about the impact of their actions and to apologise to the tram drivers affected. This meeting – attended by the children, their relatives and the police – was part of the restorative justice process which will also see them agree to become young ambassadors for Metrolink and undertake cleaning and gardening activities at the depot.

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In Pictures: New adverts on Manchester Metrolink

Posted on Sunday 7 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

It seems that new adverts on Manchester Metrolink often come in multiples and that is certainly the case again. Last week we reported on the application of a new advert for Easy Jet on 3052 and now 3114 has entered service with a vinyl wrap for the same sponsor whilst 3018 has returned to Call of Duty for the second year in succession.

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In Pictures: More construction images from Rotherham

Posted on Sunday 7 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

With a date now announced for the start of services to Rotherham Parkgate (Thursday 25th October in case you missed it!) the last of the construction work is now coming to an end to make sure that everything is ready for those first passengers. We recently saw the start of works for passenger access to the single platform stop at Parkgate and in this latest update we take a look at recent progress there along with the current state of affairs at Rotherham Central. Glyn Hill provides the pictures.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 7 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

We conclude our coverage from the Isle of Man and the 125th Anniversary of the Manx Electric Railway events including images in the immediate aftermath:

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