Recruitment Day for Supertram conductors

Posted on Saturday 16 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

Have you ever fancied working on the trams? If so now is your chance to become a conductor on Stagecoach Supertram with a Conductor Recruitment Day taking place on Thursday 12th July 2018. Supertram are currently looking to expand their team ahead of the start of tram-train services to Rotherham Parkgate.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Engineering Car 754 towing Balloon 718

Posted on Saturday 16 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

A few weeks ago we featured a tram breakdown in Blackpool and that is the theme of today’s Picture in Time today as well. This time we move forward to 2003 and a view of Balloon 718 being returned to depot in ignominy.

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RAIB look into passenger trapping incident on Metrolink

Posted on Saturday 16 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

The RAIB have announced that they are been investigating an incident on Manchester Metrolink at the end of May which saw a passenger get their hand trapped in a door as a tram pulled away from Bury.

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In Pictures: Volk’s Electric Railway 6 out on test

Posted on Saturday 16 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

The next car to return to service on the Volk’s Electric Railway looks set to be no. 6 which is now undergoing final test running before it being commissioned for public use once again. As we reported recently 6 has been in the workshops requiring a little bit of mechanical attention to complete its overhaul which was mainly undertaken at Alan Keef Ltd. It is anticipated that as long as no issues are found in these tests it will soon be free to travel on the line along Brighton seafront with passengers once more. Once 6 is back attention will then presumably turn to getting 10 ready for service ahead of the busy summer season. This article also contains a few other shots from the Volk’s Electric Railway in mid-June from the camera of Tony Sullivan.

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Area 2 Supertram rail replacement works details released

Posted on Friday 15 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

Work may still be ongoing in the first phase of the 2018 rail replacement works on Stagecoach Supertram but details have now been released of the plans for the next phase which will see the Blue route between Birley Lane and Halfway affected.

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Free Metrolink travel for Clean Air Day

Posted on Friday 15 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

As part of Clean Air Day on Thursday 21st June passengers travelling on Manchester Metrolink before 0700 and after 1900 will be able to travel without a ticket as part of a drive to encourage people to think about changing travel habits to improve air quality. Normal fares will apply at other times of the day with employers being encouraged to allow flexible start and end times for their staff so they can take advantage of the offer (but if anyone wants to take advantage at both ends of the day it will be a long old day at work!)

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Blackpool 31 almost ready to go!

Posted on Friday 15 June 2018 by Andrew Waddington

Pleasing news to report from the Beamish Museum is that Blackpool 31 will soon be making a very welcome return to passenger service. Since it last carried visitors at the museum back in February 2016, 31 has of course spent a very memorable year in Blackpool, but since its return has been confined to the depot undergoing some essential workshop attention.

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New book series to be released

Posted on Thursday 14 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

Four new books are to be released in a new series which aims to document the rich transport and social history at the heart of Wales’ town and cities. Written by Peter Waller, Lost Tramways of Wales will, unsurprisingly, look at the trams which operated in various locations in the country.

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Services set to resume on Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Thursday 14 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

Edinburgh Trams are hopeful that they will be able to resume a normal service from the start of Friday 15th June following the completion of repairs to the infrastructure at Edinburgh Airport after the collision during the evening of Wednesday 13th June. As we reported at the time 258 was knocked off the rails after an airport bus collided with it at approximately 1730 with trams only able to run between York Place and Gyle Centre since.

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Around the World in Trams: Potsdam 9

Posted on Thursday 14 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

Our around the world trip is in Germany for this latest instalment with a view of a historic tram from the system in Potsdam.

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Permission granted for EATM expansion

Posted on Wednesday 13 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

The biggest expansion of a UK heritage tramway for many years has been given the go-ahead with the wider plan to expand the East Anglia Transport Museum getting planning permission this week. As we first reported back in December 2017 the plans will not only see a new tram route and depot but will also see extensions to the railway and trolleybus route on 2.06 hectares of land which was purchased from the adjacent Eades Farm.

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Three injured after tram and bus collide at Edinburgh Airport

Posted on Wednesday 13 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

Three people have been injured after a tram and a bus collided just outside Edinburgh Airport on Wednesday 13th June. The force of the collision caused the front of the tram to leave the tracks with the bus overturning.

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In Pictures: First phase of 2018 Supertram rail replacement works draw to a close

Posted on Wednesday 13 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

The first phase of Stagecoach Supertram rail replacement works  are starting to come towards a conclusion with the work originally due to be completed by the end of this week. It had been expected that a full service will run on Supertram from Saturday 16th June – for a week at leat until the next phase gets underway on 23rd June – but it has now been confirmed that finishing works will be required over the weekend meaning Yellow route services will continue to run to Malin Bridge on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June as well with a full service now planned to start from Monday 18th June. The final stage of the works is seeing the track replaced on the inbound line from Leppings Lane tramstop to Keyworth Road as our latest photo update from Stuart Cooke shows.

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MER trailer 54 to be returned to service

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

With work on the joint volunteer/paid staff restoration of MER Ratchet Car 14 coming to a conclusion you would be forgiven to think that those involved would be looking for a rest but far from it as they have announced their next project – the return to service of Trailer 54, for the first time since 1971! Work will start shortly on the bodywork with the trailer moved this week to Laxey Car Sheds where this will take place.

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Repairs completed and normal service resumes on Midland Metro

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

After four days of a revised service the normal full length service between Wolverhampton St George’s and Grand Central resumed from the start of Tuesday 12th June. The repairs on the damaged overhead between Jewellery Quarter and Soho Benson Road were finally completed overnight on Monday 11th June allowing normal service to resume.

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Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1004

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

This instalment of Picture in Time heads to Manchester Metrolink for a photo taken in the early days of Manchester Metrolink.

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Eccles line to close for 13 days from late July

Posted on Monday 11 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

No trams will run to Eccles for 13 days from Saturday 28th July to allow construction work to take place connecting the current line with the Trafford Park extension. This period will also enable other maintenance work to take place on the Eccles line without providing any further disruption for passengers.

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Still no full service on Midland Metro

Posted on Monday 11 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

Passengers wishing to travel the full length of Midland Metro are still subject to a change of trams at Jewellery Quarter with the work to repair the overhead line yet to be completed. The problems have been ongoing since the evening of Thursday 7th June with a revised service operating ever since.

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New advert for Metrolink 3103

Posted on Sunday 10 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

The latest vinyl wrap advert to be applied on Manchester Metrolink is for Hits Radio Manchester with 3103 the tram to carry the ad. Hits Radio is the new name for Key 103 and thus becomes the second tram to advertise the radio station following on from 3095 in 2017. The choice of 3103 is appropriate as Hits Radio can be found on 103FM in Manchester (as well as digitally across the UK). As is normal the advert features vinyls on the body sides – avoiding the ends which remain in standard fleet livery – and includes contravision.

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Another drop in punctuality for Metrolink

Posted on Sunday 10 June 2018 by Gareth Prior

The latest performance stats on Manchester Metrolink have shown that in the four weeks between 29th April and 26th May there was a further deterioration in punctuality across the network. Reliability also saw a drop although this was minimal.

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