Council & Lothian Buses sign operating agreement

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Councillors from the City of Edinburgh Council have agreed the agreement to operate the
Edinburgh Tram system with Lothian Buses as another piece of the jigsaw comes into place ahead of opening next year. As part of the agreement it has been revealed that the line may need a subsidy in the first few years before passenger numbers “pick up” sufficiently to cover costs – and it is this which the local newspaper and well know tram critics have picked up on.

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Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 1 Comment

Businesses urged to support Douglas Horse Tramway

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Douglas Council are inviting businesses to partner with them to support the Horse Tramway service – now in its 137th year of operation – as they seek to try and reverse the losses suffered in recent years in operating the service along the Promenade in Douglas. Exact details of how businesses could support the service have not actually been announced with a suggestion that this could mean advertising on the side of the trams met with a response of “we are open to suggestions”.

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Metrolink Service Performance Update

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

The latest statistics on how Manchester Metrolink has been performing recently have now been released on the TfGM Committee website. These statistics give details on the performance of the service, any major incidents, trams out of service and the number of complaints which have been received during periods 7 and 8 (Monday 15th October to Sunday 8th December 2012.

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NET hit by delays after person hit by train at notorious crossing

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit services to Hucknall were temporarily suspended for an hour on Saturday 9th February after a person was hit by a train on the notorious crossing at Bulwell where three people have previously been killed. The details of this latest incident
have yet to be confirmed but it is believed the person was hit by an East Midlands Trains service heading towards Nottingham at approximately 1310. This section of line has one track for trams and one for trains and as a result of the incident the entire line was closed until normal operations could resume shortly before 1500. An investigation has been launched. Our thoughts go out to the family of person was tragically lost their life in this latest incident.

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Bad day for Metrolink Take 2

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink services suffered delays on Friday 8th February after two incidents caused disruption – and once again neither were directly the fault of Metrolink. In the morning a Police incident in the City Centre saw services suspended for a time and then
in the evening a power failure saw further trams unable to operate.

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Delays after car hits tram in Hyson Green

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

A woman suffered minor injuries after the car she was driving was involved in a collision with a tram in Hyson Green. Eyewitness reports suggest that the lady pulled out of the Asda car park into the path of the tram when the incident occurred just after 2100 on Sunday 3rd February. Services were suspended through the area whilst the emergency services cut free the lady who was taken to hospital for treatment.

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Works at Station Street stop

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Preparatory works for Phase Two of Nottingham Express Transit are continuing with the latest stop to be affected being Station Street. The end of the platform will soon be fenced off to allow investigative work to be undertaken for the new bridge support. In addition a
temporary mast will be installed over several nights between the tracks to replace the present tensioning poles at the end of the platform. It is not expected that passengers will suffer any disruption during these works but NET are asking people to take extra caution when walking around the tram stop.

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NET team up with Trent Barton for Hucknall Connect ticket

Posted on Sunday 10 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit have teamed up with Trent Barton to provide an integrated ticket that offers an easy route into Nottingham City Centre from estates in and around Hucknall. Costing just £3.60 for adults and £2 for children the Hucknall Connect ticket is
available for purchase on either the bus or the tram allowing a return on the Connect in Hucknall service and unlimited journeys on the tram. Free vouchers are due to be given away during February to try and encourage more passengers to use the ticket and to show them the benefits of combined bus and tram travel into Nottingham.

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Best-selling author to visit Crich

Posted on Saturday 9 February 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Margaret Dickinson, the author of a new book inspired by the experiences of tramway platform staff in Sheffield during the Second World War, is set to pay a visit to Crich Tramway Village for the Easter 1940s event, to meet her fans and experience a taste of what life was really like during the Blitz for the characters in her latest book.

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6 replaces 680 at Heaton Park Spring Gala

Posted on Thursday 7 February 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Some unforseen delays to the construction of the Heaton Park Tramway’s new Lakeside depot, have led to changes having to be made to the forthcoming ‘Spring Gala’ event, to be held at the Manchester tramway on Sunday 24th March. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to accomodate Blackpool Ex-Towing car 680 at the park, and therefore its planned launch has been postponed for the time being. It was always going to be a tall order to get the new depot sufficiently completed for it to be used to store trams by late March, and the aforementioned delays have meant that this target will not be met.

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A bad day for Metrolink

Posted on Thursday 7 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Wednesday 6th February turned out to be a bad day on Manchester Metrolink with both the Eccles and Oldham lines suffering. The Eccles line was affected from lunchtime due to a collision between a lorry and a tram whilst the more serious incident occurred at Failsworth during the evening when tragically a lady lost her life after being struck by a tram.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 11 Comments

Council to look at free concessionary travels on the trams

Posted on Thursday 7 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

The City of Edinburgh Council have announced that they are looking at developing a scheme that will allow local residents eligible for the National Entitlement Card to travel for free on the trams when they start service next year. This decision has been made after recent discussions with Transport Scotland about how the scheme can be extended to the tram system as it was part of the original business case.

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Glasgow 1068 confirmed to visit Beamish

Posted on Monday 4 February 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Tramway Museum Society have made the exciting announcement that Glasgow 1068 is to be loaned to Beamish Museum during spring 2013. The tram formely known as Paisley 68 will be operating at the North East’s premier open air museum, to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Beamish tramway between 4th and 7th April. There, it will join fellow visiting tramcars Stockport 5 (from Heaton Park) and Lisbon 730 (from Birkenhead).

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, National Tramway Museum | 2 Comments

Brush car 622 goes back to school!

Posted on Sunday 3 February 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Lancastrian Transport Trust have revealed that their Blackpool Brush Railcoach 622 is to take on a new life as a static classroom at the Anchorsholme Primary School. Some minor refurbishment work is to be undertaken on the tram, which will very surprisingly be repainted in a livery inspred its famous ‘Tigerrific’ Blackpool Zoo advert livery first applied in 1975!

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A splash of colour for Stockport 5

Posted on Sunday 3 February 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Heaton Park Tramway have revealed that, on completion of its winter refresh, Stockport 5 will return to service looking rather different. The tram is set to receive authentic period-style advertisements, which will be recreated using modern vinyls and applied to its decency panels. This will create an even more attractive, and historically accurate tram which will no doubt look absolutely stunning for its visit to Beamish this spring.

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Tram-Train link to Leeds-Bradford International Airport on the cards?

Posted on Saturday 2 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

At a meeting of the All Party Light Rail Group in January the current progress on the planning of a tram-train link serving Leeds-Bradford International Airport was outlined with cross party support from local MPs for the proposal. It was said that this is a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for a lasting infrastructure benefit as opposed to many of the short term road solutions already proposed.

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Public Inquiry starts for Metrolink Second City Centre Crossing

Posted on Saturday 2 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

A public inquiry into the much needed Second City Centre Crossing for Manchester Metrolink has started – with opponents to the scheme arguing that it is only being considered to “introduce congestion charging by the back door”. Other objections heard so far have been from businesses situated on the proposed line who are concerned about the disruption it will cause and also oppose any fixtures being attached to their buildings.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 14 Comments

In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram in the snow

Posted on Saturday 2 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

Sheffield, much like the rest of the UK, was hit by snowfall in January and as luck would have it British Trams Online regular Ian Buck was in the City to capture some images as the sun came out as well. Click below to see a few of these images as the trams continued to operate with no problems as the weather was snow problem!

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Posted in South Yorkshire Supertram | 2 Comments

More East Manchester Line Metrolink tests

Posted on Saturday 2 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

As the opening date of the East Manchester Line continues to approach – public services are due to start on Monday 11th February with special services in operation from Friday 8th February for local residents (who will be sent special invitations by Manchester City Council and Tameside Council) – further tests are due to take place on Sunday 3rd February in connection with another Manchester City home match. As on previous occasions when they have tested the line under match day conditions passengers will not be carried and there will be some road closures both before and after the match.

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 7 Comments

Tramlink delays after car drives onto tracks

Posted on Saturday 2 February 2013 by Gareth Prior

London Tramlink services through Sandilands were delayed on Tuesday 22nd January after a car drove onto the tram tracks and became stuck – the second time this has happened at Sandilands in recent months. Tram services were suspended between East Croydon and Lloyd Park/Addiscombe whilst the car was removed from the tracks.

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