Monthly Archives: March 2012

Buses invade Rigby Road depot

Posted on Sunday 25 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Following on from lots of speculation at the end of last year, Blackpool Transport’s old tram depot at Rigby Road was invaded by a rubber-tyred army on Friday 23rd March, when a number of City Sightseeing buses moved in to the tram … Continue reading →

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2556 makes it three Variotrams for Tramlink

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

The third of the Variotrams for London Tramlink was delivered to Therapia Lane depot in the early hours of Friday 23rd March. Numbered 2556 this marks the halfway point in deliveries of these extra vehicles for Tramlink as the original … Continue reading →

Posted in London Trams | 1 Comment

Metrolink Fleet Update

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

Further examples of the M5000 trams on Manchester Metrolink have entered service in recent weeks following the fitting of equipment enabling them to operate on the current system but despite rumours of the demise of the first of the T68s … Continue reading →

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Four tramways to feature in Olympic Torch Relay

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

Full details of the route for the Olympic Torch Relay in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has recently been unveiled and amongst the various forms of transport which will be used four different tramways … Continue reading →

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Work starts on expansion of Midland Metro Depot

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

Work has started on a major project to expand and upgrade the Wednesbury Midland Metro Depot ahead of the delivery of the new trams, which are due to enter service in February 2014. The contract for the £13.8 million project … Continue reading →

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Kangaroo tickets jump in price

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

The Kangaroo ticket – the multi-modal ticket available for unlimited travel in Nottingham  – is to increase in cost from the current £3.70 to £4 per day. This ticket is the only ticket which is now available on both the … Continue reading →

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MER season commences as go-ahead given for new substation at Laxey

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

Just a few days after the commencement of services on the Manx Electric Railway for this year it was announced that Tynwald have given permission for the construction of a new substation at Laxey to replace the current equipment which … Continue reading →

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More construction jobs advertised for NET Phase Two

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

A further forty labouring jobs are currently being advertised to help with the construction of phase two of Nottingham Express Transit. This follows on from the initial 70 previously filled and means that the project will have created 110 jobs … Continue reading →

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Cardiff 131 goes home

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Cardiff water car 131‘s extended seaside holiday has finally come to an end. The tram left Blackpool early in the afternoon on Friday 23rd March, bound for its usual home at Crich Tramway Village. Regular readers will remember that the … Continue reading →

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Evening photo session confirmed at Beamish

Posted on Saturday 24 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, have confirmed a special ‘out-of-hours’ photo session as part of the 2012 Great North Steam Fair event. This will take place on Saturday 14th April, from 5:45pm until approximately 9:00pm. Similar events proved … Continue reading →

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Flexities in Blackpool hit double figures

Posted on Friday 23 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The delivery of Blackpool’s new fleet of modern supertrams is stepping up a notch, with two more new arrivals landing at Starr Gate since our last update on the deliveries. Car 010 arrived on Friday 16th March, and was followed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

‘Comedy Carpet’ is no laughing matter for Blackpool trams!

Posted on Friday 23 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The latest in a long chain of embarrassing events involving the Blackpool tramway’s upgrade involves recent works being carried out opposite the Blackpool Tower. This site is now occupied by the ‘Comedy Carpet’, a series of decorated paving slabs featuring … Continue reading →

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Trams return to Ash Street Fleetwood

Posted on Friday 23 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

A major step towards the reinstatement of a full tram service between Blackpool and Fleetwood occurred on Tuesday 20th March, when the new Flexity2 trams commenced running to Ash Street Fleetwood (also known as Fisherman’s Walk) on a regular basis … Continue reading →

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Lancastrian Transport Trust trams face eviction

Posted on Friday 23 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Three of the Blackpool trams owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust are set to be evicted by the end of this month, following the announcement by the Trust that it will be clearing out its rented premises at Brinwell Road, … Continue reading →

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Positive developments in East Anglia

Posted on Friday 23 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

2011 proved to be a very memorable year for the East Anglia Transport Museum for several reasons. Obvious highlights included the arrival of Sheffield ‘Roberts’ car 513 on long-term loan from Beamish Museum, the visit of Blackpool VAMBAC Railcoach 11 … Continue reading →

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Fylde Tramway Society announce a Convention with a difference!

Posted on Friday 23 March 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The annual Fylde Tramway Society Convention weekend, held over the long May Day Bank Holiday weekend, is usually one of the highlights of the year for Blackpool tram enthusiasts. Traditionally the weekend features a number of special tram tours using … Continue reading →

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Crich join in with 20.12% discount offer

Posted on Thursday 22 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

Crich Tramway Village are joining in with the 20.12% off is great campaign which has been organised by the national tourist boards to try and encourage people to take their holidays in the UK this year with so many exciting … Continue reading →

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Manchester Metrolink Engineering Works: Sunday 1st April 2012

Posted on Thursday 22 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

Further engineering works will be taking place on Manchester Metrolink on Sunday 1st April which will mean no trams will be running on the Eccles line. A replacement bus will be provided which will operate between Eccles and Trafford Bar … Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment

More Olympic test timetables for the DLR

Posted on Thursday 22 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

There will be two further test timetables for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the Docklands Light Railway on Saturday 31st March and Good Friday 6th April. Once again the DLR have said it is essential that they … Continue reading →

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Tram-trains for Glasgow Airport link?

Posted on Thursday 22 March 2012 by Gareth Prior

Plans have been released which suggest that tram-trains could be used as a cheaper alternative to link Glasgow city centre with the Airport. It had originally been intended that a full blown railway link would be used to the Airport … Continue reading →

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