It’s the news we’ve been waiting for – a tram service will resume at Crich on Saturday 2nd July! This comes after the completion of successful testing of the newly renewed infrastructure which had caused the service to be suspended from 18th May.
Trams had been stopped from running after an inspection by the Office of Road and Rail on 17th May which reported on a number of safety concerns – including the severe corrosion of two traction poles located in the depot fan. It was considered that the condition of the poles was a safety concern and so a prohibition notice was placed on the museum which led to the full closure of the museum site before limited opening was possible. Unfortunately, this limited opening did not include either a tram service or access to any of the depots or the Exhibition Hall.
It has now been confirmed that the replacement poles came to Crich courtesy of Nottingham Express Transit operator, Nottingham Trams Limited, who donated the modern masts as well as offered support. Pod-Trak Ltd were then contracted to complete the replacement of the poles which happened towards the end of last week ahead of testing starting earlier this week.
Graham Wigglesworth, Engineering Manager at Crich, said: “This important safety work had to be carried out before we could permit access to the affected areas to safeguard the public, our staff and volunteers. We are extremely grateful to Nottingham Trams Limited for their support and are pleased to say that the work has been carried out efficiently by Pod-Trak Ltd. The overhead line is now in good working order and trams are no longer restricted to 4 mph.”
Trevor Stocker, Head of Operations at Nottingham Trams Limited, said: “We are proud to be able to support Crich Tramway Village where we can and on this occasion our Engineering team were able to help, which is great news.”
The museum will now be fully open as from Saturday 2nd July with trams running the full length of the line again. As mentioned above the speed restriction which had been affecting services since the start of season has also now been removed. The Classic Motorcycle Day on Sunday 3rd July – which would have happened with or without trams – also takes place over the first weekend. Normal admission prices will be valid again and it has also been announced that all NET staff will be offered free admission to Crich for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Excellent news! But before everyone gets carried away, there needs to be a thorough investigation into whether Crich Management new of the safety issues before the ORR visit, as some sources claim, and so were prepared to potentially put people at risk by continuing to operate. If this was the case, and I emphasise ‘was’, then I would think resignations would be in order.
Apologies – should be ‘knew’ and ‘I emphasise “if”…..’
Tired mind late this afternoon! Comment still valid, though.