In Pictures: Edinburgh Trams 258 loses its adverts as it returns to service

Posted on Tuesday 13 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

Some of the eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed in one of our recent “Lockdown Walks” that Edinburgh Trams 258 has lost its C R Smith adverts while at the same time also losing the grey section on the cab ends giving it a rather unfinished look. This is the tram was derailed after a collision with a bus and has only recently returned to service after repairs were completed.

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A return to school for Balloon 710?

Posted on Tuesday 13 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

Since the announcement was made earlier this year that the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust had decided to dispose of their tram collection – the bulk of which remains stored in a secure compound at Wyre Dock – there has been much discussion across social media as to what will become of these trams with no obvious answers offered to provide a future for all of them. But now there could be a more secure future for Balloon 710 as it could be off to school!

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Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink Depot

Posted on Tuesday 13 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

Over the next few weeks our modern tram edition of “Picture in Time” will be heading back to the early days of Croydon Tramlink concentrating mainly on the construction period with a series of images courtesy of Amey Transport Infrastructure.

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Trams are back at Crich and Seaton!

Posted on Monday 12 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

You’ll probably have seen the news headlines today as the queues of people outside non-essential shops as they reopened for the first time since January but that isn’t all that has been able to re-open following the latest relaxation of restrictions – heritage tramways can also now start to run! And Monday 12th April saw two heritage lines in England run for the first time this year – the Crich Tramway Village and Seaton Tramway.

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Service frequency increased on West Midlands Metro again

Posted on Monday 12 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

After a month and a bit running at a reduced frequency on a temporary timetable, West Midlands Metro services have returned to the more regular timetable as the next stage of the English roadmap out of Coronavirus restrictions was hit on Monday 12th April.

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Whatever Happened To? Crich Tramathon 2005 – Blackpool 40

Posted on Monday 12 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

Continuing our series of “Whatever Happened To?” featuring the trams which ran at the Crich Tramway Village Tramathon 2005 today we take a look at one of the workhorses of the operational fleet – Blackpool 40.

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Trams in Video: London Trams & Trolleybuses 2012

Posted on Sunday 11 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

2012 marked 60 years since the last tram ran in London (until Tramlink came along) and the year saw a couple of special events held – one at the East Anglia Transport Museum and one at Crich. In this video we start off at the East Anglia Transport Museum where there were eight London trolleybuses in service but resident London tram 1858 before heading to Crich with the three London cars in service plus several other from the collection.

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Latest Metrolink update to GMCA shows passenger numbers are still well down

Posted on Sunday 11 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

The latest meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority Transport Committee included an update from the TfGM’s Head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan, which gives an insight into how the network is continuing to operate during the pandemic. We recently saw that in Nottingham passenger numbers were down at 11% of pre-pandemic levels but for Manchester Metrolink it’s a slightly better picture with the figure said to be between 17% and 19% (although, obviously, this is still very much at a level where financial support is needed).

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Lockdown Walks: Stagecoach Supertram 112

Posted on Sunday 11 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

Today’s “Lockdown Walks” is heading into Sheffield City Centre.

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Promotion of light rail post-pandemic under discussion

Posted on Sunday 11 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

UK Tram are leading discussions amongst tram and light rail operators in the UK to plan for the promotion of passengers returning to travel once Coronavirus restrictions start to be lifted later this year. While detailed plans remain difficult because of the continued uncertainties whether the Government’s roadmap will be able to be met planning is said to be well underway.

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In Pictures: Just Eat no more on West Midlands Metro!

Posted on Saturday 10 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

During February and March 2021 the two trams which advertised Just Eat on the West Midlands Metro network lost these vinyls leaving them devoid of adverts for the first time since they went all blue in October 2019.

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What’s New on British Trams Online? 10th April 2021

Posted on Saturday 10 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

This week we have a double helping of photos as we look into the Blackpool archives and go more up-to-date on Manchester Metrolink:

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Around the World in Trams: Freiburg 285

Posted on Saturday 10 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

“Around the World in Trams” is off to Freiburg in Germany again for this latest instalment.

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Lockdown Walks: Edinburgh Trams 275

Posted on Saturday 10 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

Today’s “Lockdown Walk” is out in Edinburgh City Centre again as we take a look at the current very end of the line.

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In Pictures: Demolition continues at Tyne and Wear Metro depot

Posted on Friday 9 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

The project to demolish the existing Tyne and Wear Metro depot at Gosforth is continuing with the scheme very much in the early stages of the demolition phase. The complete project is due to take around two and a half years to complete and by the end the depot will be a state of the art facility to house and maintain the fleet of new Stadler built trains which are all due to be in service by 2024. In the meantime a temporary depot has been opened at Howdon to allow some trains to be stabled there each night with a more limited capacity available at Gosforth.

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Metrolink expansion has seen major benefits for local communities – new report

Posted on Friday 9 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

A new report – conducted using in-house Transport for Greater Manchester resources along with external specialists – has said that the major expansion of the Metrolink network has helped to improve residents access to employment, education and healthcare as well as contributing to a reduction in car journeys and the associated improved air quality this brings.

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Picture in Time: Seaton 7

Posted on Friday 9 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

“Picture In Time” is again looking back at the Seaton Tramway of day’s gone by today.

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Work on next West Midlands Metro extension to get underway later this spring

Posted on Thursday 8 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

The expansion of the West Midlands Metro sees no signs of abating with the news that the main construction works on the Birmingham Eastside extensions is set to get underway later this spring. The first works will see a new junction constructed at Lower Bull Street and Corporation Street with the summer having to see the current line through the city centre temporarily closed to allow the two lines to be connected.

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New timetables for Supertram from 12th April

Posted on Thursday 8 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

With Monday 12th April being the next stage in the government’s roadmap to easing restrictions, Stagecoach Supertram have announced that they will introducing new timetables from that date which for the Purple and Yellow routes will see the return of the full timetable.

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Stop by Stop Blackpool Tramway: North Pier

Posted on Thursday 8 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

We come to the end of our first section of a journey north on the Blackpool Tramway today as “Stop by Stop” reaches North Pier.

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