Work to start on Brierley Hill extension

Posted on Monday 17 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Enabling works for the West Midlands Metro extension to Brierley Hill are set to start later this month with Castle Hill in Dudley the location for the commencement. The work will start from Monday 24th February and last for up to five weeks.

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Tyne and Wear Metro performance on the up

Posted on Monday 17 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

It is that time once more as we take a look at performance on the Tyne and Wear Metro where there has been a welcome upturn in the percentage of trains running on time – with it reaching the highest level since October.

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Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink 2542

Posted on Sunday 16 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

For the next few weeks Sundays will all be about archive images from our “modern” tramway systems and we start off in Croydon for a pre-opening image of one of the trams.

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Early bird Metrolink offer to launch

Posted on Sunday 16 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

It has been confirmed that the “contactless early bird bonus” will be launched on Manchester Metrolink from Monday 17th February. This will allow anyone travelling before 0700 on weekdays a saving on the anytime travelcard with the aim of reducing congestion and giving passengers better value for money.

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In Pictures: Tyne and Wear Metro Maintenance and Renewable Skills Centre under construction

Posted on Sunday 16 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

When the old South Shields Metro station was closed it was announced that the site would be used as the centrepiece of a new Maintenance and Renewable Skills Centre. With a budget of £8.4 million the new centre will be a bespoke training facility for Nexus to deliver a wide range of infrastructure and operations training to staff.

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What’s New on British Trams Online?

Posted on Sunday 16 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Our main feature this week comes from Croydon with photos from London Tramlink:

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Steam to return to the MER as part of 2020 Heritage Transport Festival

Posted on Saturday 15 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

No sooner do we report on the Rush Hour on the Railway events then Isle of Man Transport release the details the Manx Heritage Transport Festival taking place between 29th July and 2 August! Alongside many of the usually popular events the undoubted highlight looks set to be the return of steam to the Manx Electric Railway!

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Around the World in Trams: Potsdam 412

Posted on Saturday 15 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

As we continue our look at the tram operating the German city of Potsdam we once again feature a Siemens Combino in action.

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First track laid at Five Ways underpass

Posted on Saturday 15 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

We saw in our recent Photo Gallery and now Transport for West Midlands have written a press release about it! The first sections of track have now been laid in Five Ways underpass as the project to build the second phase of the Birmingham Westside extension continues at a pace.

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Driver training underway on Trafford Park line

Posted on Saturday 15 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

With the new Trafford Park Manchester Metrolink extension due to open in around two months – only April has been publicly announced so far – a sure sign that a public service is coming has been seen with the start of daytime testing and driver training.

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TfL back extending Tramlink to Sutton – but need the funding

Posted on Friday 14 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

It’s a proposal which seems to have been talked about for a long time but could we finally see London Tramlink extended to Sutton? The full results of the 2018/19 consultation into the plans have now been revealed by Transport for London and show that there was a general support for the plans and that 81% of those who responded would favour a tram link rather than the alternative Bus Rapid Transit.

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Police and Crime Commissioner visits Tyne and Wear Metro

Posted on Friday 14 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

The Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuiness, has visited the Tyne and Wear Metro to see how it is kept safe and secure for passengers while also pledging to get tough with anti-social behaviour on the network.

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Peter Cushing named new Midland Metro Alliance Director

Posted on Friday 14 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Peter Cushing, former Metrolink Director at Transport for Greater Manchester, has been named as new Director of the Midland Metro Alliance, replacing Alejandro Moreno who had been in the role since 2016. Mr Moreno is returning to parent company Colas Rail as Managing Director for Lundy Projects Ltd.

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Metro points in central Newcastle replaced in single weekend

Posted on Thursday 13 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Two sets of track point switches between Haymarket and Monument stations in central Newcastle have been replaced as part of the ongoing Metro: all change modernisation programme. The work took place over a single weekend and saw the 40 year old equipment replaced at the Prudhoe Street crossover.

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Winter Gold weekend cancelled

Posted on Thursday 13 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

With more stormy weather forecast for this week Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours have taken the sensible decision to cancel the planned Winter Gold weekend. Storm Dennis is due to menace the UK with a severe weather warning in place for both Saturday and Sunday for wind and ran. Gusts of wind are expected to widely exceed 50mph with some gusts exceeding 60mph leading to BHTT taking this difficult decision to cancel the planned event. Heritage trams are currently due to operate daily for the February Half Term school holidays and will continue to run the two tram service on Friday 14th February and then each day of the week commencing Monday 17th February. As always you are advised to check on social media for the latest updates regarding the heritage service.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 702

Posted on Thursday 13 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

After last week’s mystery – thanks to everyone who solved the conundrum of exactly the trams were in the photos! – we are on firmer ground regards the tram for this week’s archive Blackpool tram image!

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Crich and VERA recognised at HRA Awards

Posted on Wednesday 12 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

The annual Heritage Railway Awards took place in Birmingham on Saturday 8th February and two systems we regularly features on these pages were recognised – both the Crich Tramway Village and the Volk’s Electric Railway Association. and amongst the nominees was the Crich Tramway Village, for their new Michael Holroyd Smith exhibition which opened during 2019.

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Contracts signed for new Metro fleet

Posted on Wednesday 12 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Nexus and Stadler have officially signed the contracts for the delivery and maintenance of a new fleet of trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro. 42 new trains will be supplied up until 2024 to replace the current fleet, which has been in service since the Metro opened in 1980.

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NET first in UK to receive prestigious assets standard

Posted on Wednesday 12 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit are celebrating once again after becoming the first tramway in the UK to receive a prestigious international standard. Nottingham Trams Limited, as the operator of NET, have been awarded the catchy sounding ISO 55001:2014 (Assets) certification which it says will enable it to drive further improvements in service reliability.

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Storm Ciara causes disruption across UK

Posted on Tuesday 11 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

“Storm of the Century”, named Ciara in the alphabetical naming sequence used by the Met Office in recent years, has seen severe disruption for UK tramways with not only strong winds but heavy rain leading to service changes. Blackpool, Edinburgh, London Tramlink, Manchester Metrolink and Nottingham Express Transit have all reported disruption in recent days with Blackpool in particularly badly affected with complete service suspensions on two occasions due to the strong winds battering the Fylde Coast.

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