Metro journeys to Newcastle Airport hit all time high

Posted on Friday 19 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

More passengers than ever are travelling by Tyne and Wear Metro to Newcastle Airport according to new figures released by Nexus. Almost 1 million journeys were made in the year up to March 2018 with officials stating this is down to the increase in destinations from the Airport as well as the northeast itself becoming a more popular destination for visitors.

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In Pictures: Sneak peek of new destinations for Tram-Train service

Posted on Thursday 18 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

With the shadow running for the full introduction of the Tram-Train service between Sheffield and Rotherham continuing ahead of the start of services on Thursday 25th October a sneak peek has been seen on the destinations – including the route code.

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Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1019

Posted on Thursday 18 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

We’re going black and white for today’s Picture in Time image as we back to year one of Manchester Metrolink – 1992.

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Birkenhead 20 to run in Blackpool – at last!

Posted on Wednesday 17 October 2018 by Andrew Waddington

News on Birkenhead 20 has been in short supply of late, with little being heard about the tram for much of its time spent in Blackpool – where it arrived on loan from the Birkenhead heritage tramway well over a year ago. However, the tram is expected to make a belated entry into service imminently, with its first duty being a private tour for its owners, the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society, on Thursday 18th October.

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Yet more vinyls in Manchester

Posted on Wednesday 17 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

It really does get difficult to keep up with all the vinyls applied to trams in Manchester with yet another tram now being treated to a new look recently. This time the tram in question is 3058 which has received special vinyls for “Catch the Moment”, a TfGM campaign seeking to encourage people to travel on Metrolink and share their images on social media for the chance to see them shared by TfGM or used on posters – or trams! For possibly the first time in recent times this is a full vinyl wrap which doesn’t see the windows completely covered with most of the advert confined to above and below the windows. The ends remain in standard fleet livery with the new vinyls featuring yellows, pinks and purples. This is the third different vinyl wrap to have been applied to 3058 with previous designs having been carried for Kayak and Sainsbury’s.

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Another vinyl wrap in Blackpool

Posted on Tuesday 16 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

For the past few years Blackpool’s Flexity2 014 has been letting you know just how you can advertise on a tram and now someone has taken it up on its offer as the tram is now running in a full vinyl wrap for JD Sports. With a black base colour the Purple and White fleet livery has been completely buried by the new vinyls which also features white circles with the JD logo and further circles discs showing products (trainers) available from the shop. Unlike PrettyLittleThing.com pair 003 and 016 this advert does feature contravision on three sections. 014 entered service last week and again didn’t receive fleet numbers from the get-go. This is the first vinyl wrap advert for 014 and now means that three of the 18 strong Flexity2 class are carrying full adverts.

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Progress on new South Shields transport interchange

Posted on Tuesday 16 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

The new £21 million bus and Tyne and Wear Metro interchange at South Shields is progressing with the roof now having been installed. The project to build the new interchange started earlier this year and is Phase Two of the £100 million South Shields 365 regeneration masterplan.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 707

Posted on Tuesday 16 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of Picture in Time we are back in Blackpool as we take a look at an all over advert from the 1980s as carried on Balloon Car 707.

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In Preview: Starlight Extravaganza at Crich

Posted on Monday 15 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

It is an event which seems to have increased in popularity a lot in recent years, the Starlight Extravaganza at the Crich Tramway Village will return between Monday 29th October and Saturday 3rd November giving visitors the rare chance to see trams running after dark with special lighting effects adding even more to the usual scene.

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Performance up again on Metrolink

Posted on Sunday 14 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

For the second successive month performance on Manchester Metrolink has increased according to the latest figures released by KeolisAmey Metrolink. Both Punctuality and Reliability were up and in both cases these are the highest figures for this operating year. In all 99.4% of scheduled mileage was run although there were some problems on the Ashton-under-Lyne line with third party RTCs blocking the line at times.

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Woman hit by tram at Kenrick Park

Posted on Sunday 14 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

A woman has suffered serious injuries after being hit by a tram at Kenrick Park on West Midlands Metro. She was hit by a tram at approximately 1140 on Thursday 11th October and was taken to Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital by road. Whilst the emergency services dealt with the incident trams were only able to run between Grand Central and The Hawthorns and from Wolverhampton St George’s and West Bromwich Central.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 14 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Coverage this week comes from Blackpool with photos now added from the Anniversary Spectacular:

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VER car 6 finally enters service

Posted on Saturday 13 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

It may have returned to Brighton way back on 14th February but after a period of testing found a number of adjustments were required Volk’s Electric Railway car 6 finally returned to service on Thursday 4th October, bolstering the operating fleet at the end of the 2018 season.

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Around the World in Trams: Augsburg 415

Posted on Saturday 13 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Today we are back in Germany for the continuation of a series of trams from around the world. The city featured this time around is Augsburg.

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South Shields Metro station closed for five weeks

Posted on Saturday 13 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Continued modernisation works on the Tyne and Wear Metro has seen the station at South Shields closed for five weeks whilst platform 2 at Chichester will be closed for six months from the start of November. A new bus and train interchange is being constructed at South Shields which necessitates track and signalling upgrades.

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Rare outside appearance for Seaton 7

Posted on Friday 12 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

A tram which has often featured in our archive photo series is the Seaton Tramways no. 7, a tram which has been stored at the back of Riverside Depot for many years but has recently been pushed out into the open air – albeit very briefly!

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Timetable and fares announced for Tram-Train service

Posted on Friday 12 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Passengers will be able to travel between Sheffield City Centre and Rotherham in under 30 minutes when the new Tram-Train service launches on Thursday 25th October. Three services an hour will run between 0527 and 2127 each weekday, although as previously reported these will not be evenly spaced because of constraints on the railway with Northern services having to also be fitted in.

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Tyne & Wear Metro disruption caused by power failure

Posted on Thursday 11 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Services on the Tyne and Wear Metro were partially suspended on Thursday 11th October after a major power failure. No trains were able to run through South Gosforth and Newcastle City Centre to Heworth or the Airport from just after 0600 until 0900 as a result causing disruption for passengers and leading to an apology from Nexus.

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Picture in Time: South Yorkshire Supertram 21

Posted on Thursday 11 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of Picture in Time we are in Sheffield as we feature one of the Siemens Duewag trams built for the opening of the Supertram network in the 1990s.

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More replica blinds completed in Blackpool and Heaton Park

Posted on Wednesday 10 October 2018 by Gareth Prior

Destination blind maestro Peter Watts has once again been in the UK delivering his latest replica blinds for use in Blackpool whilst a visit to Heaton Park Tramway also saw a few more destinations added to the replica blinds already fitted to Blackpool Brush 623 (from its time on loan in Blackpool). Four all new blinds were presented to Blackpool for use on trams which are currently operating and also some which will hopefully be in service once again soon.

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