Metrolink fares to be frozen again for 2016

Posted on Friday 5 February 2016 by Gareth Prior

Some good news for travellers on Manchester Metrolink following the announcement that fares are set to remain at 2014 levels with no increase planned as part of the 2016/17 transport budget. The proposal was approved by councillors on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and has been reached in recognition of the continued disruption experienced on the network due to the city centre transformation works which are currently causing service changes through St Peter’s Square.

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A special ticket to ride

Posted on Friday 5 February 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The latest initiative by Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours has been the introduction of special new souvenir tickets for the heritage tours. These were appropriately issued for the first time on January 30th, this being the first operating day for the heritage service in 2016.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 713

Posted on Wednesday 3 February 2016 by Gareth Prior

We are off to Blackpool again for the latest edition of our archive series Picture in Time but this time we are more up-to-date than recently as the year is 2009 as we take a look at Balloon Car 713.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Picture in Time | 3 Comments

More firsts for the Frigate and friends

Posted on Tuesday 2 February 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The first ever ‘heritage gold’ weekend event in Blackpool, held over the weekend of 30th & 31st January 2016, has now passed and seems to have been hailed as a resounding success. Despite some appalling weather conditions and a few tram issues, many enthusiasts graced the seaside town for this historic occasion to enjoy the novelty of a traditional tram ride in winter – with the appearance of the illuminated Frigate 736 being especially notable.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 5 Comments

Tramlink 2542’s advert flies away

Posted on Tuesday 2 February 2016 by Gareth Prior

The London Tramlink fleet is now starting to have more of a uniform look with yet another tram losing its all over advert. This time the tram in question is CR4000 2542 which has had the advertising vinyls for Turkish Airlines removed which it had carried since January 2015. The removal of this advert means that only one CR4000 remains out of fleet livery; this being 2550 which carries a livery promoting Tramlink Safety. One other tram carries a full advertising livery with 2554 holding vinyls asking visitors to Love Croydon.

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Picture in Time: Midland Metro 05

Posted on Sunday 31 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

We are heading back almost 15 years for the latest instalment of Picture in Time with an image from August 2001 of Midland Metro T69 05 whilst it was still carrying the original fleet livery.

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Track replacement work at Lace Market in February

Posted on Friday 29 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

Track replacement works are set to disrupt Nottingham Express Transit services between Friday 12th and Sunday 14th February with the track at Lace Market scheduled for replacement after 12 years of extensive use. This section of track boasts one of the tightest curves on a tramway in Europe and the replacement is necessary to ensure smooth and effective running of the system.

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Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 4 Comments

Preparatory works to start in May for Wolverhampton Metro extension?

Posted on Friday 29 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

Utility diversion work on the route of the Wolverhampton City Centre Midland Metro extension through to the Railway Station look set to start in May – providing that the Transport and Works Act Order is approved by the government. Exact plans of when and where the works will be taking place have yet to be publically revealed but first plans are now being worked on jointly by Wolverhampton City Council and Centro.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 11 Comments

Brush Railcoach 634 will return to Blackpool!

Posted on Friday 29 January 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The Blackpool Heritage Trust have announced that preserved Blackpool Brush Railcoach 634 will shortly be coming home, after its owner very generously agreed to donate the tram to the Trust. 634 was amongst the first trams to depart on the eve of the tramway upgrade, and was not expected to return – but the fact that this is now happening is yet another reminder of how far the heritage operation has progressed since then!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 9 Comments

Balloons and blinds – Blackpool prepare for the new heritage season

Posted on Thursday 28 January 2016 by Andrew Waddington

We may be in the depths of winter but that doesn’t mean things are quiet in Blackpool – in fact, preparations are now well underway for the first ever heritage ‘winter gold’ event on 30th & 31st January. As reported previously, this will see six trams in action on each day and some preparations are already being made – mainly to train up some new recruits who will hopefully soon be driving the heritage fleet.

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Is there a future for the Douglas Horse Tramway after all?

Posted on Wednesday 27 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

After several days of recriminations and debate in the media and amongst politicians on the Isle of Man it has now been announced that ongoing discussions are looking at the possibility of running a service on the Douglas Horse Tramway in 2016 – although it should be stressed that at this stage discussions are ongoing and there is no guarantee that anything will happen but at least there are serious thoughts to the future of this historic tramway and we are in a far better position than it looked like at the end of last week.

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Posted in Douglas Bay Horse Tramway | 7 Comments

2016 Crich operating fleet revealed

Posted on Wednesday 27 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

With preparations now well underway for another operating season at the Crich Tramway Village we are delighted to be able to bring you news of which trams will be forming the operational pool in 2016. 17 electric passenger trams will initially be commissioned for service with another three on the possible list depending on workshop capacity. There are no surprises in those trams which will be prepared for service although there is likely to be some disappointment at those which aren’t currently guaranteed to run during the year.

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Trams arrive and re-arrive

Posted on Wednesday 27 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

Both Manchester Metrolink and London Tramlink have seen their stock of trams increase again with the latter now having a full fleet in town following the return of accident damaged 2556 whilst Metrolink is now only waiting delivery of 10 further M5000s after 3110 arrived.

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Posted in London Trams, Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

In Pictures: Urbos 3 36 enters service

Posted on Wednesday 27 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

A piece of news which didn’t get reported at the time was the entry into service of Urbos 3 36 on Midland Metro during late December. This means that 19 of the 21 of these Spanish built trams have now carried passengers at some point since their introduction into service in September 2014. The only two not to have done so are the first and last of the class – 17 and 37 – although the latter of these is now undergoing significant main line testing.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

In Pictures: Metrolink celebrates the Chinese New Year

Posted on Wednesday 27 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

The latest window vinyls to be adorned on Manchester Metrolink trams are to celebrate the Chinese New Year which this year takes place on Monday 8th February. Unlike the Christmas vinyls added late last year these are less obtrusive and do not cover the entire window with simple writing wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year in both English and Chinese with a monkey also featuring on some windows (2016 will be the year of the monkey). At least 3005, 3030 and 3031 have received these vinyls. Photographs courtesy of Keith Chadbourne.

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Picture in Time: Douglas Horse Tramway 1

Posted on Wednesday 27 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

Following on from last week’s news about the permanent closure of the Douglas Horse Tramway (although there may be a more positive outlook now – see news story above) there could only be one tramway we featured in Picture in Time today. This time round we show the newest tram on the tramway during an unusual promotional tour.

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Lytham 43 lands at Rigby Road

Posted on Monday 25 January 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Lytham 43 has become the latest tram to join the growing collection of historic rolling stock based on the Blackpool tramway, when it was delivered to Rigby Road depot on the afternoon of Sunday 24th January. This follows the previous announcement that the lower saloon of this, the sole surviving electric tramcar from the old Lytham fleet, would be moving to Blackpool for future completion of a restoration to operating condition.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 5 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 24 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

Our first new Photos of the year are the main addition to the website this week:

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In Pictures: Birmingham City Centre extension progress

Posted on Sunday 24 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

With the first stage of the Midland Metro Birmingham City Centre extension as far as Bull Street having opened in December attention and anticipation has now turned towards the remainder of the line through to New Street Station. Construction works are continuing on both the tracks, overhead and stops with the latest word from Centro and Midland Metro being that the line will open to New Street in the “Spring”. This picture special shows the current state of play in the construction works as at Saturday 23rd January with photos provided by Ken Jones.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 4 Comments

Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1022

Posted on Sunday 24 January 2016 by Gareth Prior

Today’s Picture in Time heads back to UK’s largest modern tram system, Manchester Metrolink, and the tram we feature is T68 1022 with a trio of images from the very first day of cross-city on street operations – 27th April 1992.

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