For those of you who are still reeling from the withdrawal of the last of the once 26 strong T68 fleet on Manchester Metrolink at the start of February you will be interested to learn that a new book charting the rise and fall of the light rail vehicles has now been published. Written by Metrolink RATP Dev Ltd Controller Andy Coward and retired local transport enthusiast John E Henderson the book tells the story about the vehicles from their delivery, through to their withdrawal, and is illustrated by a large number of high quality photographs, including a number of behind the scenes images.<\/p>\n
The book is titled SUPERB, a name which has a connection to the T68 fleet. Co-author John E Henderson has closely followed the fortunes of Metrolink and its LRV fleet since the system was opened in 1992 and for Metrolink\u2019s 10th anniversary in 2002 he was invited to name one of the LRV fleet and come up with a name which he though typified Metrolink. He instantly thought of the name SUPERB and asked if the name could be applied to LRV 1011, which had been the first member of the fleet he travelled in ten years earlier. Ironically, ten years later 1011 became the first T68 LRV to be withdrawn from service in April 2012.<\/p>\n
The T68s have played a major role in re-establishing light rail onto the UK\u2019s streets and over the ensuing years Metrolink has experienced unprecedented growth, along with providing the blueprint for several other cities that have followed Manchester\u2019s lead by introducing tramways onto their streets. However, the introduction of a new fleet of Bombardier\/Vossloh M5000 LRVs from 2009 saw the newer vehicles gaining much improved levels of reliability against the older vehicles. This lead to Transport for Greater Manchester deciding to take the T68 LRVs and the six T68A LRVs (which were built in 1999 for use on the Phase Two extension of Metrolink from Cornbrook to Eccles) out of service, with a phased rundown of the fleet starting in April 2012.<\/p>\n
Throughout their working life, the T68 and T68A fleets have both proved to be challenging, in terms of operation and reliability, for the various operators of Metrolink, but each of the T68 vehicles has amassed around 1 \u00bd Million miles running throughout their careers. They have also been a symbol of the pioneering spirit of the Manchester transport planners who first suggested returning trams to Manchester\u2019s streets in the early 1980s and there is an appreciation of the historical significance of the vehicles.<\/p>\n
SUPERB contains 200 pages and is an A4 format, produced perfect bound in softback and printed in full colour. It is priced at \u00a318 per copy and copies can be purchased from various transport book retailers or directly from the website www.buryrossendalerails.com<\/a>. The book has been produced on a voluntary basis and all profits generated from the sale of the books will be donated to Bury Hospice \u2013 who themselves have a connection to Metrolink as T68 1017 was named BURY HOSPICE for a number of years \u2013 in support of the vital work done by the organisation in providing vital end of life care to local people.<\/p>\n For those of you who are still reeling from the withdrawal of the last of the once 26 strong T68 fleet on Manchester Metrolink at the start of February you will be interested to learn that a new book charting … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/SUBERB_COVER1-388x550.jpg\" "\\"SUBERB_COVER1\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"