In light rail news this week – NET tram wrapped for carbon neutral campaign, pop star tells stories on Metrolink, bumper Edinburgh Trams service over Christmas, first phase completed of Gosforth Metro depot rebuild, Luas recruiting more drivers and LRSSB issues good practice guide for managing wheel-rail interface.
Improving track worker safety was a key topic under discussion at a recent meeting of engineers from the light rail sector.
The final meeting of the year for the UKTram Light Rail Engineering Group (LREG) took place over two days in Blackpool and delegates were given a presentation by Keith Gibbs, Safety Taskforce Leader for Network Rail.
Benchmarking for the industry was another topic discussed, with a presentation given on a project in North America demonstrating its benefits, and you can read more about the meeting here.
There’s also plenty of news from UKTram in the second issue of our OnTrack newsletter, which can be downloaded here (insert link).
Inside you will find recent stories published by both UKTram and the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board, including reports of increases in patronage and details of the next a major sector event planned for 2022.
There are also reports from recent meetings of other UKTram working groups, a roundup of members’ news and a call for more people to consider careers in light rail engineering.
In other light rail news:
NET
NET and Nottingham City Council have unveiled a striking new look for one of Nottingham’s trams to help create a ‘green symbol’ of the city’s ambitious carbon neutral climate goals.
The newly wrapped tram features an eye-catching design based on the Council’s #CarbonNeutral2028 campaign, focussed on becoming the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2028.
The tram was unveiled at NET’s Wilkinson Street depot by two young pupils – Alfie Daniels and Ariadne Van Krimpen – from Alderman Pounder Infant and Nursery School who have been selected as the city’s first ‘Trambassadors’, acting as an important community link for NET and you can read more here.
Manchester Metrolink
Legendary Charlatans frontman, Tim Burgess is no stranger to hearing himself being played out over the airwaves – but this week he has made his debut on a different set of speakers, as the voice of Metrolink.
From Monday 29 November, Metrolink passengers will have been able to hear Tim ‘Tellin’ Stories’ and sharing ‘Some Friendly’ news across the network.
The iconic lead singer, DJ, solo artist and host of much-loved Twitter album listening parties has lent his voice to Metrolink as Greater Manchester prepares to welcome thousands of music fans to his Vinyl Adventures Record Fair on December 5, as reported here.
Edinburgh Trams
With the festive season fast approaching, Edinburgh Trams has announced plans for a bumper timetable over the Christmas holidays.
With the exception of Christmas Day itself, it will run a full timetable with trams from every 7 minutes throughout the holidays – making them ideal for anyone needing to pop into the city centre for some last-minute shopping or to hunt down a bargain in the winter sales. The full story can be found here.
Tyne & Wear Metro
The first phase of a £70m project to rebuild Gosforth Metro depot has been completed, paving the way for further demolition work, and the construction of a modern new home for Metro’s new fleet of trains.
The opening phase of the project has involved the partial demolition of the 100-year-old depot, the installation of new stabling roads and overhead lines.
Stadler, the Swiss train manufacturer, which is building the state-of-the-art depot and supplying a fleet of 46 new trains on behalf of Metro operator, Nexus, will now start the new depot building and demolish more of the old facilities over the coming months.
The new Gosforth depot will be ready for the trains in autumn next year, when the first new train will arrive in the region and the full story can be found here.
Luas
Transdev Dublin Light Rail Ltd, operator and maintainer of Luas, is recruiting tram drivers, creating a panel for future opportunities.
The operator is looking for dedicated individuals who are passionate about keeping Dublin moving and providing quality public transport for Luas customers.
It’s offering an incremental salary scale starting at €32,909 and further details can be found here.
Extension Projects
As part construction on Edinburgh’s Trams to Newhaven project, works are required to install the overhead line equipment.
The process to achieve the property owner consent to undertake these works was conducted between 2018 and 2019 and under the powers of the Tram (Line One) Act 2006.
In preparation for the installation of building fixings, Sacyr Farrans Neopul (SFN) will undertake external surveys to properties along the route to record the existing condition of properties prior to the commencement of the building fixing install. Click here for the full story.
LRSSB
A Good Practice Guide for Managing the Wheel-Rail Interface of light rail and tramway systems has been revised and revived to enhance safety across the sector.
The Light Rail Safety and Standards Board collaborated with the Institute of Railway Research (IRR) at The University of Huddersfield to reproduce the guide, which was originally commissioned by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in 2008.
Much of the information in the guide is still highly relevant today, and the LRSSB – with permission from the ORR – wanted to reintroduce this topic and raise awareness of the subject amongst its member organisations, as reported here.
To be included in the next round-up, or the Members News section of the website, send your press releases to jamie.swift@uktram.org.