In this week’s news from the light rail sector – Tram to join pride celebrations in Manchester, classical music in Edinburgh, timetable changes in Blackpool and a Teddy Bears’ Picnic at Crich Tramway Village.

Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Pride is set to return to the city centre over the August Bank Holiday weekend with thousands of people expected to attend the festivities – and TfGM is showing its support by joining the parade and wrapping a tram to mark the event.

A new campaign – ‘Love Connects Everyone’ – will see a Metrolink tram wrapped in the rainbow colours of Pride and the windows of TfGM’s headquarters close to Piccadilly station will feature the rainbow colours of Pride.

People attending the parade should be aware that the city is going to be buzzing with events this weekend, including the third day of test match at Emirates Old Trafford and you can read more here.

Edinburgh Trams 

A spectacular afternoon of inspiring classical music is set to close one of the world’s largest arts festivals, and Edinburgh’s award-winning tram network offers a convenient way to travel to and from the venues.

Beethoven’s Seven Symphony and Carlos Simon’s ‘Fate Now Conquers’ will be featured on Saturday (August 27) at the Edinburgh Playhouse, which is just a short walk from St Andrew Square tram stop.

What’s more, music lovers can also watch and listen to this family-friendly programme live from Princes Street Gardens on a big screen, and with trams from every seven minutes throughout the day. As reported here, getting to the concert couldn’t be easier.

Blackpool Transport 

From Sunday, August 28, the operator will be making changes to its tram timetable.

As the summer holidays come to an end, daytime services tend to be a little quieter so it will be running a 15-minute service from around 8.00 am until around 6.00 pm.

Evenings during the illuminations, things begin to get busier so trams will run up to every 10 minutes between Little Bispham and Starr Gate, and up to every 30 minutes between Fleetwood and Starr Gate.

For further details, click here.

London Tramlink

As part of Transport for London’s programme to renew the infrastructure of London Trams, work is underway to replace nearly half a mile of track between Wimbledon and Therapia Lane.

As reported here no tram service will run between Wimbledon and Therapia Lane until Wednesday, August 31 while approximately 700 metres of track is replaced.

Tyne & Wear Metro 

The Tyne and Wear Metro’s oldest ever driver has taken a well-earned retirement aged 75, after clocking up more than 40 years of service and carrying millions of passengers on his trains.

Richard Neesham has bid an emotional farewell to a job which became a life-long career spanning more than four decades.

Having first started driving Metros in 1981, not long after the network first opened, Richard has been there ever since. His length of service makes him the oldest person to drive a train on the Metro system and you can read the full story here.

Heritage

Crich Tramway is staging a Teady Bear’s picnic this weekend, with visitors being invited to bring their own furry friends on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.

They can also enjoy children’s entertainment from 12.30pm  – 2.30pm and follow the ‘Teddy Trail’ on the woodland walk from Wakebridge to Derwent View. There will also be live teddy appearances and the full story can be found here.

To be included in the next round-up, or the Members News section of the UKTram website, send your press releases to info@uktram.org.