In this week’s news from the light rail sector – Edinburgh and Nottingham systems plan for the festive season, tram customers in Sheffield urged to ‘re:connect’ and Midlands Metro Alliance celebrates environmental award.

UKTram has welcomed UITP to Birmingham this week for a key meeting of the International Association of Public Transport’s Light Rail Committee.

In a LinkedIn Post here, Michael Rüffer has thanked UKTram and its Managing Director, James Hammett, for hosting the meeting that covered maintenance of the future and included a visit to the West Midlands Metro depot.

The event also provided the opportunity for colleagues from London, Liverpool, Dublin, Bergen and Bruxelles to share best practice.

Manchester Metrolink

Metrolink passengers are being urged to stay safe and take extra care around trams while travelling on the network over Christmas as part of a new Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) campaign.

Passenger and staff safety, as well as the safety of pedestrians and cyclists travelling or moving around trams and stops on the network, is a critical priority for TfGM and operator KeolisAmey Metrolink (KAM).

As the dark nights draw in people are also being reminded to look both ways when crossing tram tracks, and to stick to designated tram crossings where possible. For the full story, click here.

NET

With so many events in Nottingham this December, NET has published its festive timetable to give customers time to plan their travel around the City this Christmas.

With the exception of Christmas Day itself, there will be trams running every day through December with a Sunday service operating on key public holidays.

With the Winter Wonderland and so many other great events happening in Nottingham this year the City will be busy and buzzing throughout December and the network says it is helping customers to plan ahead with services outlined here.

Edinburgh Trams

A great value ticket offer from Edinburgh Trams is set to help thousands of visitors and local residents to make the most of the city’s festive celebrations.

Scotland’s capital city is home to a fantastic variety of attractions and events over the Christmas holidays, and its acclaimed tram system offers the ideal way to get around, while saving a few pounds to spend on seasonal treats!

Offering unlimited travel from all stops between Ingliston Park & Ride and St Andrew Square for up to two adults and three children, Edinburgh Trams’ ‘Family Day Tripper’ ticket only costs £7.50 and you can read more here.

West Midlands Metro

West Midlands Metro is pleased that the members of The Unite union has called off industrial action after accepting an enhanced pay offer from the operator.

In a post on its website here, West Midlands Metro says it is now looking forward to working together to provide the best possible service to customers as it heads towards the festive season and future expansion.

Tyne & Wear Metro

A new money saving fare cap is being introduced for Metro customers who travel on Pop Pay As You Go.

Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, will cap single journeys at £2, and at £4 for all-day travel, for pay as you go customers who travel with a Pop card or an Android smartphone with the Google Pay app installed.

The fare cap, which was agreed at the North East Joint Transport Committee last week, will run for three months next year, Monday, January 2, to Friday, March 31, and you can read more here.

Sheffield Supertram 

A new leaflet and radio advert in Sheffield is urging people to ‘re:connect’ with people and places.

With artwork by local artist Luke Horton, the leaflet provides details of Supertram services and fares, as well as other useful information.

Luke’s artwork can also been seen on Tram 121 and you can read the full story here.

Extension Projects 

The team at the Midland Metro Alliance, which is building a number of tramway extensions across the region on behalf of Transport for West Midlands, is celebrating after the first phase of the Birmingham Westside Metro extension picked up a major award for environmental awareness in construction.

The CEEQUAL ‘very good’ status was presented to the team at the Highways UK expo in Birmingham recently. It references the considerable best practices around sustainability for the construction of the first phase of this route to Centenary Square, which opened in December 2019.

One of the key sustainability features for the Birmingham Westside Metro extension is the pioneering use of batteries to power the trams that run along the route and you can read the full story here.

Heritage

British Trams Online reports that new public displays looking at future work for Douglas Promenade suggest a return of horse trams to Sea Terminal.

As posted here the displays give options for how the promenade could look in the future, including the potential of re-extending the tramway beyond its temporary terminus at Broadway.

LRSSB

The views of safety professionals from across the sector are to help shape the development of new light rail guidance and future updates to existing documentation.

Organised by the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board, a recent workshop involving representatives from all modern UK tram networks has already advanced a programme of continuous guidance development and you can read more here.

The LRSSB is also streamlining its communications processes to ensure sector professionals are kept up to date on the latest guidance and other critical documents. 

As part of the process, the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board has adopted a new email address, lrssbpublications@lrssb.org, to reduce the chance of customers missing vital communications.

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.