In this week’s news from the light rail sector – Blackpool deal for dads on Father’s Day, Sunshine on Leith as Edinburgh Transport prepares for The Proclaimers gigs, safety appeal from Luas and new signalling system installed on Tyne & Wear Metro.

Blackpool Transport  

Dads are being offered free travel on trams in Blackpool on Father’s Day!

The offer applies to any dads travelling with a paying customer on Sunday, June 18 and Blackpool Transport says the deal is its way of saying thanks to all the amazing father figures out there. Further details can be found here. 

LUAS

Dublin’s tramway is appealing to everyone who travels near Luas – pedestrians, and motorists – to always remember that “safety should always be your number one” and to be extra vigilant when travelling around the system.

It says the rules of the road and the steps everyone should take to stay safe around Luas are the same. Accidents are often avoidable and, aside from the risk of seriously injury, they can cause hours of disruption for other people who rely on Luas.

Luas has an excellent safety record and its drivers are trained in defensive driving; however, anyone walking, cycling, driving, or taking public transport, has a part to play in keeping themselves and others safe. For the full story, click here.

Edinburgh Trams

There was certainly ‘Sunshine on Leith’ last week for the launch of a new tram route to Newhaven, and with services now up and running in the area, fans of Scotland’s most famous rock and pop duo can enjoy convenient travel to their shows over the weekend.

The Proclaimers will take to the stage at Leith Links on Saturday and Sunday and the new Foot of the Walk stop is just a short walk from the venue.

With services from every seven minutes, the Edinburgh Trams team stands ready to help thousands of people to make the most of the brothers’ homecoming gigs and you can read more here.

Tyne & Wear Metro

A new signalling system is to be installed at the £70m Gosforth Metro depot as the state-of-the-art facility continues to get ready for the new train fleet.

Nexus, the public body that owns and manages Metro, said the work was vital for ahead of more new trains arriving, and the first one entering service at the end of the year.

Digital signalling systems will be installed and staff will move into a modern new depot control room overlooking the Gosforth site, which will be used to safely manage train access to and from the mainline.

The work is being packed into a single weekend in order to keep the amount of disruption to customers to an absolute minimum and you can find out more here.

Extension Projects 

New artists impressions have been released showing how Dudley’s new £24 million bus and Metro interchange will look.

It comes as council bosses revealed work could start on the new structure in the winter.

The interchange is set to replace the current bus station in the town centre.

Temporary bus stops will be provided in the town centre during construction to maintain provision of services, as reported here.

Heritage  

June 2, 2023, marked the 60th anniversary of the first public operation of a horse-drawn tram service at

Crich Tramway Village has been celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first public operation of its horse-drawn tram service.

On June 2, 1963, the Tramway Museum at Crich operated its first ever service when passengers were able to ride on Sheffield Corporation Tramways horse tram No. 15, with a horse named Bonnie providing the traction.

This was almost ninety years since the Sheffield Tramways Company had provided the first horse-drawn tramway service in Sheffield, commencing on October 6, 1873 and the full story can be found here. 

LRSSB

Plans to help drive nationwide safety improvements through better understanding of tramway operation and maintenance risks, have been boosted by completion of updated models for all major UK systems.

Over the past few months, members of the LRSSB team have been working with networks to refresh their own analysis of risk while contributing to a thorough assessment of common safety issues across the sector.

Laura Reardon, LRSSB Head of Safety Risk Management, explained that is vital that networks fully understand potential risks to help them make informed plans for continual improvement in their risk profiles. For the full story, click 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.