In this week’s news from the light rail sector – West Midlands Metro celebrates games legacy, Tyne & Wear Metro warns of trespass dangers, Blackpool tram donated to the National Tramway Museum, and travel offer for rugby fans in Edinburgh.

UKTram

Light rail professionals are being urged to book now or miss out on a place at a high-profile event featuring presentations by key figures from across the sector.

The Light Rail Summit, organised by UKTram, also promises a day of topical debate on a range of issues, including light rail safety, artificial intelligence, and women in transport.

A full agenda for the event at the Institute of Engineering and Technology’s impressive conference facilities in central Birmingham, IET: Austin Court, on September 21 has now been published, and you can find out more here.

In other light rail news:

West Midlands Metro

West Midlands Metro is set to help celebrate the legacy of last year’s Commonwealth Games by supporting the Birmingham festival that starts today (July 28).

For the next 10 days, thousands of people are expected to flock to various events in the city centre to mark the first anniversary of the games with an extravaganza of dance, music and culture.

The region’s popular tramway will be offering its support by providing free travel for volunteers during the Birmingham Festival, as well as a convenient and value-for-money service for anyone attending a packed programme of performances by artists from around the world. For the full story, click here.

Edinburgh Trams  

Rugby fans can save on travel to matches in Edinburgh over the next few weeks as the city hosts a series of warm-up games ahead of the World Rugby Cup in France later this year.

Anyone heading for the clash between Scotland and Italy at the Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday, July 29, can take advantage of tram return tickets, which can be purchased ahead of the game.

The ‘Rugby Return’ tram tickets can either be downloaded onto a smart device or simply printed out to show the Edinburgh Trams team, and further details can be found here.

Tyne & Wear Metro 

With the start of the school summer holidays, transport operators, including Nexus, are reminding parents and children of the dangers of trespassing on the railway.

The warning follows the release of the latest figures, which highlight an increase in the number of trespass incidents.

The summer holiday period is traditionally a time when Metro can see a rise in instances of trespass and anti-social behaviour on the system and Nexus works closely with local schools to educate children and their parents on the dangers of trespassing on the Metro network.

A youth Liaison Officer has also visited schools throughout the year, and the full story can be found here.

Heritage  

Blackpool 645 tramcar has been acquired by the National Tramway Museum in Crich as a possible combined second ‘Access Tram’ and ‘One Person Operation’ tram.

The tramcar has kindly been donated by Blackpool Transport Services and the transport cost, plus a significant donation to help restore the tram to operational condition have been made by Peter and Susan Whiteley, regular volunteers at the National Tramway Museum.

The Museum currently has one Access Tram, which can accept wheelchairs and passengers with walking difficulties, by use of a hydraulic lift, which needs to be pre-booked a week prior to use, and you can read more 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.