In this week’s news from the light rail sector – £20 million investment in Manchester Metrolink, stops earn safety accreditation in the West Midlands, upgrades over Easter in Croydon, and successful completion of Tyne & Wear works.
UKTram
The Managing Director of light rail’s representative body is urging male colleagues to think about ways they can contribute to making the sector an even more inclusive place to work.
After attending a recent Women in Transport event focusing on ways men can support their female colleagues, James Hammett says much still needs to be done on the road to full equality.
Following the Male Allies workshop in London, James said that women are already well represented in light rail when compared to many other modes of transport, but still has a long way to go.
The workshop provided eye-opening examples of all-to-common forms of unconscious bias and accidental sexism in the workplace, and you can read the full story here.
In other light rail news:
West Midlands Metro
31 of the network’s current 33 stops have been granted the esteemed Safer Tram Stop accreditation, a prestigious recognition from Secured by Design, an official Police security initiative dedicated to ensuring safety in light rail systems throughout the United Kingdom.
These accreditations underscore the stringent safety and security measures implemented by Metro at all tram stops along the network, spanning from Wolverhampton to Birmingham.
They also commend the design features and preventive measures deployed to deter criminal activity, including comprehensive CCTV coverage, and you can read more here.
Manchester Metrolink
More than £20m will be invested to improve the Metrolink network over the next 12 months to ensure services remain safe and reliable for years to come.
The UK’s largest light rail network has 99 stops across 64 miles of track – more than 700 million journeys have been made on the trams since opening in 1992.
The £21.4m funding – from the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) – will ensure the network keeps on delivering safe, reliable and accessible services for millions more people into the future.
Approved by the Bee Network committee on Thursday, the work is part of a planned £147m package to maintain, upgrade and improve the network up to 2027, and the full story can be found here.
London Tramlink
No trams will be running on services east of East Croydon for four weeks, including over the Easter school holidays, to make way for upgrades to switches and crossing units and track renewals.
Local media report that from March 29 to April 24, there will be no tram services from East Croydon to New Addington, Elmers End and Beckenham Junction.
Tram replacement bus services will be available to customers as maintenance works on the track will take place at two key locations: East Croydon and Sandilands Junction. Further details can be found here.
Tyne & Wear Metro
A seven-day major line closure between between Airport and South Gosforth has been successfully completed, with teams carrying out a wide range of essential infrastructure renewal schemes.
1,400 metres of overhead line has been replaced and 1.5km of new tracks installed, while secondary works included signalling cable testing, lighting and CCTV works, bridge and structure inspections, and graffiti removal. Ceiling repairs at Regent Centre Metro station were also carried out, and you can read the full story here.
Luas
There will be no Red Line trams running between Tallaght and Belgard Luas Stops on Saturday and Sunday, March 2 and 3, to facilitate essential engineering works.
On these dates, trams will run between Belgard and Saggart, and Connolly and The Point only.
A replacement bus service will run between Tallaght and Belgard approximately every 15 minutes, and further details can be found here.
Extension Projects
Construction activity, which will pave the way for the partial opening of the Birmingham Eastside Metro extension, is set to get underway in early spring.
Spades will hit the ground in Moor Street Queensway from April as works to extend the track laid in nearby Lower Bull Street, through Albert Street, enters the next stage of delivery.
Work for this highly anticipated extension has progressed significantly in recent months with main construction activity in Lower Bull Street and Digbeth High Street now completed.
This next phase of works will see a temporary tram stop installed outside of the Clayton Hotel, allowing passengers to use this section of the route as early as 2025/26, 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.