UKTram Board Member Lindsay Murphy represented the organisation at TransCityRail North 2025 in Manchester last week, joining transport professionals to discuss the role of light rail and mass transit in shaping the North’s transport future.

Chaired by Chris Hopkinson, Head of Metro Operations at Transport for West Midlands and supported by Vice Chair Stuart Lowrie, Public Transport Manager for the City of Edinburgh Council, the meeting brought together representatives from across the UK’s light rail networks to share updates and shape a forward plan for 2026.

UKTram Managing Director, James Hammett, recently attended the 2025 Urban Tram Forum (UTF) annual meeting, held in Amsterdam from 22nd to the 24th October and hosted by GVB (Gemeente Gemeentevervoerbedrijf - The Municipal Public Transport Operator for Amsterdam). 

In this week’s UKTram light rail news round-up: networks across the UK pay tribute to servicemen and women with free travel and remembrance events, Manchester introduces simpler fares, Nottingham reports a rise in tram use during the city’s Goose Fair, Nexus announces essential line works and Crich Tramway Village celebrates a restoration milestone. Plus, TfL marks its 25th anniversary with festive prizes and a special Poppy Day partnership.

Representatives from across the light rail sector gathered in Leeds this week for the Focus on Light Rail event, jointly hosted by Rail Forum and the UKTram, to explore opportunities and challenges across the evolving public transport landscape.

UKTram’s Operations Manager, Steve Duckering, represented the UK’s light rail sector at the 81st UITP Light Rail Committee Meeting in Toronto from 27th to 29th October 2025, joining global leaders to exchange innovation and operational insights.

In this week’s UKTram light rail news round-up: Edinburgh Trams celebrates over one million customer journeys using Tap On, Tap Off, Whitley Bay Metro canopy refurbishment earns industry recognition, DLR network upgrades ahead of new fleet and NET Nottingham Trams awarded at global industry event. Plus, Blackpool Heritage tram tours extended to November, planning approval for Luas Finglas extension and Trafford Palazzo partners with TfGM for Metrolink stop rebrand.

Codemakers Limited, the parent company of Metrotech, has been recognised at this year’s Computing - Cloud Excellence Awards, receiving the ‘Highly Commended’ distinction in the Most Innovative Cloud Product or Service category for its flagship product, Permit+.

Engineers and operators from across the UK and Ireland's light rail networks met in Birmingham at the WMCA offices last month to share updates and discuss sector-wide priorities and opportunities ahead of the annual UKTram and LRSSB Light Rail Summit.  

UKTram Lead Engineer, Phill Terry, attended a well-subscribed international webinar this month, exploring best practice in obsolescence management - a growing challenge across transport engineering and supply chains.

In this week’s light rail news round-up: Edinburgh Trams receives recognition at the Cloud Computing Awards, South Yorkshire’s newest Tram Train station reaches major construction milestone, West Yorkshire Combined Authority invites views on 2025–26 budget. Learn more about the new Community Rail Partnership launched in South East Wales, the rare 1981 Tyne and Wear Metro film discovered on eBay and heritage tramway events over half term.

UKTram Managing Director, James Hammett, joined industry leaders at the Rail Forum Annual Conference 2025 on the 9th of October, held at Doncaster Racecourse. This year’s theme, “Unleashing the Value of UK Rail”, brought together voices from across the sector to explore the future of integrated transport and innovation.

Building on discussions from the most recent Centre of Excellence (CoE) meeting, UKTram has further strengthened engagement with the British Standards Institution (BSI) by attending the Innovation Management Summit 2025, held on Wednesday 8th October at London’s Science Museum.

In this week’s round-up: Metro steps towards contactless travel with smart validators, Supertram network investment planned over October half-term , while Blackpool Transport has just the ticket for half-term days out. Learn more about the UK-first approach to keeping travelling public safe in Greater Manchester, a train tattoo honouring the historic Metro fleet and the newly appointed Chair for the LRSSB Heads of Safety Group.

The latest meeting of the UKTram Centre of Excellence has highlighted the importance of closer collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to ensure the light rail and urban transit sectors remain well represented in the development of industry standards.

In this week’s round-up: Luas Cork reaches a key consultation milestone, Transport for London publishes its Annual Report with progress on safety and decarbonisation, while Nexus prepares to host Newcastle’s Climate Change Forum. Manchester Metrolink explores energy optimisation with the University of Birmingham and Supertram celebrates new driver graduates. Meanwhile, NET launches trial of more frequent evening trams and Crich Tramway Village announces its after-dark Tramli

UKTram Operations Manager Steve Duckering joined international transport leaders in Newcastle on 6–8 October for the UITP Regional & Suburban Railways Division Meeting.

A new report from Campaign for Better Transport, Making the Connection: Rail and the sustainable growth opportunity highlights the essential role of light rail in supporting cleaner, better-connected cities. It also features two powerful examples of the mode’s impact and potential.

In this week’s round-up: the first of 54 new DLR trains enters service as networks press ahead with renewal and maintenance, Nexus confirms a six-day closure for major track works and SYMCA details Supertram upgrades. Edinburgh Trams supports a packed October events calendar, Nottingham offers student savings, and Dublin’s MetroLink secures planning approval. Plus, Scouts back the LRSSB ‘two lines = stop’ safety campaign and the Global Light Rail Awards celebrate sector excel

The 2025 Global Light Rail Awards took place in London this week, bringing together operators, suppliers, and industry leaders from around the world to celebrate excellence and innovation in the sector.