In light rail news this week – York Place stop closes in Edinburgh, NET shuttle buses for big cup derby, free parking extended in Tyne & Wear, 2022 plans announced in the Isle of Man and LRSSB developing safety verification tool.
Senior figures from across the light rail sector have heard how UKTram is continuing to work closely with the Department for Transport on the sector’s post-pandemic recovery.
At a recent meeting, members of the organisation’s Owners and Authorities Group heard that UKTram was supporting the view that further financial support for tramways and similar transit systems was needed as they rebuild patronage following the lifting of Covid restrictions.
Representatives from systems in Manchester, Edinburgh, Nottingham, the West Midlands, Sheffield and London reported that, in most areas, there had been some increases in passenger numbers over the past few months, but concerns remain and you can read more here.
Also, Time is running out to book a place on the first Mainspring LRT Excellence Day of 2022, which has been organised in partnership with UKTram.
Taking place on February 10 at Wolverhampton’s Grand Station – just a stone’s throw from one of the exciting current projects to extend the West Midlands Metro – it will focus on tramway and light rail infrastructure maintenance, renewals and asset management.
For further information and a link to booking details, click here.
In other light rail news:
Edinburgh Trams
Work to connect Edinburgh’s existing tram network to the Newhaven line will see the permanent closure of the York Place stop next month, and a temporary suspension of services to other city centre stops.
From Thursday, February 10, trams will run as far as the West End tram stop with alternative arrangements put in place to enable customers to complete their journey. In April, services will resume as far as a temporary terminus in St Andrew Square.
While the work is taking place, there will be no services to Princes Street and St Andrew Square although customers with tram and bus day tickets, Ridacards and valid Concessionary cards can use any Lothian bus service to link with the tram at West End. You can read the full story here.
NET
With Nottingham Forest and Leicester City meeting in the FA Cup this weekend in an exciting East Midlands derby, Nottingham’s tram network is showing football fans their support by offering free travel on shuttle buses to The City Ground.
The popular shuttle bus service between tram stops and the stadium are normally for use by tram ticket holders only, but to support Nottingham Forest and the large number of fans expected at Sunday’s game, the shuttle bus service will be made available for free use by all fans with no tram ticket needed. The full story can be found here.
Tyne & Wear Metro
Free parking at four park and ride sites on the Tyne and Wear Metro is to continue as more people return to the network after the latest Covid restrictions came to an end.
Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, has extended the offer through to March 31 as it looks to continue building back Metro customer numbers that were hit by the pandemic.
Metro footfall is now 80% of pre-pandemic levels, and with more people heading back to work after the Government withdrew its Plan B covid and the full story can be found here.
Heritage
The 2022 season on both the Manx Electric Railway and Snaefell Mountain Railway (as well as the Isle of Man Steam Railway) are less than two months away, and full details of the timetables due to run throughout the year have been published.
British Trams Online reports that they return to the familiar pre-Covid pattern, which for the MER means that there are scheduled to be guaranteed journeys for either the ‘World’s Oldest Trams or Open Trams’ on the main summer timetable. An extra enthusiast event at the end of the year has also been confirmed.
The Manx Electric Railway season kicks off on Tuesday 15th March and will run on selected dates until Sunday 30th October, as reported here.
LRSSB
A new initiative aimed at developing a cross-sector approach to verification and compliance with regulations has been launched by the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board.
The organisation is working with transport infrastructure consultancy, Anturas, to develop a new software tool to help guide light rail safety professionals through the safety verification process.
Applying elements of Railways and Other Guided Transport (ROGS) Regulations that relate to light rail, it will help describe the process to identify and control risks arising from the introduction of new or altered vehicles and infrastructure.
Although we are still in the early stages of the project, we expect it to provide a clearer and more appropriate process that can easily be adopted by organisations from across the sector.
The full story can be found here.
To be included in the next round-up, or the Members News section of the website, send your press releases to jamie.swift@uktram.org.
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