In this week’s news from the light rail sector – Musical soundtrack for West Midlands Metro, appointment boosts resilience and security in Nottingham, Pre Metro restores VLR railcar, essential maintenance at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester, Teddy Bear picnic at Tramway Village and timetable announced for lights switch-on in Blackpool.
NET
As part of a wider ongoing initiative to increase safety for tram users across Nottingham’s extensive tram network, NET has appointed a new network resilience and security manager.
With more than 14 years of experience in the transport and light rail sectors, Shaun Kenneth joins the NET team to bolster the network’s stringent safety plans, and to help increase the overall resilience of the trams across Nottingham.
Over the coming months, he’ll be drawing on the experience gained from his time leading the metro mobilisation in Doha and Qatar, and you can read more about the appointment here.
West Midlands Metro
West Midlands Metro customers are in for a musical treat next week when the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s (CBSO) world-renowned Music Director stages a series of performances on board trams between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Kazuki Yamada, the Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, will be creating a captivating piano soundtrack for passengers travelling across the region- all completely free.
The performances on Tuesday, August 27, and Thursday, August 29, are part of a CBSO in the City week-long series of events designed to showcase the orchestra’s talents. From Beethoven to iconic movie themes, expect music to surprise and delight in unexpected locations throughout the region, and you can find out more here.
Manchester Metrolink
Further essential work to improve city centre tram journeys will get under way at Piccadilly Gardens next week.
The track replacement work is scheduled to be carried out for 21 days between Tuesday, 27 August, and Tuesday, 17 September.
It is part of a major coordinated programme taking place this summer to maintain the Metrolink system and ensure tram journeys remain safe, reliable and accessible, and further details can be found here.
Blackpool Transport
It’s that time of year again as Blackpool gets ready for the switch-on of its annual illuminations, which this year takes place on August 30.
On the day Blackpool Transport will be running a special service with a 15-minute frequency starting at 9am. This will travel from Starr Gate to Fleetwood, via North Station, ensuring a smoother journey for those arriving in Blackpool and getting around town.
From 3pm, it will run a ‘split service’ until 10pm due to the amount of people on the Promenade, and more details can be found here.
Pre Metro
Pre Metro is working with Lightweight Community Transport Limited (LCT) to retrofit the former PPM Car 12 Railcar.
Car 12 first made an appearance on the Network in 2005 as number 999900, when it was used for an experimental service on Sundays to prove the viability of a low-cost light rail service on the Stourbridge Branch Line.
That experimental service would eventually become today’s Stourbridge Shuttle, and you can read the full story here.
Tyne and Wear Metro
The new Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Susan Dungworth, has taken a trip on the Tyne and Wear Metro to observe policing and security measures on the system.
The PCC travelled through North Tyneside and Newcastle on Saturday evening, 17 August, along with officers from the Northumbria Force and the Metro security team. It culminated with a brief tour of the Metro Control Room at South Gosforth.
The visit formed part of the PCC announcing that incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB) at identified hotspot areas across the Northumbria Police force area have dropped by 30 per cent. For the full story, click here.
Extension projects
The first phase of trackwork has been successfully completed on Moor Street Queensway as works that will pave the way for the partial opening of the Birmingham Eastside extension gather pace.
The tram tracks for the highly anticipated route have been extended from Lower Bull Street, through Dale End, Albert Street and into Moor Street Queensway, where a total of 315m of double rail is now in place.
The team has moved their efforts to the other side of the carriageway to begin works on the second half of the tramway in this area, and time-lapse footage has been released of the latest progress. For the full story, and a link to the footage, click here.
Heritage
Visitors to Crich Tramway Village are being invited to bring their own teddy bear and picnic this Sunday, and Bank Holiday Monday, August 26.
The first 300 children who bring a teddy receive a free badge, and all can experience the teddy bear trail from Wakebridge tram stop to Derwent View between 10am – 4.30pm each day. Click here for more information on the special event.
LRSSB
The potential of a new Learning Management System to drive up competency standards in light rail is put under the spotlight in a new podcast from the LRSSB.
The second episode of ‘Let’s Talk Light Rail’ features the organisation’s Head of Engineering Safety and Innovation, Craig O’Brien, who offers an insight into the many benefits of a structured approach to training and development.
He’s joined by Marlene Pearson-McGrath, who has led the development of a pioneering LMS for Edinburgh’s award-winning tramway, and you can find out 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.
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