Tram Trains thread

[Hook 10]

As there has been a Green route in the past, the confusion bit is/was not seen as an issue on the tram only route as they do not use coloured signals.

 

I do not know the logic but if they use Green (or orange) on the railway it could be confused with a Green or Orange proceed light and therefore if misread into possible danger.

Yellow and blue already in use.

White is an approaching train and cannot be used.

My understanding is it will be Red as if misread it would mean stop.

 

The route Cathedral -> Parkgate will not be Red OR green.

[Grissom 10]

Sometime when the display goes on old tram the coloured square seems like a rainbow. Got me thinking could they have striped route indicator ? Will train drivers get confused.com ?

[Michael_N 36]

The route Cathedral -> Parkgate will not be Red OR green.

 

That's funny as the new route maps show the route to be red in colour? Maybe they just wont show the red square on the front of the trams?

[dutch 68]

We are seeing lots of so called self exclaimed experts again who claim to know it all. Why not simply be patient and wait and see what colour it gets when it gets there, what's the rush to know? It is only a colour, who cares which one, its not like you need to catch a flight in ten minutes and you need to check flight number to find what gate its boarding.

[WalkleyIan 10]

With all that work going on at AMP1 and now the AMP2 site, the rapid expansion of the Waverly Estate and now this

 

http://www.thestar.co.uk/business/approval-for-50m-shopping-and-leisure-park-on-sheffield-outskirts-1-8826756

 

It seems mad to they chose to take the tram-train out to Rotherham, a route that is already well covered by busses and trains, rather than along the worksop line to Waverly and the Advanced Manufacturing Parks

[Annie Bynnol 610]

With all that work going on at AMP1 and now the AMP2 site, the rapid expansion of the Waverly Estate and now this

 

http://www.thestar.co.uk/business/approval-for-50m-shopping-and-leisure-park-on-sheffield-outskirts-1-8826756

 

It seems mad to they chose to take the tram-train out to Rotherham, a route that is already well covered by busses and trains, rather than along the worksop line to Waverly and the Advanced Manufacturing Parks

 

"They" are the Department for Transport who wanted to trial a system where urban trams would use active mainline Network Rail track. The route chosen for Tram Train was not to just to meet a demand.

 

"They" being the Deparment for Transport have refused all attempts to extend Supertram to meet the needs of Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

 

If the Tram Train trial is successful then a routes out to Waverley could be a posibility.

[dutch 68]

When I was a child I eperimented and played with trainsets. Only difference is that politicians have a greater budget they don't have to work or safe for the money like I did.

They should have done this very expensive experiment in a place that also really needed the expansion.

[Annie Bynnol 610]

When I was a child I eperimented and played with trainsets. Only difference is that politicians have a greater budget they don't have to work or safe for the money like I did.

They should have done this very expensive experiment in a place that also really needed the expansion.

 

The DfT required that there needed to be an existing low floor tram system (excludes Manchester) running from a line of sight street system onto a working passenger railway with no 3rd rail.

 

Supertram was seen as the best system to trial it on.

 

The initial plan was centred on Sheffied Huddersfield- quite late on in the planning this was rejected. The route to Parkgate was seen as the best place for a trial by DfT.

The remit of the trial includes withdrawal of funding and route abandonment if it fails.

[dutch 68]

Well there is no magical moneytree. Guess this rule doesn't apply to the rulers.

[BigAl1 142]

We know that Tram Trains work perfectly well on other networks in the world

 

So far we have seen that they can not procure the infrastructure changes in a timely fashion and to budget on what is a small project

 

We have also seen that they were unable to procure tram/trains that worked, we were told that when they were delivered they would be in service in summer 2016 and that they would be used to provide extra services at busy times until the Rotherham service began

 

So on what basis will they decide if the experiment is a success?

[dutch 68]

They do same thing with economy, It's sinking yet they cheer and cheer its not all that bad.

[Annie Bynnol 610]

We know that Tram Trains work perfectly well on other networks in the world

 

So far we have seen that they can not procure the infrastructure changes in a timely fashion and to budget on what is a small project

 

We have also seen that they were unable to procure tram/trains that worked, we were told that when they were delivered they would be in service in summer 2016 and that they would be used to provide extra services at busy times until the Rotherham service began

 

So on what basis will they decide if the experiment is a success?

 

We do not know neither do they or them either.

 

Heavy rail is not a solution to urban transport problems.

History and geography often combine to place the rail network outside the reach of modern suburbia.

Buses can be made to work for short journeys.

Modern trams provide an urban solution.

Heavy rail is needed for megacities (Sheffield never had an urban rail network).

 

Many of the former industrial areas are composed of multiple large towns connected seemingly randomly by the vagaries of private rail construction and rationalization post Beeching.

 

The DfT have been searching for alternatives to heavy rail solutions for these areas. Guided busways and interurban trams and light rail work when former rail track is available eg Cambridge, Newcastle, Birmingham and large sections of the (very badly designed) Manchester system.

Areas like South Yorkshire have a legacy of poorly used routes, former and little used track and passenger rolling stock well passed its sell by date and in need of massive investment. Also often unable to serve areas of population growth and the centres of commerce and business. The DfT thinking is a vehicle which can run in the city and along stretches of heavy rail using two or more signalling, operating and power systems.

 

There are no tram trains in the UK and very few globally and only Germany has anything similar and even then dated and not directly transferrable - otherwise we would use it.

 

There are numerous sites available from government, suppliers, academics, engineers, contractors and enthusiasts about the trial. The trial is to run for two years.