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Tram-Trains for Sheffield to Rotherham


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Yesterday I finally managed to get a ride on the new system, so here are a few phone photos.

 

I arrived at Parkgate mid- morning, with a few people waiting, and more turned up.

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Some got off the tram and went over to the shops via the newly-completed access, others were here for the joyride

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There was a rail-style announcement at Parkgate, departure time and a list of all the stops into Sheffield.

Buy your ticket on board

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Grab the front seat

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And off through Rotherham Central. The dip in the track where it was lowered under a couple of bridges was easily visible from behind the driver.

We paused on the Tinsley Chord for system changeover, and a tram passed while the driver was flicking switches

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We followed that one some of the way into Sheffield (note the poppy)

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And at the Staniforth Road crossing, you could see the marks in the road surface where the lorry and tram-train added to the opening day publicity

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A quick bit of shopping in Sheffield, then back to Rotherham. Arrival of a TT at Sheffield Cathedral

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I jumped out at Rotherham Central.

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To answer an earlier question in the thread about dissuading people from crossing the line, this barrier has only recently appeared:

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The timetable is 3 an hour, but not evenly spaced due to the timings of the heavy rail trains at Rotherham. So once an hour, a pair of TTs is timetabled to cross at Rotherham C. My outbound service also crossed an inbound one on the Tinsley Chord.

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Ticket "integration" with rail services is limited, as shown by this poster at Rotherham

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And then back to Parkgate where I just happened to be in time for the alternate Saturdays Tinsley-Immingham steel train:

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Summing up: plenty of people using it, many enthusiasts, quite a few locals for the novelty factor, and I think a fair few genuine users, perhaps numbers helped by the Northern strike. Staff were reminding Meadowhall passengers to get off at Meadowhall South/Tinsley.

Despite what others have said about hard seats, I found the ride perfectly comfortable. 

On the existing tram section, the TTs don't appear on the platform displays as such, only a message saying that they are now running. So it could say "Next tram: Yellow to Meadowhall" whereas in fact the next tram is a tram-train.

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Edited by eastwestdivide
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Interesting report eastwestdivide, thanks for making and posting. Can you confirm that access to the tram-train at Rotherham Central is by walking the length of the heavy rail platforms ? (I passed through last week and couldn't see any other entrance/exit).

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Interesting report eastwestdivide, thanks for making and posting. Can you confirm that access to the tram-train at Rotherham Central is by walking the length of the heavy rail platforms ? (I passed through last week and couldn't see any other entrance/exit).

Yes it is, you share the station entrance. That had always been the plan anyway.

The tram-trains start later, and finish earlier, than the first and last Northern services, so the opening times at Rotherham won't change.

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On the existing tram section, the TTs don't appear on the platform displays as such, only a message saying that they are now running. So it could say "Next tram: Yellow to Meadowhall" whereas in fact the next tram is a tram-train.

As far as the tramway is concerned, the service to Rotherham is just another tram route, run with trams, just a particular group of the fleet.

 

Jim

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As far as the tramway is concerned, the service to Rotherham is just another tram route, run with trams, just a particular group of the fleet.

 

Jim

Yes, agreed, and also as far as the ticketing is concerned it's just another tram route.

But the point I was trying to make was that the Rotherham/Parkgate services weren't showing as such on the tram network live displays. They were only displaying the next standard tram, even if the actual next service was a TT. So with for example a Parkgate-bound TT coming in to Carbrook, passengers were getting conflicting info - the display on the vehicle said Parkgate, the display on the platform said Meadowhall yellow route. 

I'm sure they're working on integrating the info better.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Another trip report, this afternoon, Thu 15/11/18.

Trams 201/202/203 operating.

Got to Parkgate to see the 1359 departing with maybe 20 people on board.

Caught the 1409, with 8 on board from Parkgate (6 got off the arriving service). One more got on at Rotherham. Only 10 mins behind the previous service, due to the uneven interval timetable, so possibly the lightest loadings of the hour?

Nice view out of the front. Crew change at Nunnery Square, where the outgoing driver pointed out to the incoming driver that the cover and handle for the cab door from the saloon were missing (you had to open the door by pulling on the key in the lock), and there were sharp bits to avoid. Vandalism or poor build quality or poor maintenance? No idea.

 

The platform indicators are now including the TT services:

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Returned on the 1601 from Cathedral as far as Carbrook/IKEA, on a fairly well filled tram-train.

Then after a guerilla shopping expedition (in, find it, pay, get out), I was on on the 1643 from Carbrook through to Rotherham. Around 35 people got off at Rotherham, and another 30 or so stayed on to Parkgate. However, at least one of those getting off at Rotherham had caught the wrong tram, expecting to go to Meadowhall, despite all the signs and loud announcements.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers - less than a month after opening. Would be interesting to see how busy they are on the extension in the high peak hour. At Parkgate, at the very far end of the shopping centre car park, there are some spaces* set aside for tram-train users, and anecdotally I've spoken to people who previously drove to or from Sheffield/Rotherham who said the tram would be better than the drive.

 

* Edit Sunday 18/11: I think 32 spaces + 2 for disabled. Most spaces were full when I passed by on Saturday 17th about lunchtime.

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Edited by eastwestdivide
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  • 2 weeks later...

Just received latest newsletter fromte French Railways Society, with a very good article about train-tram introduction in France.

One reason given for introduction is that the driver does not have toold a EU train-driver's licence. Is this also the case here(for time being!).

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And it just happened to be one of the Rotherham extension trams. It could just as easily have been one of the original Sheffield cars.

 

At least the BBC got it right in describing it as a tram, although it's curious the way they referred to "Meadowhall services" but "Parkgate trams".

 

Jim

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There were a few tram - car incidents when they opened the Croydon Tramway. To quote one aggrieved driver "why didn't it swerve behind me?"

 

Bill

 

As there were in Sheffield when Supertram opened.   This together with quite a few claims against Supertram, none of which succeeded.   B y chance the same solicitor who dealt with those was involved in the case that I was involved in regarding the horse tram.  She was extremely competent and knew all about adhesion and such matters.

 

Jamie

Edited by jamie92208
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Without commenting on the incident itself, we got caught up in the aftermath last night.

Plan A was tram-train from Rotherham to Cathedral for a 1900 concert. We decided on the tram-train because the service back late evening is every half hour from close by the venue, whereas the trains are further away, and there's a gap in the service right when we don't need it (trains Sheff-Roth at 2105, 2115, 2207, 2215.

The information at Rotherham was sadly lacking at 1750, with some previous trams showing "Delayed" but the 1802 to Cathedral showing as "on time". We dithered about buying a train ticket instead, but then saw a tram go towards Parkgate and decided to wait for that, letting a late-running Northern service to Sheffield go.

Auto-announcements and the display board both said tram to Cathedral, but when the conductor came round he said it was only going as far as Arena... We decided to bail out at Meadowhall South, for which he didn't charge us when he realised the info was bad (fair enough). Then a quick march through the shopping centre, train ticket office still open for two DR from Rotherham to Sheffield, and on a late TP about 1830, and still made our 1900 concert in City Hall.

Coming back, we hit the gap in the train service described above.

 

Two annoying things:

1. poor info at Rotherham, and

2. the lack of ticket integration, which had us trying to decide which service to catch before we knew which was actually coming, being reluctant to chance a penalty fare on the train, but unable to buy a tram ticket until on the tram.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The SYConnect+ day ticket costs £8.20 and covers bus tram and train in the South Yorkshire area.

For a return train ticket Rotherham to Sheffield the cost is £4.20 anytime or £3.50 off peak.( note 2 singles are more expensive)

The tram only day rider is £4.00.

 

So for using multiple method of transport the SYConnect + is god value but for a single return journey it is more expensive.

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Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but as I passed the depot on a tram yesterday, one of the tram trains - I assume the one involved in the collision with the lorry - was sat outside split in two, the centre and one driving section, then the other driving section with it's inner end supported underneath the pivot on a trolley, both "open" sections having plastic sheeting over to protect the interior.  

 

My return trip was on a tram train on the Yellow line to Meadowhall, the announcements are still wrong on board.  At every stop, something along the lines of "This is a Yellow line service to [name of current stop].  This tram is for Meadowhall".  I have to say, I don't know if one was late or the other early, but as I stood waiting for the Meadowhall tram at Cathedral (terminus of the Tram Train route), the display was showing a Yellow to Meadowhall in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1 Minutes, followed by a Tram Train to Pargate a few minutes later.  When it got down to one minute, though, a tram train arrived from the other direction, via the crossover and into the platform, where it sat for around 5 minutes until the departure time, leaving the Meadowhall one to wait behind it.  Not sure where the fault lies, bad scheduling, late running Yellow, TT not waiting for the yellow to go through before arriving, although the latter would have held up trams going the other way behind the TT, but somewhat of a nuisance. 

 

Our driver came into the platform shaking his head, which seemed to echo the thoughts of those on the platform, although at least the TT had then taken some of the load as far as Tinsley South, so our service was not as busy as it might have been.

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Saw the cut-and-shut tram 399202 at Parkgate today. It now carries 202's "Theo" name (the mascot of the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity) only on one end.

The name was on both ends of the original 202, but the unit is now formed of vehicles (articulated segments) numbered 999204, 999102 and 999002 (Theo).

 

The 999204 end of 202 that was originally with unit 204

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The 999002 end of 202, with "Theo"

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Saw the cut-and-shut tram 399202 at Parkgate today. It now carries 202's "Theo" name (the mascot of the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity) only on one end.

The name was on both ends of the original 202, but the unit is now formed of vehicles (articulated segments) numbered 999204, 999102 and 999002 (Theo).

 

The 999204 end of 202 that was originally with unit 204

attachicon.gif202 cut and shut a.jpg

 

The 999002 end of 202, with "Theo"

attachicon.gif202 cut and shut b.jpg

Those pictures, look like a model.

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