Latest news with #trams
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New Skoda trams launched in Frankfurt (Oder)
Skoda Group's new 46T trams have entered service in the city of Frankfurt (Oder) in Germany, following the granting of official authorisation for passenger operation. Stadtverkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt (Oder) is initiating the phase-out of its older KT4 tram fleet with the introduction of the Skoda 46T models. Eight Skoda 46T vehicles have already arrived in the city, with two additional trams expected shortly. The final three are nearing completion. These trams represent a new era for the city, which has relied on trams for more than 125 years. The delivery of the trams is part of a joint agreement involving Frankfurt (Oder), Cottbus, and Brandenburg an der Havel. Skoda Group has provided a customised vehicle platform to suit the unique requirements of each city's network. While the design of the trams remains consistent, adaptations have been made to ensure they are fit for the distinct operational conditions of each city. In Cottbus, six Skoda 47T trams have been delivered, with authorisation for passenger use currently underway, and a seventh tram is close to completion. Following an option exercised in 2022 by Cottbusverkehr, 15 additional vehicles are on order, with seven already in the early stages of production. Brandenburg an der Havel has received two trams, with two more in the final stages of assembly. These vehicles, like those delivered to Frankfurt and Cottbus, offer enhanced accessibility, passenger comfort, and energy-efficient operation. Over the coming months, all three cities anticipate the gradual integration of the new trams into service as deliveries continue and necessary approvals are obtained. Skoda Group West & North Region president Jan Christoph Harder said: 'This contract brought together three cities with different technical requirements but a shared vision for modern, accessible transport. Meeting all those needs with one platform wasn't easy, but it's exactly the kind of challenge we're here to solve.' Additionally, Skoda has placed an order for ABB's Pro Series Traction Battery packs for the battery-electric multiple units (BEMUs) that Skoda is manufacturing for České Dráhy, the state-owned railway company of Czechia. The contract secured in the final quarter of 2024 represents the inaugural procurement of ABB's traction solutions by the Skoda Group. "New Skoda trams launched in Frankfurt (Oder)" was originally created and published by Railway Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Metrolink disruption as points failure means trams not calling at key stop
Metrolink services are facing disruption meaning that some trams will not be calling at a key stop. Tram services towards Manchester will not be calling at MediaCityUK 'until further notice', Transport for Greater Manchester says. The disruption, which has been caused by a points failure, has been affecting services since the start of this morning (June 14). READ MORE: 'I see mums who can't afford to feed their children - how can they afford this?' READ MORE: A rapist on the run, the 'racial prejudice' that saw the case collapse and a jury room bust-up - what can now be revealed about the Rochdale grooming trial Passengers travelling on the line from Eccles to Ashton-Under-Lyne have been told to use Harbour City or Broadway instead. In a post on X, the Bee Network wrote: "Due to a points fault, tram services towards Manchester will not call at MediaCityUK. "Please use Harbour City or Broadway to complete your journey. "We apologise for any inconvenience caused." Elsewhere on the network, there will be changes to services operating on several lines due to events such as Parklife taking place. --- Day in day out, our reporters in the Manchester Evening News newsroom bring you remarkable stories from all aspects of Mancunian life. However, with the pace of life these days, the frenetic news agenda and social media algorithms, you might not be getting a chance to read it. That's why every week our Features and Perspectives editor Rob Williams brings you Unmissable, highlighting the best of what we do - bringing it to you directly from us. Make sure you don't miss out, and see what else we have to offer, by clicking here and signing up for MEN Daily News. And be sure to join our politics writer Jo Timan every Sunday for his essential commentary on what matters most to you in Greater Manchester each week in our newsletter Due North. You can also sign up for that here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to see everything we offer, including everything from breaking news to Coronation Street. If you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our news desk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you'll be the first to hear about it. And finally, if there is a story you think our journalists should be looking into, we want to hear from you. Email us on newsdesk@ or give us a ring on 0161 211 2920.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Aberdeen rapid transit scheme costs could hit £323m
A proposed new tram-style bus system for Aberdeen could cost as much as £323m, according to a new is hoped Aberdeen Rapid Transit (ART) would run on two routes linking key destinations in and around the projected price of the project has more than doubled since initial investigations in 2021 - due to increased cost pressures, including a huge rise in construction on Aberdeen's net zero, environment and transport committee voted to move forward with engagement on the scheme and officers will report back on progress next year. It had been initially anticipated the project would cost £150m to implement. Now four options have been outlined by transport partnership Nestrans ranging from £167m to £323m. The lower cost option would require less new infrastructure, while the highest cost option would see the project in a fuller form including more construction and integrated cycling provision. Funding for the project remains unclear but sources such as a Scottish government transport scheme, local authority funding, and cash through the Aberdeen City Region Deal have been identified as options. The council said it was investigating where it could get the money from, including from the UK government. It is hoped ART could use tram-style vehicles which would travel along designated corridors, similar to Belfast's Glider buses. It is expected 36 of these electric vehicles would need to be purchased at an anticipated cost of about £ were raised during Tuesday's committee meeting about the value for money of the plans. Independent councillor Alex Nicoll said based on data in the report which suggested the scheme would bring in an extra 8,900 public transport users in the city, the project could cost more than £36,000 per extra passenger. He added: "We are speaking about £3.4m being committed by the council so far, without even a shovel in the ground. "We need to think about what we can actually deliver here, this council cannot afford it and it is that simple."However, project lead Kirsty Chalmers insisted bringing ART in would be good value for money. She said: "One of the reasons we are looking into this is the better value of it, instead of implementing light rail for example. "The ART project covers a number of regionally-important destinations and it is about creating choice and it is about it integrating with the bus and rail networks as well."
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
The long road to get 'Motorway City' on track with trams
Regarded as the largest city in western Europe without a mass transit system, Leeds has tried and failed over decades to devise and implement an efficient way to keep its residents mobile. After more than £2bn was pledged for public transport infrastructure in West Yorkshire, we look back at the previous plans which hit the buffers. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has agreed to fund the construction of a mass transit system connecting Leeds and Bradford A total of £2.1bn has been pledged for transport projects with promises of "spades in the ground by 2028" and the first trams running in the "early 2030s". But Leeds has a long history of lines being drawn on maps, endless public consultations and promises of cash – without ever seeing tracks laid. So will it be different this time? Leeds lost its sprawling tram network in 1959 but, just 15 years earlier, civic planners had been contemplating tunnelling beneath the city centre to create an underground system. A fascinating drawing from the era shows an extensive passenger interchange below the Black Prince statue in City Square with bright blue trams heading off to destinations such as Roundhay Park, Guiseley and Morley. But in a war-ravaged economy, other projects took priority. The subway was never built and the trams stayed above ground until their demise at the end of the 1950s. Leeds did eventually get subterranean transport - in the form of the inner ring road motorway which dives under the city centre. At the time, urban road schemes were a source of pride and the slogan "Leeds - Motorway City of the Seventies" was even stamped onto envelopes at the Royal Mail's sorting office in the city. As car ownership grew the roads filled up, average speeds plummeted and the decision to scrap a tram network, much of it running on tracks separated from the road, appeared short-sighted. The late 1980s saw the first serious attempt to get some form of light rail network back into the city. In 1988, the Passenger Transport Executive for West Yorkshire - Metro - proposed MetroLine, a new tramway running run from Leeds Town Hall, via Eastgate and Quarry Hill along the A64 to Colton. "It would have effectively followed the route of the old tram," says Clifford Stead from Leeds Civic Trust. "It was a simple route that would have put Leeds at the forefront of new tram lines in the UK." Costed at about £120m, Leeds found itself pitted against Greater Manchester in a race to win approval from Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. According to Mr Stead, Leeds lost out because although Metro backed the plan Leeds City Council were lukewarm. Manchester's Metrolink got the go-ahead and four decades later its bright yellow trams and 65-mile network are synonymous with public transport on the other side of the Pennines. Undeterred, Leeds formulated a new plan. If Manchester was getting trams, Leeds would reach that little bit higher. And so Leeds Advanced Transit (LAT) was born. Priced at £1bn in 1991, this was a Vancouver-style elevated railway threading its way from Tingley through the city centre to St James's Hospital and Seacroft. Dismissed as "pie-in-the-sky" by critics, the LAT sank without trace. Government funds earmarked for the city's sky-train were diverted to Sheffield where the more grounded and cheaper South Yorkshire Supertram won the backing of ministers. The new Labour government elected in 1997 offered fresh hope to Leeds with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescot promising 25 new tram schemes across the country. Trams were now seen as being a fundamental part of the green transport revolution and in 2001 he gave Leeds Supertram the go-ahead - a £500m three-line network radiating from the city, north towards Headingley, east to Seacroft and south to Middleton and Tingley. Preparatory works got under way, with diggers excavating land on Great Wilson Street in Hunslet. But when costs began to rise the government went cool on the project. Prescott was no longer responsible for transport schemes and his successor, Alistair Darling, pulled the plug, telling Leeds that it would only get funding if it came back with a "bus-based alternative". And so from the ashes of Supertram, the Trolleybus was born. Dubbed New Generation Transport (NGT) this was an austerity-era attempt to finally get some form of transit system into Leeds. Electric buses, powered by overhead lines, would run on a route that was partly separated from cars. Costing £250m, it was substantially cheaper than Supertram but critics said it lacked ambition, while others branded it a costly white elephant, noting that nowhere else in the UK had built a new trolleybus line. The government rejected NGT after a planning inspector said the scheme was "not in the public interest" and wouldn't "reduce congestion and/or enhance the quality of life in the area it would serve". In a decades-long game of transport snakes and ladders, Leeds was back at square one again. Could the latest proposal be the last roll of the dice? Mass Transit stands out from its predecessors because it reaches beyond Leeds. Sketched out as a region-wide scheme stretching from Halifax in the west to Pontefract in the east, Mass Transit is distilled down to just two lines costing £2.5bn. One would serve Leeds, linking the city's two hospitals, the railway station, Elland Road Stadium and the White Rose Shopping Centre. A second route would head west, taking trams back into Bradford and connecting the city's Interchange and Forster Square railway stations. Further routes could be added in the future, but initially a balance between long-term ambition and short-term deliverability appear to have influenced the planning. Tom Forth, an expert in transport data at Open Innovations in Leeds, says that trams work because "they deliver faster and more importantly reliable journey times, so if the tram says it's going to take 28 minutes, and it's separated from the road traffic, it takes 28 minutes, and that's just not the case with buses". West Yorkshire's Mayor Tracy Brabin says this time it will "absolutely be delivered", vowing that spades will be in the ground in 2028. But as Supertram showed, even the appearance of workers in high-vis and hard hats doesn't guarantee the arrival of the ever-elusive Leeds tram. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Funding secured for county's £2.1bn tram project Chancellor announces £15bn for transport projects Department for Transport West Yorkshire Combined Authority
BBC News
07-06-2025
- BBC News
Leeds' long road to gaining a mass transit system
Regarded as the largest city in western Europe without a mass transit system, Leeds has tried and failed over decades to devise and implement an efficient way to keep its residents mobile. After more than £2bn was pledged for public transport infrastructure in West Yorkshire, we look back at the previous plans which hit the Rachel Reeves has agreed to fund the construction of a mass transit system connecting Leeds and BradfordA total of £2.1bn has been pledged for transport projects with promises of "spades in the ground by 2028" and the first trams running in the "early 2030s".But Leeds has a long history of lines being drawn on maps, endless public consultations and promises of cash – without ever seeing tracks will it be different this time? Underground Metro Leeds lost its sprawling tram network in 1959 but, just 15 years earlier, civic planners had been contemplating tunnelling beneath the city centre to create an underground system.A fascinating drawing from the era shows an extensive passenger interchange below the Black Prince statue in City Square with bright blue trams heading off to destinations such as Roundhay Park, Guiseley and in a war-ravaged economy, other projects took priority. The subway was never built and the trams stayed above ground until their demise at the end of the did eventually get subterranean transport - in the form of the inner ring road motorway which dives under the city the time, urban road schemes were a source of pride and the slogan "Leeds - Motorway City of the Seventies" was even stamped onto envelopes at the Royal Mail's sorting office in the car ownership grew the roads filled up, average speeds plummeted and the decision to scrap a tram network, much of it running on tracks separated from the road, appeared short-sighted. MetroLine The late 1980s saw the first serious attempt to get some form of light rail network back into the 1988, the Passenger Transport Executive for West Yorkshire - Metro - proposed MetroLine, a new tramway running run from Leeds Town Hall, via Eastgate and Quarry Hill along the A64 to Colton."It would have effectively followed the route of the old tram," says Clifford Stead from Leeds Civic Trust."It was a simple route that would have put Leeds at the forefront of new tram lines in the UK."Costed at about £120m, Leeds found itself pitted against Greater Manchester in a race to win approval from Margaret Thatcher's Conservative to Mr Stead, Leeds lost out because although Metro backed the plan Leeds City Council were Metrolink got the go-ahead and four decades later its bright yellow trams and 65-mile network are synonymous with public transport on the other side of the Pennines. Leeds Advanced Transit Undeterred, Leeds formulated a new Manchester was getting trams, Leeds would reach that little bit so Leeds Advanced Transit (LAT) was at £1bn in 1991, this was a Vancouver-style elevated railway threading its way from Tingley through the city centre to St James's Hospital and as "pie-in-the-sky" by critics, the LAT sank without funds earmarked for the city's sky-train were diverted to Sheffield where the more grounded and cheaper South Yorkshire Supertram won the backing of ministers. Supertram The new Labour government elected in 1997 offered fresh hope to Leeds with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescot promising 25 new tram schemes across the were now seen as being a fundamental part of the green transport revolution and in 2001 he gave Leeds Supertram the go-ahead - a £500m three-line network radiating from the city, north towards Headingley, east to Seacroft and south to Middleton and works got under way, with diggers excavating land on Great Wilson Street in when costs began to rise the government went cool on the was no longer responsible for transport schemes and his successor, Alistair Darling, pulled the plug, telling Leeds that it would only get funding if it came back with a "bus-based alternative". New Generation Transport And so from the ashes of Supertram, the Trolleybus was New Generation Transport (NGT) this was an austerity-era attempt to finally get some form of transit system into buses, powered by overhead lines, would run on a route that was partly separated from £250m, it was substantially cheaper than Supertram but critics said it lacked ambition, while others branded it a costly white elephant, noting that nowhere else in the UK had built a new trolleybus government rejected NGT after a planning inspector said the scheme was "not in the public interest" and wouldn't "reduce congestion and/or enhance the quality of life in the area it would serve".In a decades-long game of transport snakes and ladders, Leeds was back at square one again. Mass Transit Could the latest proposal be the last roll of the dice?Mass Transit stands out from its predecessors because it reaches beyond out as a region-wide scheme stretching from Halifax in the west to Pontefract in the east, Mass Transit is distilled down to just two lines costing £ would serve Leeds, linking the city's two hospitals, the railway station, Elland Road Stadium and the White Rose Shopping Centre.A second route would head west, taking trams back into Bradford and connecting the city's Interchange and Forster Square railway routes could be added in the future, but initially a balance between long-term ambition and short-term deliverability appear to have influenced the Forth, an expert in transport data at Open Innovations in Leeds, says that trams work because "they deliver faster and more importantly reliable journey times, so if the tram says it's going to take 28 minutes, and it's separated from the road traffic, it takes 28 minutes, and that's just not the case with buses".West Yorkshire's Mayor Tracy Brabin says this time it will "absolutely be delivered", vowing that spades will be in the ground in as Supertram showed, even the appearance of workers in high-vis and hard hats doesn't guarantee the arrival of the ever-elusive Leeds tram. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
