Nottingham Express Transit - Reliability & Renewals (2023-2024)

[edwin_m]

In an article on Nottinghamshire Live they said they have 40 ticket agents. Isn't that enough for one on each tram, even if working in pairs they could cover the majority and bring back onboard sales.

Allowing for shifts, downtime and transit to/from duty, and assuming even coverage across the day and week, fewer than 10 of them will actually be checking tickets at any particular time.

 

[ChrisC]

The unreliability of the Nottingham trams at times is just unbelievable!

'Severe disruption' on tram network with long delays reported

A warning for 'significant disruption' has been issued with freezing temperatures hitting Nottingham

www.nottinghampost.com

 

[edwin_m]

Suggestion this is due to frozen windscreen washers, which I would have thought is just a question of having used the wrong fluid. They appear to have thawed out some more since the quote below.

Live updates: Nottingham Trams - Services severely affected because of 'frozen screenwash' | West Bridgford Wire

Trams are beginning to operate across the network.

westbridgfordwire.com

NET say ‘It is the trams screen wash is frozen except for two Trams.’

 

[MCR247]

Suggestion this is due to frozen windscreen washers, which I would have thought is just a question of having used the wrong fluid. They appear to have thawed out some more since the quote below.

Live updates: Nottingham Trams - Services severely affected because of 'frozen screenwash' | West Bridgford Wire

Trams are beginning to operate across the network.

westbridgfordwire.com

I believe they’re now up to 8 trams according to X:

Apologies, due to adverse weather conditions we have only eight Trams on the system. All of Nottingham City Buses are accepting our tickets and passes. East Midlands trains from Hucknall to Beeston are also accepting our tickets and passes.

https://x.com/nettram/status/1747896939889209840?s=46&t=gwtvH_rIOgpnh7HcYQZ_8A

 

[tram21]

The unreliability of the Nottingham trams at times is just unbelievable!

'Severe disruption' on tram network with long delays reported

A warning for 'significant disruption' has been issued with freezing temperatures hitting Nottingham

www.nottinghampost.com

To be totally honest though, from the outside it does look like it's terrible, but I use the tram every day and very very rarely have a problem, I've had to change my journey probably around 25 times in the last 4 ½ years?

Yes this morning probably was unavoidable (and I was affected) but they are doing all they can.

P.S. on a separate note has anyone seen the track conditions at High School Southbound

 

[Jozhua]

I've not gotten off at High School recently, but I'll take a look next time!

The solution to tram defrosting is to leave them on overnight with the heaters on a low setting, but one that keeps the tram heated to a temperature where things won't freeze up...

I had to walk to work that morning...

 

[tram21]

I had to walk to work that morning...

Luckily I got on the NCT Orange 36, but it was veryyy busy and started turning passengers away from Middle Street onwards- I can't imagine NCT being too happy that their own customers are being disadvantaged by the tram, which has already completely reduced patronage on that route anyway after the tram was built!

I've not gotten off at High School recently, but I'll take a look next time!

If you look on the Southbound track going down the hill the track is very low and the trams are basically riding on the road making a lot of noise!

 

[Jozhua]

Trams seem to be running okay through the storms of the past few days, although the winds haven't been excessively fast in Nottingham.

Hopefully this holds up for the rest of the rainy season!

 

[Robertj21a]

Trams seem to be running okay through the storms of the past few days, although the winds haven't been excessively fast in Nottingham.

Hopefully this holds up for the rest of the rainy season!

There's no reason why trams should be affected by high winds (except perhaps on the very exposed Blackpool line) unless there's a physical obstruction, probably fallen trees.
Referring to earlier comments, I have found NET to be quite unreliable, rather too often. It's only a small system but is frequently in the news for all the wrong reasons - the iced screenwash fiasco was utterly ridiculous.

 

[tram21]

Referring to earlier comments, I have found NET to be quite unreliable, rather too often. It's only a small system but is frequently in the news for all the wrong reasons - the iced screenwash fiasco was utterly ridiculous.

I do have to disagree, while yes perhaps there are some avoidable disruptions, but getting the tram 2/3 times a day every day and only being very very rarely disrupted I do see that what may seem like many disruptions only affects the average customer infrequently.
Furthermore the company has been incredibly unlucky this year which has been discussed upthread. But overall, I do find it a network I can almost always rely on (unless you want to get a peak extra tram which are always cancelled haha )

 

[tram21]

Yesterday (07/02), Tram 213 experienced a fire in one of the bogies at Moor Bridge. All passengers were safely evacuated and service resumed surprisingly quickly (50 minutes after the incident). NET say that a full investigation is underway.

Not another tram off!

A video is available here, but unfortunately I cannot attach it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3AjGBPomNg/?igsh=Mmo2bXo2NDU2bnB5

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.no...nottingham-tram-live-updates-fire-9080339.amp

A Nottingham tram was evacuated after the vehicle's brakes caught fire, causing a brief delay in services. Passengers were taken off a Nottingham Express Transit tram at the Moor Bridge stop, near Bulwell and Rise Park, after its driver sighted a small fire in its brakes at around 8am on Tuesday, February 6.

Nottingham's tram operator explained it would now thoroughly investigate the cause of the fire. “An investigation into the exact cause is now underway, and we would like to apologise for the brief disruption to services between Bulwell Forest and Hucknall.

 

[Jozhua]

Has anyone noticed a difference in how busy trams are after the recent fare increases?

Toton Lane bound look a little less full at David Lane from what I see, but perhaps it's always a bit quieter at this time of year?

 

[ChrisC]

Has anyone noticed a difference in how busy trams are after the recent fare increases?

Toton Lane bound look a little less full at David Lane from what I see, but perhaps it's always a bit quieter at this time of year?

I wouldn’t be surprised if some people from the Hucknall area are now using the buses more instead of the trams. With it now being £5.30 for an adult to make a return journey into the city, that doesn’t compare well with £4 on the bus with the current £2 single fares. Even the train on the Robin Hood Line is far less than the tram at £4.20. It’s just inconvenient that since Covid the trains are now only hourly off peak Mon-Fri.

Passenger numbers from Hucknall must be well down since pre covid lockdown days. The car park used to be full and overflowing well before 9am each morning but now there’s usually plenty of free spaces available all day.

 

[tram21]

Has anyone noticed a difference in how busy trams are after the recent fare increases?

Toton Lane bound look a little less full at David Lane from what I see, but perhaps it's always a bit quieter at this time of year?

I don't know how they expect to grow the network with such high fares, but to be fair they have had such a massive push on season cards with massive reductions in price that I assume they are just trying to get revenue from season tickets instead of singles and day tickets.

Trams remain incredibly busy at peak times, but that's mainly because the one I get every day is the one after a peak extra which is normally cancelled, and it coincides with the end of school at the High School with heavy traffic so its normally up to 10 minutes late so the gap is often around 20 minutes.

 

[Jozhua]

I wouldn’t be surprised if some people from the Hucknall area are now using the buses more instead of the trams. With it now being £5.30 for an adult to make a return journey into the city, that doesn’t compare well with £4 on the bus with the current £2 single fares. Even the train on the Robin Hood Line is far less than the tram at £4.20. It’s just inconvenient that since Covid the trains are now only hourly off peak Mon-Fri.

Passenger numbers from Hucknall must be well down since pre covid lockdown days. The car park used to be full and overflowing well before 9am each morning but now there’s usually plenty of free spaces available all day.

Wouldn't be surprised if people are bussing either, although I suspect the journey time is pretty brutal from Hucknall Vs tram or train. Closer in, the bus becomes much more competitive, especially as they are all NCT!

Will be interesting to see how the train ridership is doing.

I don't know how they expect to grow the network with such high fares, but to be fair they have had such a massive push on season cards with massive reductions in price that I assume they are just trying to get revenue from season tickets instead of singles and day tickets.

Trams remain incredibly busy at peak times, but that's mainly because the one I get every day is the one after a peak extra which is normally cancelled, and it coincides with the end of school at the High School with heavy traffic so its normally up to 10 minutes late so the gap is often around 20 minutes.

The problem I have had is that I'm changing jobs part way through the year and working somewhere with no practical public transport option, hence I chose not to pay for a new pass in January.

Given the cost of the monthly pass, I'm going to be driving into work now and cutting back on tram travel besides the odd trip to town.

The problem NET has is the crushing PFI taken out to build the extensions. I honestly believe they need to get a zonal fare system up and running, otherwise risk becoming uncompetitive for shorter journeys. Future extensions, if funded by government, should allow the system to bring in some extra revenue to offset the PFI scheme and spread the burden more equally.

 

[ChrisC]

Wouldn't be surprised if people are bussing either, although I suspect the journey time is pretty brutal from Hucknall Vs tram or train. Closer in, the bus becomes much more competitive, especially as they are all NCT!

During most of the day off peak, the journey time on TrentBarton Threes is amazingly quicker than the tram. Hucknall Town Centre to Victoria Bus Station is only 25 minutes by bus v 28 minutes from Hucknall Tram Stop to Old Market Square by tram. Where the tram wins is at peak times as the bus can get held up in heavy traffic, especially in the afternoon out of Nottingham, usually between the City Hospital and Moor Bridge.

Much depends on where you live in relation to distance to a bus stop v tram. Hucknall tram stop is not in the most convenient location for many parts of Hucknall and the traffic queues getting to the tram stop are getting worse.

 

[tram21]

The number of TSRs across the network seems to be increasing daily, with recently new ones added between the end of the Nottingham Station Bridge and Lace Market Tram Stop, and just after leaving Royal Centre in the northbound direction!

It does seem as a regular user that timeliness is lower than it used to be, but generally this is due to all the afternoon trams being incredibly busy due to peak services being cancelled leaving big gaps in service.

 

[Nottingham59]

all the afternoon trams being incredibly busy due to peak services being cancelled leaving big gaps in service.

Do we know why these services are being cancelled? Is it lack of trams or lack of drivers?

 

[Tramfan]

Also, the timetable on the website suggests the AM and PM peak weekday frequency is increased to every 7 mins, and that the Saturday daytime frequency is also every 7 mins. So are there additional services in the peaks on top of the timetable that arent running, or are services being cancelled on Saturday daytimes too?

 

[MCR247]

Also, the timetable on the website suggests the AM and PM peak weekday frequency is increased to every 7 mins, and that the Saturday daytime frequency is also every 7 mins. So are there additional services in the peaks on top of the timetable that arent running, or are services being cancelled on Saturday daytimes too?

I think usually when they’re short on teams the peak only diagrams are the first to get cut

 

[tram21]

Do we know why these services are being cancelled? Is it lack of trams or lack of drivers?

Definitely trams, they've got more than enough drivers.

Also, the timetable on the website suggests the AM and PM peak weekday frequency is increased to every 7 mins, and that the Saturday daytime frequency is also every 7 mins. So are there additional services in the peaks on top of the timetable that arent running, or are services being cancelled on Saturday daytimes too?

Saturday trams are also being cancelled but I believe the timetable is slightly tighter on Saturday so there's not very many.

Generally it's just one service in the morning, then probably two in the afternoon due to the spares being used on trams that have been withdrawn for various things during the day.

 

[Tramfan]

Ah okay, thanks both!

 

[Nottingham59]

Definitely trams, they've got more than enough drivers.

So they would better off recasting the timetable and running some queue-busting trams from say Forest to University Boulevard or Beeston only. In my experience, the Toton trams are nearly empty after QMC.

 

[tram21]

So they would better off recasting the timetable and running some queue-busting trams from say Forest to University Boulevard only. In my experience, the Toton trams are nearly empty after QMC.

That would be a great idea, I think maybe Bulwell to Beeston Centre would be better and would allow a higher frequency in this section making the service more attractive. But I don't think they're going to do that unfortunately!

 

[Nottingham59]

That would be a great idea, I think maybe Bulwell to Beeston Centre would be better and would allow a higher frequency in this section making the service more attractive. But I don't think they're going to do that unfortunately!

Bulwell would be good too, though Forest has the third platform for reversing. I agree that Beeston would be better than U/B. Is the crossover line at Beeston long enough to allow a reversing tram to get out of the way and then wait for the westbound platform to become free?

 

[tram21]

Bulwell would be good too, though Forest has the third platform for reversing. I agree that Beeston would be better than U/B. Is the crossover line at Beeston long enough to allow a reversing tram to get out of the way and then wait for the westbound platform to become free?

It is yes and this additional working was done during Goose Fair 2022 with trams every 30 minutes between Bulwell and Beeston supplementing normal service. However they seem to have started terminating at Middle Street 'just in case you might need to wait for a westbound tram' which is very annoying when they do have trams terminating at Beeston Centre (for example during the recent diversion of Clifton South services to Beeston Centre)

 

[Jozhua]

This morning it looks like there has been a lot of disruption on the trams in the form ot three sperate incidents. An 'incident' between Old Market Square and David Lane. Additionally, tram failure between Wilford Village/Ruddington Lane and power failure between Toton Lane and Bramcote Lane.

Accident looks to have occured at Wilkinson St area.

 

[tram21]

Very sad to hear someone was struck by a tram this morning at Wilkinson Street.

 

[duffield]

This morning it looks like there has been a lot of disruption on the trams in the form ot three sperate incidents. An 'incident' between Old Market Square and David Lane. Additionally, tram failure between Wilford Village/Ruddington Lane and power failure between Toton Lane and Bramcote Lane.

Accident looks to have occured at Wilkinson St area.

What doesn't help is the totally and utterly useless NET website. Currently it says (eventually, it's ridiculously slow to load) "extended wait times".
Click on "view in detail"? Nothing. All "zones" ticked.

Unless it's incredibly well hidden, there is virtually never any decent, detailed disruption information on this website, it's one of the worst I've ever used, filled with irrelevant fluff. It needs scrapping and redoing from scratch (it hasn't changed for years).

 

[DDB]

What doesn't help is the totally and utterly useless NET website. Currently it says (eventually, it's ridiculously slow to load) "extended wait times".
Click on "view in detail"? Nothing. All "zones" ticked.

Unless it's incredibly well hidden, there is virtually never any decent, detailed disruption information on this website, it's one of the worst I've ever used, filled with irrelevant fluff. It needs scrapping and redoing from scratch (it hasn't changed for years).

The app is better if you have a suitible phone especially as it does push notifications.