Sheffield/Rotherham Tram-Train update

[snowball]

There's an item now on BBC Look North (Yorkshire version). Apparently McLoughlin is to unveil the first tram-train at Sheffield this afternoon.

Would be a fine thing if it had a track.

 

[unlevel42]

Tramtrain work will alter routes and times on weekends in January and February with the new junction being put in place at Meadowhall South/Tinsley at Easter. link

 

[Greybeard33]

Metrolink off-street sections have the raised checkrails and they were considered necessary during several tram-train studies for the UK, but I don't know what has been defined for this one. They are provided as standard on the Continent.

Yes, it seems raised check rails are required for the Sheffield tram-trains too (unless things have changed since 2013):

When a rail vehicle negotiates S&C, and also tight curves with check rails, the back of the wheel flange provides guidance through contact with the check rail. The location of the check rail on the track is based on the back- to-back spacing of the wheelset and, although SST and Network Rail tracks have the same nominal track gauge of 1435mm, the current SST vehicle’s wheelsets have a larger wheelset back-to-back spacing of 1379mm when compared to the BR P8 back-to-back spacing of 1360mm. This is due to tramway wheels having a narrower flange for negotiating grooved rail on street running sections of track.

The difference in back-to-back spacing means that SST vehicles are not able to safely negotiate Network Rail infrastructure. It was therefore necessary to design the flangeback of the Tram-Train profile to provide the correct flange thickness and back-to-back spacing for running in grooved rail, whilst providing a checking surface at the correct back-to-back spacing for compatibility with Network Rail check rails and S&C. This was achieved by creating a stepped wheel flangeback, providing two sections with different effective back-to- back spacings.

As a result, the Network Rail checking surfaces are located some distance up the back of the wheel. To ensure on-going compatibility, Network Rail is required to raise the check rails throughout the Tram-Train route by 50mm. The adoption of a stepped wheel flangeback will also require that SST increase the lateral clearance to guard rails over bridges and viaducts to prevent unwanted contact with the stepped region of the flangeback.

http://www.railengineer.uk/2013/12/06/making-the-wheel-rail-interface-work/

Also, for the grooved track in Sheffield:

The rail profile chosen for replacement is 55G2 which has a wider and deeper groove than the originally installed 35G-TF ensuring future compatibility for the Tram Train.

http://www.railengineer.uk/2013/08/15/next-stop-rotherham-sheffields-new-tram-trains/

So the tram-train is far from a "go anywhere" vehicle, either on NR infrastructure or on tramways, with signalling changes also required on NR lines:

Not sure what standard you're referring to there, but tram-trains don't have to pass railway standards for crashworthiness. The risk is managed instead by accepting the greater severity of collision and reducing the likelihood of that collision by providing extra TPWS and longer overlaps.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Tramtrain work will alter routes and times on weekends in January and February with the new junction being put in place at Meadowhall South/Tinsley at Easter. link

Nothing much doing earlier this morning, despite the tram line being shut between MH South and MH Interchange. Just a couple of orange jackets peering at a bridge at the Interchange end.
And no visible groundworks on the Tinsley Chord yet, other than some surveying T-boards marking out the alignment over on the National Rail side, which have been there since December.

 

[Greybeard33]

Network Rail's draft Hendy Enhancements Delivery Plan reveals a further seven month slip in the Tram Train Pilot milestones from the dates given in the March 2015 update to the CP5 Enhancements Delivery Plan.

"Entry Into Service – Infrastructure Authorised for testing and driver training of the Tram Train vehicle" is now December 2016.

"GRIP 8 Complete – Production of Industry Learning report" is now June 2019.

These milestones are still only "Indicative" - they do not yet have "Regulated Output" status.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Network Rail's draft Hendy Enhancements Delivery Plan reveals a further seven month slip in the Tram Train Pilot milestones from the dates given in the March 2015 update to the CP5 Enhancements Delivery Plan.

"Entry Into Service – Infrastructure Authorised for testing and driver training of the Tram Train vehicle" is now December 2016.

"GRIP 8 Complete – Production of Industry Learning report" is now June 2019.

These milestones are still only "Indicative" - they do not yet have "Regulated Output" status.

Any further delays will be somewhat frustrating to interested bodies such of TfGM who have been awaiting the full and final results emanating from these official trials in order to proceed with their own particular future plans for this mode of transport.

 

[unlevel42]

"GRIP 8 Complete – Production of Industry Learning report" is now June 2019.

In my optimistic view could this mean that a report after a two year tram/train trial is to be submitted in June 2019
The trail running will therefore start in the early Spring of 2017.

 

[Haydn1971]

So, tram train went for a play last night - photos from a local Facebook feed.

 

[tramdan]

Those photos are from British Tramway News, more of them and a full report on the evenings testing here: https://www.facebook.com/British.Tramway/posts/563600317130937

 

[WestRiding]

Daily T3 works are ongoing on the UP/DN Tinsley Lines from Rotherham Central with road rail vehicles too. Are they finally getting the masts up for the wires? Anyone local got any pictures?

 

[eastwestdivide]

Daily T3 works are ongoing on the UP/DN Tinsley Lines from Rotherham Central with road rail vehicles too. Are they finally getting the masts up for the wires? Anyone local got any pictures?

Haven't been down there since late Jan, but at the Rotherham end, lots of new TPWS and signalling-related equipment visible, including a relocation of the junction signal at the Sheffield end of Rotherham Central to a position slightly nearer to Sheffield, presumably to allow for a tram-level platform extension that side of the signal.
I've been putting my pictures on the thread over at RMweb.

 

[WestRiding]

Great pics, and thread. Cheers.

 

[tramdan]

Daily T3 works are ongoing on the UP/DN Tinsley Lines from Rotherham Central with road rail vehicles too. Are they finally getting the masts up for the wires? Anyone local got any pictures?

There are good photos and details about the first mast going up here: https://www.facebook.com/British.Tramway/posts/563344577156511

 

[eastwestdivide]

Walked along the canal and out to Bessemer Way looking out for masts yesterday morning:
- maybe 5-8 in a row on the single track stretch, from the Halfpenny Bridge area (bottom end of Tinsley locks) to just the Rotherham side of the GC bridge over the Don,
- four up on the double track section between Magna and Bessemer Way, plus one hard by the bridge and another lying down ready for installation nearby,
- two opposite each other on the double track freight-only section just the Magna side of Rotherham Central Junction.

The only stretch I couldn't see from those vantage points was between Magna and the GC bridge over the Don. The freight-only section was under a possession. There was also work going on unloading materials underneath the M1 viaduct, on the site of the Tinsley Chord.

 

[Mordac]

http://www.rothbiz.co.uk/2016/03/news-4839-tram-train-delayed-again.html

News: Tram train delayed again
By Tom Austen

The innovative Sheffield-Rotherham tram train service that was scheduled to reach the borough in 2017 has been delayed again, and again the blame is being placed with Network Rail.

The delayed pilot project, first mentioned in 2009, will see vehicles running on both rail and tram networks, using the freight route from Rotherham and then joining the Sheffield Supertram network at Meadowhall South.

With funding from the Government, the £60m pilot scheme is set to run for two years with a view to permanent operation. It is the first of its kind in the UK and if it is successful, it opens the way for tram trains to be introduced in other parts of the country.

Operated by Stagecoach, three trams an hour will run all day from Sheffield city centre through the Rotherham Central to Parkgate retail park. The running time from Parkgate to Sheffield Cathedral will be about 25 minutes.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is the client in this project, with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) responsible for the delivery of all of the light rail modifications, rail replacement and procurement of the seven vehicles. Network Rail is separately responsible to DfT to deliver the heavy rail modifications required for the project.

Network Rail, the owners and operators of Britain's rail infrastructure, is responsible for construction plans for 170 metres of track at Tinsley to connect the Supertram and railway networks. It has also been getting to grips with some of heavy rail modifications, including power, track modifications, approvals and testing and commissioning. It meant that projected costs have increased and transport bosses have been frustrated by the delays in updates from Network Rail and revised spend profiles.

The first vehicle was recently delivered to the Stagecoach depot in Sheffield. The SYPTE warned last year that there is a danger that the new vehicles could be sat at the Nunnery depot with the warranty running out whilst Network Rail completes work to its lines.

Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council updated members and commissioners on the lack of progress this week. He said: "Some of you will have seen that there are further delays to the tram train project caused by Network Rail. I'm writing formally to Network Rail to demand action from their senior management on that. It isn't acceptable that it slips year after year."

Advertisement

In November, the Committee of Public Accounts highlighted severe planning and budgeting failures in Network Rail's current five-year investment programme.

Having gained formal approval from the Secretary of State for a Transport & Works Act order, lead contractor Carillion has started work on the heavy rail section including the installation of cabling for signalling and piling works for the foundations to support the Overhead Line Equipment along the route.

An update to the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: "The Network Rail delivery programme still contains several key risks which are closely being monitored by Network Rail and the Project Board. Heavy Rail approvals, safety verification, product acceptance and general compliance to standards on the Heavy Rail side remains challenging, with the effect on construction and certainty on completion still unknown."

The Network Rail-led work on the tram train project is also causing delays to the £34.3m Sheffield to Rotherham Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme, which is already a year behind schedule and more than £8m over budget.

The Northern route of the scheme aims to improve the links between Rotherham and Sheffield passing Meadowhall, the Lower Don Valley and Templeborough. It aims help to foster economic growth along the corridor by helping people access jobs and opportunities.

The main feature is a £20m, alternative, all transport route which bypasses the congested M1 junction 34 South by providing a new section of highway beneath the Tinsley Viaduct and is currently under construction.

Materials needed to build the Tinsley Link road have to be transported across the Tinsley to Rotherham Freight line before being lifted up onto the bridge deck area. Network Rail refused access across the railway line and access was very limited between October and December 2015. The same report to the transport committee said: "This was due to the Tram Train Project taking possession of the line (i.e. temporary ownership of the section of track) and thus preventing Network Rail permitting BRT's contractors on this section. These issues have now been resolved and work is progressing."

 

[snowball]

The current issue of Rail magazine reports that a tram platform is under construction at Rotherham Central.

 

[eastwestdivide]

The current issue of Rail magazine reports that a tram platform is under construction at Rotherham Central.

In more detail, they've taken the ramp off the Sheffield end of the Sheffield-bound platform, put up a temporary railing, and renewed the junction signal, now located closer to Sheffield to allow space for the tram platform.

Mobile phone pic on a dull morning earlier this month:

 

[DimTim]

Leaving Parkgate Retail Park today by rear entrance, preparatory work for the platform there was in full swing. The area to the rear of Matalan previously used to store cars also had Carillon van & staff - possibly to be used as compound?
GC line 'fenced off' from here to footbridge to provide access.

 

[eastwestdivide]

They're out again today at Parkgate, laser-guided dozer levelling out the new platform site. Blue safety fencing dividing the work site from the main line, as DimTim describes above.

 

[DimTim]

Carillon now fenced off a compound. Lots of 'orangemen' on site.

 

[Sunbird24]

The second tram-train unit, 399202, left the factory this morning, pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...816.1073741945.1192973669&type=1&l=e9c423e09a
A third unit was almost complete in the yard.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Reported on the local TV news this morning that those nice people at Network Rail, having already delayed their part of this project twice, have now announced a further delay with, at present, NO projected end date.

So not January 2016; not January 2017; no clues as to when this hugely complex and large project involving electrification of hundreds of miles a few miles of track and the construction of hundreds of miles a few yards of new track - oh, and some points - will be ready for use. But they are "reviewing the project".

Call me cynical, but I reckon a few less reviews and a bit more actual work might have seen better progress.

 

[snowball]

There's just been an item about it on the lunchtime Look North (Leeds) but no hint of the reason for the latest delay. NR refused to be interviewed and said they will report to stakeholders in the summer.

There was a film clip of a stretch of double track with twin-track cantilevers but without wires, I assume this was on the NR track that will be in the scheme.

 

[tbtc]

There's just been an item about it on the lunchtime Look North (Leeds) but no hint of the reason for the latest delay. NR refused to be interviewed and said they will report to stakeholders in the summer.

There was a film clip of a stretch of double track with twin-track cantilevers but without wires, I assume this was on the NR track that will be in the scheme.

Good old Look North, who said in last night's half ten bulletin than Hull City would "face the Blades" in the play off final (can't expect people in Leeds to understand that Sheffield has two football teams...) :roll:

More seriously, the Tram Train is getting beyond silly now. I'm sure there'll be some complicated reasons behind it but... Manchester seems to open dozens of miles of Metrolink every year whilst it'll take us about ten years before three miles of Tram Train is ever opened.

Maybe, instead of being a testing ground, we should have lobbied for a conventional Supertram extension (after all, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham have had/ having extensions). The longer this goes on, the more it feels like we are wasting many years to be guinea pigs, and missing the chance on any "common or garden" improvements.

 

[D365]

Out of sheer curiosity; what sorts of extensions were proposed for the Supertram network immediately after it opened?

 

[snowball]

I'm sure there'll be some complicated reasons behind it but...

Despite the existence of GRIP stages 1-5, NR seem good at finding these reasons during stage 6 (construction). I suppose that's what people mean when they keep saying NR doesn't have good knowledge of its assets.

 

[Greybeard33]

Despite the existence of GRIP stages 1-5, NR seem good at finding these reasons during stage 6 (construction). I suppose that's what people mean when they keep saying NR doesn't have good knowledge of its assets.

Story now on BBC website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-36315711

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive said it was "extremely disappointed".
"We have been notified that Network Rail can no longer complete the Tram Train infrastructure works to timetable, for passenger services to start in early 2017 as planned," a spokesman said.
"We acknowledge that the design, planning and construction to allow the vehicles to run on the heavy rail network is complex. However, we are extremely disappointed in this news.
"All parties remain committed to the delivery of the project and to starting Tram Train services at the earliest possible time."

Network Rail, which is due to lay more track, said a new date could be expected in the summer.
"The pilot is a first for Britain's rail network and as such involves a number of bespoke designs that will allow Tram Trains to operate over the rail network.
"The project team is carrying out a thorough review of the programme and will report back to stakeholders by the summer.
"This will allow us to work together to deliver a robust plan and we will publicise this widely once it is agreed."

 

[pemma]

More seriously, the Tram Train is getting beyond silly now. I'm sure there'll be some complicated reasons behind it but... Manchester seems to open dozens of miles of Metrolink every year whilst it'll take us about ten years before three miles of Tram Train is ever opened.

Well Metrolink do complete closures (lasting up to 3 years) to allow work to be undertaken, it seems Rotherham Central has been kept open except for overnight/Sunday closures.

It doesn't look good for the railways that tram-trains are in Sheffield but can't be used, yet many operators need more capacity and have to wait for new carriages to be delivered.

 

[WatcherZero]

This project was started in March 2008 and originally supposed to be complete in 2010, its taken a full decade already! Network Rail keeps diverting resources away from the project, you might almost think they had a self interest in it failing.......

 

[47802]

This project was started in March 2008 and originally supposed to be complete in 2010, its taken a full decade already! Network Rail keeps diverting resources away from the project, you might almost think they had a self interest in it failing.......

Somebody on high ie Dft needs to give them a kicking, given its meant to be a national pilot project.