Supertram Routes (Read 1,175 times)

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Supertram consists of three routes radiating from Sheffield city centre to Meadowhall, Halfway and Middlewood. There are also short branches to Malin Bridge (Middlewood route) and Herdings Park (Halfway route). Each route is quite different: the Meadowhall route is all reserved track, largely using a railway alignment, and mostly serves industrial and leisure destinations; the Halfway route climbs relentlessly uphill through run-down residential areas earmarked for redevelopment to reach outer suburbs on the border with Derbyshire, using a mixture of street-running and reserved track; the Middlewood route is mostly a street tram route and runs at high frequency to the busy district of Hillsborough and the Victorian suburbs beyond.

Trams run on cross-city services: Malin Bridge-Halfway (Blue Line), Middlewood-Meadowhall (Yellow Line) and Herdings Park-City, extending to Meadowhall at certain times of day (Purple Line)

Future extensions may take the tram to Rotherham in the north, Dore in the south, Ranmoor in the West and Hellaby (next to Junction 34 of the M1) in the east.

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City–Middlewood and Malin Bridge

The Middlewood route runs northwest from the city centre, through student and residential areas, to a terminus at Middlewood, on the Stocksbridge Road. There is also a short branch from Hillsborough to Malin Bridge.

The route is almost all on-street running, with a short section of reserved track along the central reservation of the A61, including a section which shares a railway alignment with a heavy rail track.

Trams run every ten minutes from Middlewood through the city and on to Meadowhall (Yellow Line), and every 10 minutes from the Malin Bridge branch through the city to Halfway (Blue Line). This gives a combined frequency of five minutes between Hillsborough and the city.

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City–Halfway and Herdings Park

The Halfway route runs from the city centre southeast into the Mosborough Townships at Halfway, a postwar residential area. There is also a short branch to Herdings Park, an area of high-rise flats.

The route is mainly street running with sections of reserved right-of-way from Fitzalan Square stop to Park Grange Croft stop and through the Mosborough Townships.

Trams run every ten minutes from Halfway through the city and on to Malin Bridge (Blue Line) and every half-hour from Herdings Park to the city (Purple Line) giving a combined frequency of 8 trams per hour between Gleadless and the city. Between 0900–1420 (Mon–Fri), 0900–1820 (Saturday) and 1030–1745 (Sunday) Purple Line trams run to and from Meadowhall by reversing at Cathedral stop. At peak times a handful of trams also run direct between Sheffield Station and Hyde Park, along the third side of the triangle junction at Park Square.

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City–Meadowhall

The Meadowhall route runs northeast from the city centre, through largely industrial, leisure and retail areas, to the large Meadowhall Shopping Centre.

The route is all reserved right-of-way, including a section which shares a railway alignment with a heavy rail track.

Trams run every ten minutes from Meadowhall through the city and on to Middlewood (Yellow Line). Between 0900–1415 (Mon–Fri), 0900–1820 (Saturday) and 1030–1745 (Sunday) Purple Line trams also run between Meadowhall and Herdings Park every 30 minutes, reversing at Cathedral stop. At peak times a handful of trams also run direct between Sheffield Station and Hyde Park, along the third side of the triangle junction at Park Square.

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City Centre
Trams run in the city centre between Fitzalan Square and West Street. From Fitzalan Square/Ponds Forge through Castle Square to Cathedral, trams run on-street, separated from other traffic, along Commercial Street, High Street and Church Street. Beyond Cathedral trams share the road with other traffic, running up West Street towards the University. There is a stop on West Street.

As well as the Blue and Yellow Line trams which run up to Middlewood and Malin Bridge, Purple Line trams run to/from Herdings Park through Fitzalan Square as far as Cathedral. In the mornings and early afternoons (and up to early evening at weekends) these trams reverse at Cathedral and travel to/from Meadowhall. This means that for most of the day there are 16 trams per hour between Fitzalan Square and Cathedral, with trams often queueing to pull up to stops.

West Street–Shalesmoor
West Street becomes Glossop Road, and at its junction with the A61 Hanover Street the tram lines turn right. There is a stop at this junction, on the central reservation of the A61, University of Sheffield. The tramway then dives into an underpass to cross the roundabout with the A57, reappearing on the other side of the roundabout to continue down the central reservation on ballasted track via a stop at Netherthorpe Road. Just before Shalesmoor stop the tram lines swing to the left, across the A61, and the stop is at the side of the road. On leaving the stop trams join Infirmary Road, and share the street with other traffic.

Shalesmoor–Hillsborough
The line runs up Infirmary Road/Langsett Road on-street, to the busy district of Hillsborough. There are stops at Infirmary Road, Langsett/Primrose View and Bamforth Street and Hillsborough.

Malin Bridge branch
Blue Line trams turn left at Hillsborough Corner and take the ½-mile branch along the A6101 Holme Lane to Malin Bridge terminus. There are no intermediate stops.

This branch is on-street, except for the last few yards where the stop is separated from the road.

Hillsborough–Middlewood
From Hillsborough Corner Yellow Line trams continue up Middlewood Road to Middlewood. There is a second stop in Hillsborough—Hillsborough Park—after which the line runs alongside the park to a stop at Leppings Lane. A little further on the trams run onto the A6102 Middlewood Road, which they follow as far as the terminus at Middlewood, where there is a Park and Ride operation.

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City–Granville Street
The city centre section is described in the Middlewood page. Trams travel through the city centre to Fitzalan Square Ponds Forge stop, next to Ponds Forge International Sports Centre. From here the tram line crosses to the centre of the large Park Square roundabout on a steel bowstring arch bridge. In the centre of the roundabout is a triangle junction—trams go left for Meadowhall and right for Halfway and Herdings Park.

After the triangle junction, the line runs on a section of reserved track next to the mainline railway station, and there is a tram stop next to the 'back entrance' to the station which also serves Sheffield Hallam University and the Grade 2* listed Park Hill flats overlooking the station.

There is a very short section of street running, on which is the citybound platform of Granville Road/The Sheffield College stop, then the line becomes reserved track again for the Halfway-bound platform at Granville Road.

Park Grange Road–Gleadless
After Granville Street the line starts its ascent up into the hills above the city, helped by a viaduct which ramps up to the stop at Park Grange Croft. Trams then join Park Grange Road and share this road with other traffic, through stops at Park Grange and Arbourthorne Road, to Spring Lane stop. The line climbs steadily up through the Norfolk Park area, which is undergoing lengthy redevelopment. Many of the high rise blocks of flats here have been knocked down, with more still scheduled for demolition, and the gaps will be filled with new affordable housing.

After Spring Lane stop the line turns right (southeast) onto the A6135 City Road, then right again (south) onto the A6102 Ridgeway Road, where there is a stop at Manor Top/Elm Tree. Down to the next stop at Hollinsend the Halfway-bound track uses the fast lane of the dual carriageway road while the city-bound track sits on a reserved track in the central reservation. For the next section to Gleadless Townend stop, both tracks share the road with other traffic.

Gleadless and the Herdings Park branch
Gleadless is the location of the junction between the main Halfway route and the short branch to Herdings Park. The main line turns left (east) onto White Lane. To do so the tracks seperate to negotiate the one-way system. There is a stop on White Lane, after which the tramway heads for the county boundary and open country before the Mossborough Townships.

The Herdings Park branch, meanwhile, continues along the A6102 (now called Norton Avenue) for a short distance before turning right (east) onto reserved track and the only intermediate stop, Herdings Leighton Road. From here to the terminus at Herdings Park is single track. The Herdings Park branch has a daytime frequency of a tram only every 30 minutes, but rather oddly this increases to every 20 minutes in the evenings and on Sundays. This combines with the reduced 20 minute frequency on the Halfway service to provide 6 trams per hour between Gleadless and the city.

Alongside the single-track section is a primary school. It is odd to think that for the children here, trams have always been running and have always been a daily part of their lives.

Mosborough Townships
At White Lane's junction with Fox Lane, the tramway crosses the county boundary into Derbyshire, parts company with the road and briefly travels across open country. After a quarter of a mile the line re-enters South Yorkshire and runs alongside Birley Lane to Birley Lane stop. The line runs on-street to just before Donetsk Way, with tram-only stops at Birley Moor Road and Hackenthorpe. The exception is a short stretch of reserved right-of-way for the city-bound track between Birley Moor Road and Birley Lane stops.

The Mosborough Townships are a series of housing estates built at various times in the postwar period. There are tram stops on reserved track at Moss Way, Crystal Peaks (a large shopping centre), Beighton/Drake House Lane, Waterthorpe and Westfield. The terminus, Halfway, is at the edge of the Township of that name.

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City–Cricket Inn Road
The city centre section is described in the Middlewood page. Trams travel through the city centre to Fitzalan Square Ponds Forge stop, next to Ponds Forge International Sports Centre. From here the tram line crosses to the centre of the large Park Square roundabout on a steel bowstring arch bridge. In the centre of the roundabout is a triangle junction—trams go left for Meadowhall and right for Halfway and Herdings Park.

After the triangle junction, trams join a viaduct which carries the line over the other side of the Park Square roundabout and up to Hyde Park and Cricket Inn Road stops.

Nunnery
After Cricket Inn Road stop the line crosses the A61 Sheffield Parkway. The next stop is Nunnery Square, but before the stop the is a junction with a double track line leading to Nunnery depot, which is alongside the tram stop. The depot and tram stop are on former railway land, and lie next to the operational Sheffield–Worksop–Cleethorpes railway line.

Woodbourn Road–Attercliffe
After Nunnery depot, the tramway climbs up to join Woodbourn Road and cross the Sheffield–Worksop–Cleethorpes railway line. It drops down a steep incline, crosses Woodbourn Road to Woodbourn Road stop, then runs alongside the other side of the road before crossing Stainforth Road.

Trams cross the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, then run alongside it to a stop at Attercliffe.

Attercliffe–Meadowhall
From Attercliffe the tramway continues to run alongside the canal, and is also joined by a single railway track—the freight line from Nunnery Junction to Tinsley and Rotherham. Light and heavy railway tracks share an alignment as far as Tinsley. This is an area of Sheffield once dominated by heavy industry, mainly steel works, now being redeveloped with sport, shopping and leisure facilities such as Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield Arena and Valley Centertainment with its bowling alley, cinema, nightclub and restaurants. There are tram stops to serve these destinations at Arena/Don Valley Stadium, Valley Centertainment, Carbrook and Meadowhall South/Tinsley.

At Tinsley the tram and railway lines part company, and the tramway runs in the shadow of the double-deck M1/A631 Tinsley viaduct. The line changes from double- to single-track, turning left back in the direction of the city as it runs alongside another railway line, the passenger route from Sheffield to Rotherham, to reach Meadowhall.

At Meadowhall the trams terminate in the only substantial stop on the system, which is also the only two-track terminus. This is part of Meadowhall Interchange, which also includes a 4-platform railway station and a good-sized bus station.