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Post by mrmoose on Feb 23, 2015 22:39:15 GMT
Supertram have confirmed details of the planned rail replacement works for this year: Batch 1: Hillsborough Corner > Infirmary Road (28/03/15>08/05/15) Batch 2: Park Square > Castle Square (11/05/15>03/06/15) Batch 3: Castle Square > Cathedral (04/06/15>28/06/15) Batch 4: Gleadless > Sheffield Station (29/06/15>28/08/15) Full details: www.supertram.com/railreplacementproject.html |
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Post by lysander on Feb 25, 2015 11:12:14 GMT
Ah, another five months of CHAOS, where the paying customer plays second fiddle to the workings of the track replacement programme...Doubtless, much of this work could be done at night ( as was the case when we had a really intensive tramway system). I am told this can no longer be done on account of noise and inconvenience to local residents...I shall just have to get used to travelling by bus...again!  |
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Post by TC60054 on Feb 25, 2015 17:15:42 GMT
Ah, another five months of CHAOS, where the paying customer plays second fiddle to the workings of the track replacement programme...Doubtless, much of this work could be done at night ( as was the case when we had a really intensive tramway system). I am told this can no longer be done on account of noise and inconvenience to local residents...I shall just have to get used to travelling by bus...again! It is very hard to replace so much track simply overnight, and lets not forget that it would probably take more than three times the time to do than doing it throughout the day. Just remember, once the track's replaced, its newer track, safer, contains less wear and then it doesn't need to be replaced for another 20 odd years... |
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Post by The Captain on Feb 25, 2015 17:32:38 GMT
Ah, another five months of CHAOS, where the paying customer plays second fiddle to the workings of the track replacement programme...Doubtless, much of this work could be done at night ( as was the case when we had a really intensive tramway system). I am told this can no longer be done on account of noise and inconvenience to local residents...I shall just have to get used to travelling by bus...again! It is very hard to replace so much track simply overnight, and lets not forget that it would probably take more than three times the time to do than doing it throughout the day. Just remember, once the track's replaced, its newer track, safer, contains less wear and then it doesn't need to be replaced for another 20 odd years... 18:00-06:00 is 12 hours. The not enough time at night rubbish does not cut it. More like we cannot afford to pay contractors unsocial rates. As per last year there will only be two winners again, you cannot simply expect bread and butter customers not to use the Tram system durng the peak hours. I presume we will have the same situation where Stagecoach provide loaned in buses and staff blocking off main bus stops in the City Centre and causing friction for its local staff and other operators. |
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Post by TC60054 on Feb 25, 2015 17:45:10 GMT
It is very hard to replace so much track simply overnight, and lets not forget that it would probably take more than three times the time to do than doing it throughout the day. Just remember, once the track's replaced, its newer track, safer, contains less wear and then it doesn't need to be replaced for another 20 odd years... 18:00-06:00 is 12 hours. The not enough time at night rubbish does not cut it. More like we cannot afford to pay contractors unsocial rates. As per last year there will only be two winners again, you cannot simply expect bread and butter customers not to use the Tram system durng the peak hours. I presume we will have the same situation where Stagecoach provide loaned in buses and staff blocking off main bus stops in the City Centre and causing friction for its local staff and other operators. 1800-0600 and you're still going to have the same problems where you're inconveniencing people. There's then also the increased cost of things, with replacement buses running only in the evening, contractors only working in the evening, plus then you've got to get the track up and back down in a night. The way it's been done over the past two years has been where a large amount is taken up at once and then put back down, as was the way that it was laid afaik. |
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Post by woah on Feb 25, 2015 20:39:15 GMT
I just hope they learn lessons from last year when the bus service was more often than not chaotic and confusing. I think people are willing to accept disruption and get on with it, but not when it's been so poorly planned and organised.
At the very least it'd be nice if they tried to time buses to arrive at the changeover points before the tram arrives allowing a smooth changeover and minimising the waiting, and put on more buses at peak times because an Enviro400 obviously does not have the same capacity as a tram. Conductors would be another bonus so that people board as quickly as possible.
There is obviously the impact of traffic and negotiating way around town but these are things that need to be worked around as best as possible, not just accepted for being 'the way it is' as it seemed last year.
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Post by mrmoose on Feb 25, 2015 22:21:57 GMT
Last year's closure seemed chaotic, and to me felt like it was being done the cheapest way possible (During the meadowhall closure, buses ran Every 10 minutes, and took best part of 45 minutes to reach the city and served Every tram stop on route - as opposed to splitting the route into a fast service and all stops service, that would have been more attractive).
Few more details of the closures
Batch 1 (Hillsborough > Infirmary Road
Blue trams will operate Shalesmoor > Halfway (No trams Malin Bridge > Shalesmoor)
Yellow trams will operate Catherdal > Meadowhall (No Trams Middlewood > Catherdal)
Purple trams normal service
Batch 2 (Park Square > Castle Square)
Blue trams will operate Malin Bridge > Castle Square (See "Green tram beyond Sheffield city centre towards Halfway), No trams Castle Square > Sheffield Station
Yellow trams will operate Middlewood > Castle Square (See "Green" tram towards Meadowhall). No trams Castle Square > Hyde Park
Purple trams will operate Sheffield Station > Herdings Park (No trams Catherdal > Sheffield Station)
Green tram will operate Halfway > Sheffield Station > Meadowhall to replace Yellow & Blue trams.
Batch 3 (Castle Square > Catherdal)
Blue trams will operate Malin Bridge > Shalesmoor, and Fitzalan Square > Halfway only. (No trams between Shalesmoor & Fitzalan Square)
Yellow trams will operate Middlewood > University, and Fitzalan Square > Meadowhall. (NO trams between University & Fitzalan Square)
Purple trams will operate Sheffield Station > Herdings Park (No service Catherdal to Sheffield Station)
Batch 4 (Gleadless > Sheffield Station)
Blue trams will operate Malin Bridge > Sheffield Station, and Gleadless Town End > Halfway (No trams Sheffield Station > Gleadless)
Yellow trams - Normal service
Purple trams - Do not appear to be running at all.
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Post by lysander on Feb 26, 2015 9:20:43 GMT
All I am saying is that our old ,much larger system ,if my memory isn't failing me, ensured that rails were relaid, as a matter of course, at night....and the old system was almost entirely built on public roads... unlike the present model which, in part,runs alongside a number of cabbage patches... Other countries seem to be able to handle rail upgrades (tram and mainline rail)in a far more customer -friendly way than do we, where public inconvenience , on a public service, seemingly, has a very, very low priority.
Perhaps one reason is that most others are still run by local authorities or are still nationalised, whereas ours are run by Mammon !
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Post by lysander on Mar 27, 2015 11:29:57 GMT
It's been on national and regional news. A tram being used to carry out tests for the forthcoming rail replacement programme has derailed at Park Square.The system has been disrupted!
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Post by alexander on Mar 30, 2015 16:36:03 GMT
Hillsborough track work overran due to bad weather.Langsett Road re-opened abot 8am.
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Post by alemaster on May 9, 2015 12:31:11 GMT
Area 5 rail replacement is now complete with track cleaning, safety checks and testing taking place today (Saturday). A normal tram service will operate network wide for one day on Sunday 10th May. Area 6 commences as planned on Monday 11th May with line closure Delta Junction to Castle Square. Services as follow: Blue route from Malin Bridge to Castle Square Yellow route from Middlewood to Castle Square Green route from Halfway to Meadowhall Purple route from Herdings Park to Sheffield Station. Bus G6 from Cathedral to Granville Road on a circular route - out via Sheffield Station, back via Fitzalan Square. Timetables, route maps etc at www.supertram.com |
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Post by lysander on May 11, 2015 15:38:34 GMT
Well here's a bloke and his wife who will not be using the tram! We may as well use the bus all the way and save all the messing around changing modes of transport....Does anyone know if this chaotic situation ever happens on the Continent when they have a rail replacement programme...or is it just another annoying feature of our society???
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Post by alemaster on May 11, 2015 18:23:19 GMT
Well here's a bloke and his wife who will not be using the tram! We may as well use the bus all the way and save all the messing around changing modes of transport....Does anyone know if this chaotic situation ever happens on the Continent when they have a rail replacement programme...or is it just another annoying feature of our society??? Unless continental trams can magically float over work sites where there is no track or the network is comprehensive enough to have diversionary routes available to trams then I suggest it is the same on the continent. Why is it chaotic? Trams are running perfectly efficiently on the revised service and replacement buses are laid on to connect to areas closed for works. |
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Post by lysander on May 12, 2015 8:23:04 GMT
Just a hint of sarcasm in your reply, alemaster. I refer to "chaos", as a person of a certain age, who finds walking difficult and there are, I assure you, thousands like me! "Chaos" exists with the uncertainty of where the replacement bus is starting from and to where it is running... and far from being their usual helpful selves the " Supertram advisors" are often too busy laughing and joking amongst themselves( presumably over their over-time payments)to be really helpful to "dodderers".
It seems to be Supertram's management technique that the public accept closing parts of the systems when they replace rails....Having spent a deal of time in Amsterdam I don't recall such long running public inconvenience when they had rail replacements...which seemed to be done when the system wasn't busy... and by using single line running. I presume they did this so as to inconvenience the public as little as possible...or at least, that was my impression. As I have said before, when we had a much larger system I don't recall having months of disruption!
I recognise that from the point of view of the rail replacement contractors it makes sense to have the entire section of line closed. This lessens the likelihood of an overrun and making a loss.Presumably, this will be reflected in their contract price...but it makes no sense at all if we want a system which has to go through the same process every...well, in truth, it depends just on how fast the rails actually wear...which I know ,from experience, can be quite variable.
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Post by xtopher on May 12, 2015 13:35:30 GMT
I have to say that liking your own post is a bit unusual Lysander.
It's a little like congratulating your hand after masturbating.
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