Light Rail

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has launched a public consultation on options for two tram lines in the Leeds-Bradford area, mooted as the first stage of a long-awaited mass transit system.

Transport for London has added mobile phone coverage to around five miles of Elizabeth line tunnels as it continues to extend mobile connectivity across the Tube network in Central London.

Passenger trams have been connected to Blackpool’s main rail station for the first time in more than 60 years.

Mark Coates and Jordan Roddis of Bentley Systems ask what we can learn from city centre transport megaprojects in Paris and London.

Transport for London and partners including the Royal National Institute of Blind People have teamed up to trial an app designed to help blind or partially sighted customers navigate stations on the Docklands Light Railway.

Trams are now running along the full route between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven, with eight new stops linking the city centre with some of Edinburgh’s most densely populated areas.

Glasgow City Council and the UK Infrastructure Bank have agreed a project that seeks to accelerate the development of the Clyde Metro.

The final station in the delayed central section of the Elizabeth line is set to open later this month.

Transport for London has announced the next stage in the integration of the Elizabeth line, with direct trains from Reading and Heathrow to Abbey Wood and from Shenfield to Paddington set to begin in November.

Barking Riverside station on the London Overground is set to open next week, late and over budget.

The rail regulator is prosecuting Transport for London and the tram’s operator and driver over the fatal Croydon tram crash more than five years ago.

The ‘new and improved’ Island Line on the Isle of Wight finally opened to passengers on Monday.

The first stretch of tram tracks has been installed outside Wolverhampton’s revitalised railway station as part of the metro extension in the city.

The two new Tube stations making up the Northern Line Extension – the first major Tube extension this century – will open to the public later this month, Transport for London has announced.

The Scottish Government is to provide a further £5.6m for Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams in response to the ongoing financial impacts of the pandemic.

Transport for London has said it is looking to restore Night Tube services on some lines after its boss said the service could be out of action for a further year.

The Department for Transport has committed a further £33m of emergency COVID-19 funding to support light rail and tram operators during the pandemic.

Transport for London (TfL) and Siemens Mobility have unveiled the detailed design of the new trains for the Piccadilly Line, which they said will soon be in production.

The extension of the London Underground Northern Line has passed a major milestone after passenger trains successfully completed the journey through the new tunnels in a test.

The first of 27 new Metrolink trams has arrived in Manchester after a 1,800km journey across Europe.

Ministers have announced up to £67.8m of new funding to keep tram services running in the North and Midlands – with no new cash for London.

The Scottish Government has pledged a further £4m emergency funding for Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams in response to the ongoing financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Crossrail chief executive Simon Wright OBE has been appointed to support the development of the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro.

Ministers are giving bus and tram services in England outside London up to £256m to help them ramp up services ahead of expected increases in public transport use next month.

Siemens Mobility is to supply ‘a broad range’ of intelligent infrastructure solutions for the City of Edinburgh Council’s Trams to Newhaven project.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is to take forward plans for the regional arms of the planned Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro.

The driver of the tram that crashed in Croydon nearly three years ago will not face charges.

Work on the Edinburgh tram extension will begin next month, while the findings of an inquiry into the existing scheme remain unpublished.

Transport bosses in the West Midlands have signed contracts worth £83.5m for 21 new trams for the region’s Metro network.

The boss of Lothian buses has warned that there is no guarantee that the council-owned company will provide a £20m contribution to Edinburgh’s planned tram extension.

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has begun work on a programme to improve smart ticketing on public transport across the region but a fully integrated Oyster-style system appears to be years away.

Passengers on part of the London Overground network are to get a month of free travel because of delays in upgrading and electrifying the line – and the manufacturer of the trains will pick up the tab.

Plans for an autonomous metro system in the Cambridge and Peterborough area took a step forward after the combined authority board approved £1.7m to develop an outline business case.

Transport for London has awarded multinational firm CAF a contract worth around £350m to replace the oldest trains on the Docklands Light Railway and add capacity.

Glasgow’s Connectivity Commission has recommended a new metro for the city, as part of transport improvements costing £10bn over two decades, and a national shift towards road charging.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott has apologised for drinking a Marks and Spencer mojito on public transport in London.

Councillors in Edinburgh have voted to back the £207m extension of the city’s controversial tram network to Leith and Newhaven.

Councillors in Edinburgh have now approved two contracts totalling £128m for the planned extension of the tram network, whose cost has risen by more than a quarter.

Transport for London (TfL) is to cut service frequency in half on its London Overground Gospel Oak to Barking line due to continuing problems with new electric trains.

Light rail and other rapid transit systems have the potential to play a greater role in UK transport networks, the transport minister has said as the Government launched a call for evidence.

London Underground has signed a contract worth £1.5bn with Siemens Mobility to design and build 94 ‘new generation’ Tube trains for the Piccadilly line.

Bristol City Council has published a draft transport strategy that includes a mass transit scheme, as well as possible congestion and workplace parking charges.

Transport officials in Germany have launched trials for what they say is the world’s first autonomous tram.

A council near Heathrow has submitted proposals to ministers for a £375m light rail link to the expanding airport.

The operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro has invited ‘train builders from around the world’ to bid for combined contracts worth up to £500m.

Edinburgh City council has shortlisted four bidders for a £90m infrastructure and systems contract on the project to extend its tram network to Leith and Newhaven.

The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) has appointed local firm VolkerRail to carry out the second phase of the Supertram rail replacement in Sheffield, in a deal worth approximately £12m.

National charity Cycling UK has backed walking and cycling campaigners Sustrans in a row over plans to run a new light rail link alongside a walking and cycling route between Bath and Bristol.

Transport for London has insisted that it remains in a sound financial position, with savings making up for falling passenger revenue, despite a forecast deficit of nearly £1bn next year.

The tram industry is to set up a new body to implement the recommendations of the investigation into the Croydon tram crash.

A VolkerFitzpatrick-Kier joint venture has won a contract worth £119m for the main civils work on a new £200m mass passenger transit system at Luton Airport.

The revamped Glasgow Subway could be the first rail service in the UK to run trains without any staff on board.

The Sheffield-Rotherham tram-train project has been labelled a failure by influential MPs, who suggested it may only provide lessons for how not to run other schemes.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) board has signed off nearly £50m to support the Wolverhampton Interchange project, which aims to provide a ‘world-class welcome’ to the city.

Glasgow City Council has insisted that it and its City Deal partners are committed to taking forward ‘a surface access project’ to Glasgow airport, but is rethinking its current plans following a consultant’s report that cast doubt on the scheme.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has been heavily criticised for ‘evasive answers’ over concerns about driver fatigue raised before the fatal Croydon tram crash.

The former convener of Edinburgh Council’s transport committee has told the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry that councils should not take on large public procurement projects like the city’s tram network, as the council advertised for contractors to build a £162m extension.

Transport expert Christian Wolmar argues that the sector needs to wake up to the dangers of tough shift patterns and a lack of sleep.

Bristol’s mayor has announced a full feasibility study into a possible mass transit scheme in the city, part of which would run underground.

A senior London Assembly member has demanded answers over allegations that shift patterns led to driver fatigue – and a greater possibility of crashes – on the Croydon tram network where seven people were killed in a derailment.

Rail minister Paul Maynard was joined by transport leaders and representatives from a local hospital to launch the first tram train into passenger service on Sheffield’s existing Supertram network.

Radical changes to tram safety are set to implemented in the wake of an investigation into the fatal Croydon crash, which has recommended more 'active' intervention to prevent human error.

Weekend 24-hour services will launch on the London Overground from December, following the success of the Night Tube.

Rail minister Paul Maynard rejected the advice of civil servants in continuing to fund the experimental Sheffield to Rotherham tram-train scheme, which is now set to cost five times its original budget.

New West Midlands mayor Andy Street has asked transport secretary Chris Grayling for a contribution of at least £207m towards the extension of the Midland Metro tram network.

Transport bosses in London are to take forward plans to give passengers full mobile phone coverage on the Underground network, according to reports.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has raised a series of ‘alarming’ safety issues with the body investigating the fatal Croydon tram crash, including allegations of drivers falling asleep.

The pioneering project to construct the UK’s first tram train system achieved a major milestone over Easter as the track connection between South Yorkshire’s Supertram network and the heavy rail network was installed.

Manchester’s ‘transformational’ Second City Crossing has now opened, providing the final piece of the 'expansion jigsaw' for the city’s Metrolink tram service.

A new report into the Croydon tram crash has found issue with signage along the route, which failed to provide timely warnings to drivers.

A council-owned airport has applied for planning permission for a £200m mass passenger transit system linking London Luton Airport with Luton Airport Parkway railway station.

Plans to extend the Bakerloo line have been unveiled, with Transport for London (TfL) setting out detailed proposals for station locations along the proposed route.

The RMT union has suspended a strike by Tube workers that was due to begin at the weekend.

A strike by London Underground station staff has caused major disruption for commuters on Monday, with most or all stations in the central Zone 1 closed.

Edinburgh Trams has hit back after the Scottish Conservatives published data suggesting that the £776m network was running at an average of 25% capacity.

The tram that crashed in Croydon, London last week with the loss of seven lives was travelling at nearly four times the speed limit.

Councillors in Lothian have expressed concerns about the potential impact of Edinburgh Council’s request for a dividend of £20m from the publicly-owned Lothian Buses.

Midland Metro bosses have formally applied to the Department for Transport (DfT) on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), for a £137.2m extension through Birmingham city centre.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has confirmed that a 24-hour strike by drivers on two London Underground lines will go ahead from this evening (Thursday) in a dispute that is partly about toilet breaks.

Transport bosses in the North East have set out plans for a massive upgrade of rail and light rail across the region.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has given the go-ahead for an £18m extension of the Midland Metro tram network in Wolverhampton.

Use of trams and light rail in England continued to rise over the past year, with record numbers of passenger journeys and vehicle miles.

A new extension taking Birmingham’s trams to New Street Station has finally opened, with help from Ozzy Osbourne.

Passenger satisfaction with tram services has risen to 92%, according to a new poll.

Passengers in London can now use Android Pay on their mobile phones to travel on the Tube, buses, trams and most National Rail services.

Transport for London (TfL) is making live service information about its tram network available to passengers.

London Luton Airport has announced a 20-year £1.5bn inward investment programme, including plans for a £200m light rail system linking the airport with Luton Airport Parkway railway station.

Transport for London's Tram network will see a 50% increase in service frequency from Monday.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones MP has today unveiled the UK's first tram-train in Sheffield, where it will run on both commuter rail services and the city's Supertram network.

The City of Edinburgh Council is set to fork out some £2m on an inquiry into what went wrong with the chaotic delivery of the city’s tram system.

Council officers have welcomed an apparent Welsh Government u-turn over their role in the Cardiff city region Metro project to create an integrated public transport system.

Light rail usage in England has risen to its highest level since records began in 1983, driven by a continuing rapid expansion in London, according to the latest government statistics.

New features on the Transport for Edinburgh mobile app will help blind and visually impaired bus and tram passengers navigate more independently around the Scottish capital.

Transport chiefs in the Midlands have proposed a review of tram, light rail and bus rapid transit options to connect key towns and cities, stating this is a priority for the region.

Concerns have been raised over possible ‘significant delays’ to the UK’s first tram-train project, the £60m Sheffield-Rotherham pilot scheme.

Birmingham has celebrated the start of a major expansion of its Midland Metro light rail system with a new £40m fleet of trams brought into service.

Expert calls for tram investment to end rail electrification row between Westminster and Cardiff.

Midlands set for its first bus-based rapid transit system, which could be up and running by 2016.

Nottingham's tram extension will not be open to the public until 2015 it has emerged, after contractors on the £570m project revealed that 'rigorous' testing would likely delay the project past this Christmas.

Edinburgh City Council could be set for a bitter legal battle with its own defunct company Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE), which was established to deliver the city’s tram network.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has hit back at claims it has betrayed residents by shelving plans for a £1bn extension to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

Blackpool BC’s cabinet this week agreed to make a multi-million contribution towards a £18.2m project to extend the town’s tram system.

The beleaguered Edinburgh tram project could still make it to the end of the line as officials have produced plans to extend the network north of the city centre to Leith as originally intended.

Transport officials in West Yorkshire have reiterated their commitment to the £250m Leeds Trolleybus scheme ahead of the launch of a public inquiry next month.

Chaos on the London underground network has continued for a second day as members of the RMT and TSSA unions have walked out over the closure of ticket offices.

The latest period of severe weather has caused widespread damage across the rail and road network as prime minister David Cameron has pledged a further £100m for flood repair.

Birmingham residents are being offered more information on the forthcoming Midland Metro tram extension with an exhibition vehicle in the city centre.

The Technology Strategy Board is promoting a £3m competition to deliver innovation in light rail that will reduce the whole lifetime cost and impact of light rail schemes.

Work has begun on a second Metrolink line through Manchester city centre in order to improve capacity across the network, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has announced.

A light-rail service between Coventry and Birmingham could happen before the arrival of High Speed 2 (HS2), transport authority Centro has suggested.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has called on infrastructure chiefs to work with Whitehall to develop a skills legacy from its planned £73bn capital spend.

Construction of the new £128m extension to the Birmingham light-rail system has begun with the first tracks set to be laid.

A new sub-committee has been set-up by the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) to establish best practice specifications for road re-texturing and re-profiling.

The majority of users of the London underground network would be concerned if ticket offices were cut, a new survey has revealed.

Leeds much-delayed £250m trolleybus project has moved a step closer as local authorities apply for the key powers to build project.

Ticket prices for the troubled Edinburgh tram service have been announced, revealing the cost to the city airport will be similar to the bus route offered.

Plans for Edinburgh's beleaguered tram network to be up and running have moved a step closer as testing begins between the airport at Park station.

The troubled Edinburgh tram project is pushing forward as works in the town centre are finished four months ahead of the revised programme.

Rising costs and skill shortages are the greatest challenge to the infrastructure sector, civils contractors have warned.

New technology has been implemented by West Midlands transport authority Centro to make planning journeys easier, it has been claimed.

Leading infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has been appointed to extend the Midland Metro through Birmingham’s city centre in a deal worth £18.6m.

Concerns have surfaced over a loss of momentum in Welsh transport after new transport minister Edwina Hart has placed many of her predecessor’s schemes under review.

Alistair Gordon, chief executive, Keolis UK, discusses the future of light rail in this country.

Manchester City Council has announced plans to extend its free WiFi access on public transport as part of £11m plans to roll out superfast broadband across the city.

Light rail use has increased by almost a tenth in the last year to reach the 'highest level in the modern era', latest statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT) have revealed.

Testing is due to begin on the Luton-Dunstable busway next week, following the completion of a guided track.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) has claimed the UK should invest more in infrastructure for growth.

Leader of Birmingham City Council, Sir Albert Bore, has delivered his plans to ensure the city has 'among the best transport system in Europe'.

Southend-on-Sea BC is to spend £15m on transport projects - double last year's total - it has announced.

Wales should be handed further powers to control regulation of buses and prioritise rail investment in order to integrate its public transport network, according to a new report.

Suppliers of transport infrastructure to London are benefiting commercially from the capital’s lack of long-term funding certainty, London Mayor Boris Johnson has complained.

UKIP councillors at East Sussex CC have called on officers to use miles not kilometres in documentation and signage in a bid ‘to continue being English’.

Major new transport infrastructure has been proposed in Cambridgeshire to prevent congestion issues in the next decade.

The historic St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh was returned to public use today after the completion of all nearby road and track works for the city’s tram project.

Plans to extend the Midland Metro through Wolverhampton city centre have gone on display as the region's transport authority, Centro, launches a six-week consultation on the route.

All the news from day one of Traffex,the 26th international traffic engineering, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), road safety, parking and highway maintenance exhibition.

The national party of Wales has called for the UK government to provide a loan guarantee for the proposed £1.5bn Metro public transport system for the Cardiff city region.

Plans for a £1.5bn Metro-style train system covering the Cardiff city region in south Wales demand a new arms-length delivery authority to make the project a reality, a report has warned.

Edinburgh’s controversial tram project is on route to be completed by summer 2014, after the city council took charge of a fully tested section of track.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles has called for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to operate as councils see best, when implementing local transport strategies.

David Crawford welcomes fresh decision-making aids for more effective ITS and transport investment.

Croydon has become the first council to have both its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Local Plan - Strategic Policies (CLP) approved by the secretary of state.

Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, will receive the maximum £93m cash boost for upgrading its light rail Metro network over the next three years.

An independent assessment of major transport infrastructure across England has revealed the capital and its commuter belt far outstrips all other local authority areas for connectivity.

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has called on the Government to use its next Budget on 20 March to speed up delivery of the National Infrastructure Plan.