Supertram to be closed down by 2019?

[apelike]

does anyone really think this will happen ?

 

As for me no, as its one of the best forms of transport available. One of the biggest problems is in the way it was designed and implemented. Why is it necessary to grind down rails because of corrugation, lessening the life of them, and then blame that on the rails?

 

If the whole lot was properly thought through then your rubbish could be being burnt by Veolia to power the whole network for free.

[Cyclone]

Grinding rails is common across the entire rail industry.

 

---------- Post added 22-07-2017 at 09:20 ----------

 

Who said that it had made a loss last year, I can't find anything to corroborate that.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-36476731

 

And in 2016 stagecoach said that it was still making a profit.

[kaytie]

Never understood why it didn't come up Western Bank to at least Broomhill with the uni, hospitals and all the schools up that way.

 

Always been disappointed that those of us in Sheffield 10 have never had any benefit from the tram. Guess we could also argue that we shouldn't be expected to pay for it if others are taking that line!

[Annie Bynnol]

To say that residents who do not live along the route do not benefit shows a misunderstanding of how transport systems work to benefit the whole City.

 

As an example:

Living in S10 and needing to get to the east of the city, Rotherham, M1 etc. you have to cross main roads radiating from the city centre.

The reduction in traffic and associated traffic control has reduced journey times considerably.

 

Bus services into the city has also benefited from the Glossop Road bus/tram gate.

[Planner1]

Never understood why it didn't come up Western Bank to at least Broomhill with the uni, hospitals and all the schools up that way.

 

SYPTE consulted on extensions to Rotherham, Ranmoor and Broomhill quite a few years ago.

 

Rotherham and Ranmoor residents were very against it so those proposals were dropped.

 

SYPTE put a bid in to the government to fund a Broomhill spur but it was rejected as didn't offer value for money. They were told to look to buses as they were better value. That's why they did the bus rapid transit scheme to Rotherham.

[JJRB]

Problem is not just the rail. The points across system need replacing at another few million. The 25 original trams are failing fast due to age (hence all the failed tram tweets). Add another least £25 million for replacing the fleet...... Ok the government might bail them out for the rail but the other costs...... Look at Sheffield Airport, Don Valley..... Unless serious investment then back to ripping up the track and probably just keeping the Middlewood to Meadowhall line and the tram train.

[Planner1]

Problem is not just the rail. The points across system need replacing at another few million. The 25 original trams are failing fast due to age (hence all the failed tram tweets). Add another least £25 million for replacing the fleet...... Ok the government might bail them out for the rail but the other costs...... Look at Sheffield Airport, Don Valley..... Unless serious investment then back to ripping up the track and probably just keeping the Middlewood to Meadowhall line and the tram train.

 

SYPTE are preparing a funding bid to Government for all of the necessary work. The Government have given them the money up front to develop an outline business case. They would not have done that if they weren't interested in funding it all.

 

For these business cases you have to present several options including do nothing. The "do-nothing" option on the business case involves decommissioning the whole tram system. That piece of work appears to have prompted this thread and the news article.

[WestTinsley]

As the south Yorkshire supertram only runs in sheffield area I can see why sir Steve of Houghton would not be pleased he's forking out for a light rail system that is not within Barnsley mbc area.

Maybe it will sway bmbc's decision to either join Leeds city region or sheffield ??

 

 

If Stagecoach are making such a profit..maybe it's time for the former sycc authorities to put the running of their trams back into public ownership

Edited July 22, 2017 by WestTinsley

[FIRETHORN1]

Crikey - hope it's not true that the tram service will be closed down. What with the Sheffield bus services being so sparse and unreliable, I can imagine that huge swathes of the city's population wouldn't be able to travel anywhere - particularly in the evenings. People who live in the Wisewood/Loxley areas are already pretty much cut off in the evenings. The buses are fairly ok during the daytime, but my sis-in-law, who lives in Loxley (not far from the Admiral Rodney pub) , works in a restaurant in West Street and finishes at 11pm....sometimes even later, if the last customers of the day are a bit slow to leave and allow them to shut up shop.

 

Currently, her only way to get home is to get the tram to Malin Bridge and then walk home the rest of the way. It's already a long way to walk, after a hard day's graft.... not to mention the safety implications for a lone woman, walking home along a quiet, mostly deserted road, between 11.30pm and midnight! How the hell will she get home if they cut off the Malin Bridge tram? It doesn't bear thinking about!

[DavidFrance]

It's ridiculous to imagine that the network would close, this seems like a strategy to get people to cough up more cash, especially Stagecoach. Their franchise is profitable so they should stump up some of the money to keep the network running.

 

We all pay for infrastructure we might never personally use, like Crossrail... it's a bit childish for a Barnsley councillor to suggest they shouldn't contribute, but reasonable for Sheffield to pay considerably more...

 

I could see certain stretches being withdrawn though - how many people use the Herdings line?

Many more people would use the Herdings line if RAF Norton was a P+R and many, many more if the line was extended to the end of Jordanthorpe Parkway. The route is on dual carriageway. It is a no-brainer.