Sheffield trams: Supertram announces when reduced timetable due to maintenance issues will be lifted
A reduced timetable for Sheffield’s trams is due to be lifted next week, bosses have confirmed
A temporary timetable was introduced for the blue and yellow Supertram routes from Monday, March 10, ‘until further notice’.
Supertram said this was due to ‘additional ongoing maintenance required on the ageing stock’.
Supertram initially told passengers there was no ‘definitive date’ for when normal services will resume but that it could be until March 28.
But it has now announced that trams will resume running to their normal timetable from Tuesday, March 18.
In an update issued on Wednesday, Supertram said: “Maintenance on several trams is progressing well. The full timetable will be restored on 18 March.
“Peak service reductions were temporarily introduced on Monday on the Blue and Yellow routes to support maintenance and safely return trams to service. Thank you for your patience.”
How are trams affected?
Under the temporary timetable, trams on the blue route, between Halfway and Malin Bridge, and the yellow route, between Meadowhall and Middlewood, will run every 15 minutes at peak times, instead of every 12 minutes.
Supertram said there will be no reduction in service on Sundays or during early mornings and evenings between Monday and Saturday, under the temporary timetables.
The purple route and tram-train services are unaffected.
The disruption comes nearly a year to the day the tram system was taken back into public control on March 22, 2024, having been run by Stagecoach since 1997.
Trams are now run by a company called South Yorkshire Future Trams Limited on behalf of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).
South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard has previously spoken of his ambition to expand the tram network, with new tram-train routes along existing lines to Chesterfield and to Stocksbridge among the possibilities.
But a councillor in Sheffield recently asked why money was being spent exploring the possibilites for expansion rather than prioritising investing in new trams for the existing network.
Apology to customers
Sean English, Supertram’s managing director, said: “Significant wear and tear over the winter period has affected the number of trams able to run safely across the network.
“Safety will always be our number one priority, therefore we’ve had to make a small number of cancellations in recent days.
“In order to give passengers certainty, a move to a temporary timetable will help them plan their journeys while repairs are made as quickly as possible.
“I would urge passengers to check the timetable on the Travel South Yorkshire website and mobile app. We apologise to our customers for any disruption this causes.”
How much is being spent to improve tram service?
SYMCA said the tram fleet was now more than 30 years old and investment was needed to improve reliability.
It said the authority is planning to spend more than £15 million over the next two years in an ‘extensive overhaul’.
This money, it added, was part of a £100m investment SYMCA had secured for the Supertram system, which would see rails, overhead line equipment, power equipment and control systems replaced by 2027.
Before the temporary timetables were announced on Friday, March 7, passengers had been complaining about the unreliable service.
‘Citizens were promised a better service’
One person wrote on X, formerly Twitter, last Thursday: “It would be helpful if you could explain the reasons behind the huge number of disruptions to the service over the last few days.
“The citizens of South Yorkshire who use the trams were promised a better service when it was taken over by SYMCA. This has not happened.”
To see the temporary timetables for the blue and yellow Supertram routes, visit: https://www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/en-gb/newsupdates/disruptions