Recent refreshment for Sheffield Supertram allows for continued success

From 1991 to 1995, there was major construction work on the streets of Sheffield to create Britain’s state-of-the-art public transport system. This system mirrors the high quality modern tramways found in Europe and the United States, which provide an attractive alternative to the use of the car in city centres and inner city areas.

Historically, Sheffield had a comprehensive tramway system that was abolished in 1960 when society perceived that future travel lay with the car. However, by the 1970s, a major land use transportation study of the Sheffield conurbation recommended that thought should be given to a comfortable, accessible and environmentally friendly form of public transport, which would persuade people out of their cars.

The result was the Supertram, operated by Stagecoach, which today serves the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire with three routes covering 29km of track, approximately 50% of which is ‘on street running’ sharing the highway with other mixed traffic. The system was managed by the PTE for the first three years following construction and thereafter by Stagecoach who took over operation and maintenance of Supertram in December 1997. One of the largest and most experienced operators of public transport in the UK, Stagecoach has grown passenger volumes significantly on Supertram as a result of commitment to excellent operational and engineering delivery, first-rate customer service and continual investment. With a current annual patronage figure of approximately 15 million, Supertram has recently refreshed its product and is one of the most successful systems in the UK.

Commitment to efficient/safe transport/safe environment for staff

Despite the operational complexities associated with the street running sections, Supertram boasts an average of 99.78% reliability with the best part of 90% of all journeys running to a punctuality of within two minutes of the timetable. All vehicles are ‘double-manned’ with a driver and conductor team and supplemented with a second conductor in the busy times. Trams are fitted with a red ‘emergency box’ which allows conductors or members of the public to speak directly with the driver, who can in turn speak with Supertram’s control room staff by radio. Each vehicle is also fitted with eight high quality recording CCTV cameras which keep images for a rolling seven day timescale and microphones within the P.A. system, which allow the driver to monitor what is happening in the passenger saloon. A team of eight roving Inspectors supervise the on-tram staff and passenger activities and help keep the system running smoothly and fare evasion down.

Supertram also boasts an excellent relationship with South Yorkshire Police including regular dialogue with the specially appointed Transport Liaison Sergeant, co-arranging targeted covert operations when necessary by local Safe Neighbourhood Teams and a good level of police presence on trams through the local Police Community Support Officers – it helps that the Supertram depot is located next door to a police administration centre!

Driving and safety features

Supertram operates on line of sight principles and a very high level of defensive driving skill is required due to complex interactions with other road users and the difficult topography of Sheffield. Vehicles have fixed driving mirrors, a user-friendly data recorder and, although the on-tram CCTV system was fitted for security and accident investigation, the front and rear cameras provide a powerful tool in driver training and refresher courses on lessons learnt after incidents.

Safety is also enhanced through working closely with emergency services (regular emergency exercises) and organisations representing other road users, such as cyclists and taxi drivers, as well as focus groups, for example representing people with disabilities. Risks are minimised by regular reviews of junction safety and signage and analysis of trends particularly in respect of the effects of tram movement on passengers. Much work is being done to gain a better understanding of causes and prevention of passenger accidents, again aided by CCTV use and more recently from trial use of innovative jerk-rate monitoring equipment. Driver training takes about 10 weeks with one trainer to two trainees and is facilitated by the spacious cab and fold down instructors seat. In the past, practical training support has been provided by Supertram for all of the UK’s modern tramways.

Technical details about fleet/interior details

Supertram’s 25 vehicles were supplied by Siemens and is one of the largest and most powerful 3-section articulated trams ever built for public transport, designed to accommodate gradients of up to 10% and curve radii down to 25m. The terrain of Sheffield necessitates the use of eight powered axles and, as a result, most of the traction control equipment is mounted on the roof.

Each tram can comfortably hold 86 seated passengers, in excess of 200 with standees and has four easy access, low level entrances on each side with 40% of total floor space also at low level. Each ‘end’ car has wheelchair provision, with the purpose of this area indicated by floor markings supported by other signage clearly signifying its purpose.

Of the 25 available Supertrams, 23 are used in service every weekday with one kept in depot as ‘hot spare’ and the other reserved for maintenance or, as in the case of the refresh project conducted over the last two and a half years, special projects.

‘Refresh’ project

To keep pace with changes in current technology and to bring the image and décor of the vehicle up-to-date the decision was made to ‘Refresh’ the tram after 10 years rather than the initial 15 years as planned. The main aims behind the refresh project were to:

• Maintain and improve passenger and staff comfort
• Enhance the interior ambiance
• Improve accessibility to meet the needs of less able/mobile passengers
• Ensure that the vehicle maintains its current high standard of reliability and where possible update older components

In compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) the low-floor area of the tram has also been changed quite notably. The four seats between the doors have been removed and a ‘perch’ seat put in their place with the floor area being marked for wheelchair use. On the opposite side, three pull down seats have been installed. In addition to this, Department of Transport regulations require that at least five seats per vehicle should be identified for priority users (disabled, elderly, etc), Supertram has surpassed this, with five seats at each end of the tram having identifying markings woven within the seat material.

All of the grab rails have been repainted in a very bright yellow and the step edges have also been similarly highlighted, again to comply with the DDA.

A subtler ambiance has been given to the interior of the tram through the introduction of new saloon lighting diffusers. In addition, the previous grey plastic trim and wall colour has been replaced with a very light cream. Not only has this given a better feel to the saloon, the new light diffusers are much easier to keep clean than the originals. The seating has not been forgotten either, the material on the bases and backrests have been replaced with a darker blue design to complement the changes to the rest of the tram interior.

The next major project is an ‘under floor overhaul’ which aims to return all the under floor running gear to an as new condition.

Once again, Supertram maintenance staff and specialist contracting companies for the major components will undertake the work and the project is planned to begin in May 2009 and take three years and six months to complete.

Control Room Operations

The Operations Control Centre (OCC) at Supertram is relatively small and compact and is supervised on a duty basis by two members of staff, one with primary responsibility for communicating with drivers and monitoring tram activity via the Automated Vehicle Location software and a second to oversee and control the traction power and other electrical supplies on the network through SCADA along with other general admin/peripheral duties. In case of service disruption and emergencies, there are two computer controlled radio terminals to allow each member of control room staff dialogue with drivers when reforming service though the second terminal is usually used just for contacting hand portable radios.

As well as these two main functions, OCC staff have access to the Sheffield City Council CCTV system and the new stand alone CCTV camera at Herdings Park. Both sets of cameras have been used successfully as deterents in cases of vandalism and potential violence, even to the point of prosecution.

The tramway enjoys full priority at most road junctions throughout the City but in the event of a non-recognition of trams at a junction a UTC terminal in OCC allows for Controller intervention to add a tram phase into the traffic light cycle.

Ticketing

Conductors were introduced onto part of the Supertram system in June 1996, initially as an experiment to replace the former ticket machines on tram stops, but they became a permanent feature for the whole of the network shortly after. As the on-stop machines were removed, they were replaced with those still currently in use, Wayfarer 3 PETMs which are hardy but a little bulky by today’s standards. The two key issues that the machines have had to handle are speed of issue of tickets and the life of a machine battery – on Supertram a conductor can issue up to 1,000 tickets per shift and record many more passes so it is important that both machines and batteries are robust. As each tram can carry in excess of 200 passengers, ticket issue speed can be the making or breaking of effective fare collection.

In Sheffield, tram and bus co-exist very neatly together with Stagecoach passengers able to buy one ticket and travel on either mode of transport. This is particularly well highlighted in the ‘Supertram Link’, a Stagecoach feeder bus service specifically created to connect the residents of the outer suburbs of Stocksbridge and Oughtibridge with the City centre via a seamless connection between bus and tram at the Park and Ride site at Middlewood. Initially started as a pilot scheme, the service is proving to be highly popular.

Details of tramstops

The system’s 48 tramstops remain in the ownership of the Passenger Transport Executive although Stagecoach undertook to maintain them along with the rest of the infrastructure. Four of the five termini points, plus the leisure site of Valley Centertainment and Nunnery Square, are served by a Park and Ride facility offering parking spaces for between 200 and 400 places.

The tramstops are subject to a qualitative regime agreed between Stagecoach and the PTE and as such are kept to a high standard of cleanliness and tidiness by staff contracted to the tramway. Annual paint programmes, foliage enhancements, cleaning rotas and frequent inspections all contribute to the overall passenger experience.

In recent times and in conjunction with the PTE, the information displayed on tramstops has been updated, modernised and in part matched with the similar information available on tram as well as the new style of signage/passenger information located around the City centre.

Aims/future plans for the system

Recent plans to extend the tramway to cover the hospitals and a route into nearby Rotherham were shelved in favour of a BRT alternative. With the burgeoning problem of satisfying growing demand, which is leading to capacity problems, attention has been focused on looking at maximising spare capacity within the infrastructure. As the existing fleet is operating at or near to its full potential, attention is now turning to the provision of additional trams. Work has been carried out to determine whether this might be met by acquiring secondhand trams from abroad, but due to the unique characteristics of the Supertram network opportunities are, at best, limited. This has led to the realisation that the only practical solution is to procure new trams and Stagecoach and SYPTE have been working together to look at the practicalities of acquiring a small number of trams to supplement the existing fleet. This has culminated in an application, sponsored by SYPTE, to the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly’s Regional Transport Board who have subsequently approved funding in the order of £14.3 million for additional Supertram vehicles.

In parallel, work is proceeding apace with the DfT sponsored Tram/Train project – the trials of which are centering on the provision of vehicles with the capability of inter-operation with the Supertram network. Phase 1 of the project will see the introduction of hybrid vehicles operating services between Sheffield and Huddersfield on the Penistone route which, if successful, could prompt a roll out of Phase 2 which will lead to the services running on to the Supertram network and linking into Sheffield City Centre.

Plans are also in place to deliver higher quality passenger information systems on Supertram. Currently, and again in partnership with SYPTE, Stagecoach is in the early stages of feasibility for the introduction of a ‘real time’ passenger information system for tramstops.