Sheffield Supertram
Encyclopedia : S : SH : SHE : Sheffield Supertram
- This article is about the modern light-railway system, for the original system see Sheffield Tramway
The system consists of a mix of on-street running, reserved right-of-way and former railway alignment. The Middlewood line runs mainly on the street up to the City Centre; the Meadowhall line runs totally on reserved track - from Attercliffe to Meadowhall it runs on former railway line alongside a freight line to Tinsley Yard and the main line at Rotherham Central. The inner part of the Halfway and Herdings Park lines consist of on-street running, with the exception of the viaduct at Granville Road. The Herdings line then runs on reserved track, and the Halfway line crosses into Derbyshire and out again on reserved lines in the countryside. This line also serves Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre.
The City Centre stations are all located on one side of a former dual carriageway, now a single lane and reserved for buses only.
Technical data
The track
The network is 29 km (18 miles) long, with 60 km of track. Most of the track is on-street using 35G-section grooved tram rail, with BS80A standard rail elsewhere. This latter type of rail gives a spring feeling when travelling on these sections.The overhead wiring
Supertram is powered through 12 electric substations. The wire used is 107 mm diameter contact wire. With aesthetics in mind a minimum number of traction poles is used and whenever possible the wire is anchored onto neighbouring buildings. Supertram, Sheffield City Council and landlords were in talks to try and hide anchor points as much as possible and blend them into the structures.The Depot
The main depot is located at Nunnery Square and occupies the former goods yard alongside the Sheffield - Lincoln railway line. The depot is currently in the process of refurbishing the entire fleet of 25 trams.Outstanding structures
The Supertram network possesses a few remarkable structures. Two viaducts and one underpass are of interest: the two viaducts carry Supertram onto Park Square, one of them being a six-span viaduct, the other the bowstring steel arch Park Square Bridge.The fleet
The fleet consists of 25 trams built by Duewag, a subsidiary of Germany's Siemens AG. The trams have three articulated sections; the outer sections are low floored, the middle section has a high floor, and is without doors. Their power supply is 750 volts DC, collected from overhead lines using a pantograph. The trams' speed is controlled form the cab by a handheld "joystick" type controller which must be contiually held in place to keep the track brakes off. No vigilance control, not even a task-linked system, is fitted, because of preceived safety of such a system on street running trams.Starting in September 2005, the trams' manual destination boards were changed to multi-colour LED signs conforming with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). In January 2006 a project was started to refit and repaint the fleet. On 27 January the first of the refurbished trams was lauched at the Nunnery Depot. The new livery is similar to the Stagecoach bus livery, but the doors are painted yellow to conform with the DDA.
Opening dates
- 21 March 1994: Fitzalan Square to Meadowhall
- 22 August 1994: Fitzalan Square to Spring Lane
- 5 December 1994: Spring Lane to Gleadless Townend
- 18 February 1995: Fitzalan Square to Cathedral
- 17 February 1995: Cathedral to Shalesmoor
- 27 March 1995: Gleadless Townend to Halfway
- 3 April 1995: Gleadless Townend to Herdings Park
- 23 October 1995: Shalesmoor to Middlewood/Malin Bridge
Future plans
Proposals have been made to extend the network to Rotherham, Dore, Fulwood and Maltby. However, following consultations, a reduced scheme with extensions to Rotherham and Broomhill is being considered[link].Network map
Tram stops
See also
- Sheffield Tramway—the original Sheffield tramway system.
- Light Rail Transit Association
External links
- [Sheffield Supertram at thetrams.co.uk]
- [Collection of Google Earth locations of Sheffield Supertram stops] (Requires [Google Earth software]) from the Google Earth Community forum.
- [Supertram gallery]
| Local rail transport in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Metros :
| Docklands Light Railway (East London) > Glasgow Subway | London Underground | Tyne and Wear Metro |
| Tramways :
| Blackpool | Manchester | Midland Metro (West Midlands) | Nottingham | Sheffield | Tramlink (South London) |
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