The Sheffield – Rotherham Tram-Train Pilot was first officially announced in May 2012. Before that the concept had been shunted around (if you’ll forgive the railway metaphor) one option being the conversion of the Sheffield – Huddersfield line. When it was accepted that this was not a goer, the benefits of extending the Supertram system to Rotherham, a long-term aspiration for the region, must have seemed obvious.
CycleSheffield has been campaigning to get bikes on Supertram for a long time. We’ve conducted a one-day trial (no problems were encountered) and we’ve chartered trams to get large numbers of cyclists out for a ride on the Trans-Pennine Trail, in fact we hold the record for the largest number of bikes on the tram. However, we have yet to persuade Supertram to carry out an extended trial of bike carriage, and when we heard that they rather than Northern Rail would be responsible for Tram-Train, alarm bells rang.
In June 2012 Sheffield City Council unanimously expressed its wish that bicycles should be allowed to be carried on all trains and that it would make efforts to ensure this service is also on tram-trains. It appears that the Council’s wishes and efforts have been ignored.
This decision appears to be an operational decision by the operating company Stagecoach and accepted by the agency sponsoring the scheme, South Yorkshire Transport Executive (SYPTE).
As a national trial the light-rail scheme is a pilot for future similar schemes in the UK. which will look to this pilot for advice on implementation. If there is no information about the pros and cons of the carriage of bicycles then CycleSheffield believes that bicycles are unlikely to be allowed on any other future light-rail schemes. Sheffield is being denied the chance to lead the way in integration of transport between a public light-rail scheme and passengers who use bikes.
This pilot scheme will inform not just future urban schemes but possible rural schemes, where light-rail may well be a substitute for current heavy-rail. Being able to cycle a couple of miles to a station or stop and then travel 5 or 6 miles and complete one’s journey of a couple of miles by bike at the other end makes sense. Passengers can do that on heavy-rail and the denial of that service on light-rail would be inconsistent.
If the light-rail scheme draws custom from local heavy-rail services it may lead to a reduction of the heavy rail services between Sheffield and Rotherham, and if that was the case, then the service of carriage of bicycles between Sheffield and Rotherham would be reduced. This is also in the context of the Rapid Bus Transit scheme. We do not believe that sufficient analysis has been made of the impact of these two major public transport initiatives, alongside the existing heavy rail and local bus services. on existing public transport patterns. With heavy pressure on the railway between Sheffield and Rotherham, the long-district operators would welcome a eduction in the number of stopping trains using the line as this would free more paths for express services.
Light-rail systems across the world allow the carriage of bicycles with no evidence that it is hazardous to passengers or difficult for staff to operate with the competing need to accommodate wheelchairs, pushchairs and mobility scooters. This pilot scheme is an opportunity for Sheffield to lead the way on integrated public transport. In light of the fact that the rolling stock for this scheme has not been chosen yet, CycleSheffield is calling on Stagecoach and the SYPTE to reconsider their decision and to allow a trial of the carriage of bicycles.
CycleSheffield is taking this campaign further by mounting a national e-petition calling on people across the UK to call on the DfT and Minister for Transport to put pressure on SYPTE and Stagecoach to reverse its decision. We call on all to support our campaign.
Please sign the petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.