FURTHER doubt has been cast over the long-awaited tram-train project through Rotherham after it emerged the would-be operator could pull out.
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) said it was working towards the assumption the £58 million project being operational in the summer of next year – three years later than planned.
Rotherham Politics 
I is confused……..
Tram project through Rotherham. Check
SYPTE as operations manager.. Check
Stagecoach supertram as operator. Check
SCR controls finances. Check
An absolutely brilliant plan to revitalise Rotherham Town centre by shovelling even more shoppers to Parkgate Shopping Centre. You couldn’t make this up.
Just who is in charge of this fiasco?
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Colin, we agree! : – )
…and
Back in the late 1990’s I was living in Amsterdam, and travelled to work in an office on the way to Amstelveen, on Line 51 – at the time an overground tram-train line. In its early years, the train section of the Line got a very bad reputation for pedestrian and cyclist accidents.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro/sneltramlijn_51.
(Sorry, Google’s EN translation is not very good, but it clearly has gone through a lot of changes since I last used it.)
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This will enable people on trams to visit Rotherham via Rotherham Central which I think is an excellent idea.
Never mind what ‘trambuster’ says, this project should be fully supported by those that care about the town.
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Paddy,
On principle, I always ignore anything Trambuster says.
I just don’t see the point of this project. Explain in far more detail why it is good?
People coming from where, people going to where, and for what reason?
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When I worked as contract staff at SYPTE the number of people wanting to get to town FROM Parkgate was massive, the opposite was also true but these weren’t shoppers but residents and folk that simply had to get home etc. Nobdy lost anything by residents going home. In fact they sailed past Parkgate on the (as it was then) 108/109 Circular bus into Rotherham to spend hard earned cash.
The ‘Tram Train’ idea was introduced to take pressure off the already congested rail system with the general assumption ( and I think its a fair one) those wanting to get to/from Rotherham town centre need to do so…I advocated a rail station at Parkgate but this idea was promptly shoved across as the Big Project and the advantages were clear – the obvious one was shoppers from Sheffield could alight at Parkgate or Rotherham, possibly both, with the new university opening I can’t see why anyone would object to this.
The road system also needs a break, I’ve asked RMBC managers to meet me on site visits in Rotherham about roads due to their state, putting these folk on a train/tram/bus is a good thing.
I’ve formed good relationships with people at RMBC as every time they see my name its always polite, smile, joke, nothing to political…always wanting to do the best for Rotherham.
Just like in my days in public trasnport which the Jay Report talks about.
Folk in Rotherham deserve a transport system thats going to lift them out of the economic mire Stone & Co left it in.
I have to say guys, get behind it…please 🙂
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@Paddy Cawkwell
Paddy,You can travel by train from Meadowhall to Rotherham Central daily.
Why do we need an expensive tram/train to cover the same journey?
If you care about the town then why not protest about taking shoppers away from the town centre to Parkgate which is the current proposal?
Read cannot talk about ‘revitalising’ Rotherham town centre and at the same time support the plan to take shoppers to Parkgate Centre, it does not make make commercial nor financial sense.
No change there from RMBC.
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It’s not the same journey though is it…? This is the point. Stay on the tram and end up in Rotherham! It’s easier then catching the bus, it leads to all sorts of things like Clifton Park visits, town centre visits, who knows…its a good idea to bring more people in to Rotherham.
Having worked there, on the front line for seven years, I know what people wanted and this was it.
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Paddy. I agree 100% that Rotherham needs more visitors but (there’s always a ‘but’) where will they spend their money? Pubs? Betting shops? Fast food outlets? Poundland?
There is a real lack of major retail outlets in Rotherham Town Centre because they’ve all relocated to Parkgate which offers benefits such as free parking. (RMBC take note)
Where is your evidence that people want to travel to Rotherham by tram? The SYPTE proposal duplicates existing passenger routes.
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Labours hidden agenda and has been for a long time is to make Rotherham a village a suburb of Sheffield that’s why theirs not been any commercial investment in Rotherham and they have no real future plans with investment for the future they want to make Rotherham into a very large housing estate with transport links into Sheffield that’s what the main focus of the so called Sheffield City Regeion is all about
The only large money is going to Wavely AMP which is going totally into Sheffield with the proposed boundary changes
Interestingly McLaren who is moving into the AMP did all their negotiations with Sheffield Council and Sheffield University when interviewed they never mentioned Rotherham once .
Who represents Rotherham Commissioner Julie Kenny is on The City region who has sold her interests in Her. Rotherham business and Reed with his vast knowledge business or owt come to that
So it’s about time they came clean and told the truth ‘ O ‘ silly me they don’t know what the Truth means in Labour run Rotherham
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