124 at CathedralSouth Yorkshire SuperTram Siemens-Duewag no 124 in the standard livery, is seen having terminated at Cathedral with the hourly Purple route service from Heardings Park 14.4.22 The Sheffield Supertram network is a series of three tram and one experimental Tram-Train line in the city of Sheffield, with the Tram-Train line also service the town of Rotherham.

The Supertram network opened in stages between 1994 and 1995 as follows:

• 21.3.94: Meadowhall - Fitzalan Square
• 22.8.94: Spring Lane - Fitzalan Square
• 5.12.94: Spring Lane - Gleadless Townend
• 18.2.95: Fitzalan Square - Cathedral
• 27.2.95: Cathedral - Shalesmoor
• 27.3.95: Gleadless Townend - Halfway
• 3.4.95:   Gleadless Townend - Herdings Park
• 23.10.95:Shalesmoor - Middlewood / Malin Bridge

An additional extension in the form of a Tram-Train line, where the Tram-Train operated as a normal tram from Cathedral to Meadowhall South / Tinsley opened in 2018.    Just past this stop, there is a junction which takes the tramway onto the Heavy rail network, and after a quick stop to change from Tramway control to Network Rail signalling, the TramTrain travels along the heavy rail line, with stops at Rotherham Central, where the stop is configured with tram train platforms and heavy rail platforms next to each other, before the line continues onwards to Rotherham Parkgate.   If and when the heavy rail line to and through Rotherham is electrified, the built in switching equipment to allow the trams to change from the tramway's 750 volt power to the 25Kv Network Rail OHLE will come into use.

120 at Netherthorpe RoadSouth Yorkshire SuperTram Siemens-Duewag no 120 in Sheffield Corporation Blue and Cream heritage livery departs Netherthorpe Road with a Yellow Route service to Middlewood 12.4.22 The services are formed with three colour coded routes and the Tram-Train serving the city centre, suburbs, shopping centres and park and rides with 50 tram stops around the city.

The 4 routes are:

• The Purple Route: Cathedral - Herdings Park (hourly)
• The Blue Route: Malin Bridge - Halfway (12 minutes)
• The Yellow Route: Middlewood - Meadowhall Interchange (12 minutes)
• Tram-Train Route (TT): Catherdral - Rotherham Parkgate (half hourly)

The routes themselves featured a mixture of on street running, seperate reservations and running on former / or alongside current heavy rail lines and all meet in the City Centre with all services serving the main stops of Cathedral, Castle Square and Fitzalan Square.   Some impressive structures were built to carry the tramway over roads and existing railways with the bridge over Commercial Street and Park Square roundabout being particularly stunning. Just south of that bridge is also an impressive triangular junction allowing trams from the city centre / Malin Bridge / Middlewood to head left to Meadowhall / Rotherham Parkgate or right to Herdings Park / Halfway.   The third end is rarely used and is mostly used for depot runs or diversions.   Nunnery Depot, where the full fleet is maintained, can be found on the Yellow Route.

The Trams

The tram fleet is made up of two types of tram, these are the Duewags, consisting of 25 trams (numbered 101-125) and the Class 399 Stadler Citylink tram-trains (made up of 7 tram-trains numbered 399201-399207).

123 and 102 at CathedralStandard liveried South Yorkshire SuperTram Siemens-Duewag no 123 awaits departure from Cathedral with a Blue Route service to Beighton / Drake House Lane as 102 pauses with a Yellow Route service to Middlewood 12.4.22 Siemens Duewags:

Built in 1992, the Siemens Duewag fleet have been the mainstay of the three all tram lines since the system opened. Each tram contains three articulated sections with two driving ends and a central section.   The doors are found in the driving ends with 40% of each tram being low floor and step free access.  Each tram holds 86 seated passengers with up to 155 standing passengers also accomodated.  

Each tram has a maximum speed of 50mph and with every axle powered, can manage the gradients, some as steep as 10% across the network with ease.

Each tram underwent an overhaul between 2006 and 2009 with the majority being painted in the standard red, yellow and blue Stagecoach livery, with some exceptions.

Unfortunately due to not having the relevant Network Rail safety systems and crashworthiness, the Duewags cannot be used on the Tram-Train route between Meadowhall South / Tinsley and Rotherham Parkgate.

399203 at Meadowhall South/TinsleySouth Yorkshire Supertram's Stadler Citylink Tram-Train 399203 is seen pausing at Meadowhall South / Tinsley with a Tram-Train service from Rotherham Parkgate to Cathedral 12.4.22 Stadler Citylink Tram-Trains:

Built in 2015, the Stadler Citylink Tram-Trains have two main uses, numbers 399201-204 are allocated to operate on the Tram-Train service between Cathedral and Rotherham Parkgate , with numbers 399205-207 being used as Tram only and can operate on the Blue, Purple or Yellow routes to provide additional capacity.  

Due to 201-204's wheels being profiled for heavy rail and 205-207's wheels being profiled for tram track, 201-204 are confined to the Tram-Train route and 205-207 are confined to tram routes.

The TramTrains consist of three sections and are fully low floor. They hold 96 seated and 150 standing passengers and have a maximum speed of 60mph.

112 at Park Grange CroftStagecoach Supertram: On course for a greener future advert liveried Siemens-Duewag no 112 arrives at Park Grange Croft with a Blue Route service to Malin Bridge 12.4.22 My trip:

I only had just over 3 hours to spend in Sheffield on the 12th on my first ever trip to the area so had to make the most of it. I met up with @JamesTGlossop from Twitter, who showed me round!  Firstly from Sheffield Station, we bought Day Tickets from the onboard conductor for the excellent price of £4.60 and headed into Sheffield onboard 108 on a Blue Route service towards Cathedral.  

After a short time photoing here, we caught Tram 122 on a yellow route service to Meadowhall South / Tinsley, where we caught 399201 to Rotherham Parkgate then back to Meadowhall South/Tinsley. We then walked round to Meadowhall Interchange and caught 120 on a Yellow service as far as Netherthorpe Road.

After a few photos there, we caught 106 on a blue route service to Park Grange Croft, then 112 to Granville Road, where we got off and walked back to Sheffield station taking a few photos on the way!

On the day of my visit, trams on the Blue Route were terminating at Beighton / Drake House Lane due to overhead line issues.

Trams Seen:

Tram-Train 399201, 399203

Yellow Route: 122, 103, 101, 120, 102, 113

Blue Route: 115, 108, 112, 111, 117, 106, 123

Purple Route: 124

Not In Service (0): 109

On depot: 116, 119, 121

I'd definately recommend a visit to Sheffield for the trams and the Tram-Trains and hope to go back there sometime soon! For photos from my trip, either click on the links in the fleet lists above or visit my gallery at: https://scottishtrains.zenfolio.com/p1025895743