This week’s news from the light rail sector includes a new long-term partnership for South Yorkshire Supertram, clean air gains from Greater Manchester’s Bee Network and a spotlight on Coventry’s VLR project. Plus, Luas staff safety messages, all-night trams in Edinburgh, major conference moments, new digital ticketing tech and heritage celebrations.

UKTram is proud to be working with the Rail Forum on the newly announced Focus on Light Rail event, as part of the closer working relationship established under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2025.

UKTram was proud to represent the light rail sector at the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) annual stakeholder event, A Year in Rail and the Track Ahead, held on 17th July 2025 at The Memoir Club, London.

UKTram is proud to confirm its attendance, exhibition, and sponsorship of this year’s UK Light Rail Conference, taking place in Leeds on 22–23 July 2025 at the University of Leeds.

This week’s round-up includes service updates from Blackpool and the DLR, major track renewals in Manchester and campaigns from Nottingham Express Transit and Luas. Supertram gears up for Yorkshire Day celebrations, while West Midlands Metro unveils its latest art trail installation. Plus, new partnerships and sector collaboration take centre stage at UKTram.

UKTram is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Rail Intel, a first-of-its-kind global intelligence platform designed to transform the way the light rail and metro sectors access and act upon real-time data.

UKTram has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rail Forum, marking a significant step forward in strengthening collaboration across the wider transport sector.

This week’s round-up celebrates the return of Blackpool’s iconic heritage trams, the latest safety campaign rolled out across the Nottingham network and Liam Gallagher lending his voice to Manchester’s Bee Network for Oasis’ long-awaited comeback shows. New funding secures a future-proof signalling system for the Tyne and Wear Metro. Plus, family-friendly travel schemes, seasonal events and operator insight from Transdev Ireland all signal a strong summer for light rail.

UKTram is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Geoffrey Claydon, a remarkable figure in the light rail community whose dedication, influence and generosity of spirit have left a lasting mark on the sector.  

This year’s Rail Live event at Porterbrook’s Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre brought together more than 7,000 professionals from across the transport sector. UKTram’s Lead Engineer, Phill Terry, was on hand to assess what emerging developments could benefit the light rail community. 

Representatives from across the public transport sector gathered in Manchester on Friday 20th June for the Better Transport Week Conference 2025, part of the national campaign led by Campaign for Better Transport.

The Chancellor’s Spending Review, announced today, reaffirms the government’s commitment to improving local journeys and investing in modern, sustainable transport systems, including light rail. 

Last week, UKTram Board members had the opportunity to visit Coventry’s Very Light Rail (VLR) demonstration site, to experience first-hand the progress being made on this innovative transport concept.

In this week’s news from the light rail sector – Chancellor’s record-breaking investment announced for networks nationwide, UKTram visits Coventry’s VLR demonstration line, LiveChat function to improve safety on Manchester’s Bee Network, and Edinburgh Trams reflects on 11 milestones for its 11th anniversary.

On Tuesday, 3rd June, at the London Transport Museum, UKTram joined colleagues from across the industry to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Women in Transport, a landmark event reflecting two decades of progress.

Senior light rail engineers and sector professionals came together last week for two half days of valuable discussion and knowledge-sharing at the latest UKTram Light Rail Engineering Group (LREG) meeting and Best Practice session. 

UKTram is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Hopkinson, Head of Metro Operations at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) as the new Chair of the Owners and Authorities Group.

Following previous discussions during a UKTram Light Rail Operators Committee (LROC) meeting, the light rail sector is being encouraged to support an important national initiative aimed at helping those sleeping rough.

The latest meeting of the UKTram Executive Group brought together senior leaders from across the sector to share insight, review progress and explore collaborative responses to current challenges and opportunities.

Edinburgh Trams confirms launch for new ‘Tap on, Tap off’ system, essential engineering works get underway on the Bury line in Manchester, Coventry’s VLR project reaches another key milestone, new play set on the Tyne & Wear Metro and Luas highlights anti-social behaviour reporting tools.