UK Tram and Light Rail Round-up | Fares, network progress and industry recognition | 6 February 2026
- UKTram
- 23 hours ago
- 8 min read
In the first UK Tram and Light Rail round-up of February 2026: Edinburgh Trams confirms fare changes and prepares for Six Nations matchday travel, Blackpool Transport reflects on leadership and retirement and Tyne and Wear Metro secures approval for major fare reforms. Plus, procurement milestones for Dublin’s MetroLink, progress on the West Midlands Metro Dudley extension, continued investment in safety and innovation across UK networks, heritage anniversaries marked by Crich Tramway Village and new insights into tram-train delivery in South Wales.
West Midlands Metro has confirmed that final ‘tie-in’ works to connect the Dudley extension to the existing network will take place during February, representing a key step towards the route’s opening later this year. The works will be carried out over the school half-term period to reduce disruption, with engineers joining the new track to the current line.
To allow the work to be completed safely, tram services will operate every eight minutes between Wolverhampton Station and Wednesbury Great Western Street, with no onward services to Birmingham city centre and Edgbaston Village from around 21:00 on Monday, 16th February until the end of service on Wednesday, 18th February. During this period, Metro tickets will be accepted on National Express buses, which will operate an enhanced timetable, while additional infrastructure upgrades and maintenance works are also planned across the network.
Transport for London has begun preliminary market engagement for the Docklands Light Railway Thamesmead Extension Programme, as reported by Railway Gazette. The engagement is intended to gauge industry appetite and draw on supplier expertise to help shape an effective delivery strategy for the proposed extension.
The scheme would connect to the existing Docklands Light Railway route to Beckton via a grade-separated junction, serving Beckton Riverside before continuing in a twin-bore tunnel beneath the River Thames to a new station at Thamesmead. TfL is seeking early input from suppliers with relevant experience to inform buildability, phasing, procurement and contractual approaches, alongside opportunities to reduce carbon and improve whole-life value.
Edinburgh Trams has announced changes to tram fares from Sunday 22 February 2026, in line with Lothian Buses, reflecting increased operational costs. Adult single fares will rise from £2.20 to £2.40, with City Zone Day Tickets increasing to £6.00, while Airport Zone fares will remain frozen. The operator has confirmed that all fare revenue will continue to be reinvested into fleet, staff, infrastructure and customer services, with discounted ticket bundles still available via the app.
The operator has also confirmed enhanced tram services for the Guinness Men’s Six Nations fixtures at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, with Scotland hosting England on 14 February and France on 7 March. Additional trams will run before and after matches, with services operating as frequently as every three minutes, and fans encouraged to use contactless Tap On Tap Off to ensure the lowest city zone fare is applied when travelling to and from the stadium.
Blackpool Transport Managing Director Jane Cole OBE has confirmed she will retire later this year, bringing to a close a career spanning almost 50 years across bus, tram and rail operations. Jane joined Blackpool Transport in 2015 and has overseen a period of strong performance and industry recognition, with the organisation receiving multiple awards under her leadership.
Beyond Blackpool, Jane has played a prominent role across the wider transport and business community, including positions with UKTram, the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board, the North West Lancashire Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Passenger Transport. As the process to appoint her successor progresses ahead of her retirement in May, she has reflected on her time serving the Fylde Coast and the people who deliver bus and tram services across the area.
Luas will host a customer engagement session on Wednesday 11th February 2026, with staff from Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Transdev Dublin Light Rail Ltd available on the Luas Red Line between 15:00 and 16:30. The event gives passengers the opportunity to share feedback directly with those responsible for managing and operating the network.
The ‘Meet the Luas Manager’ initiative runs across both the Red and Green Lines on different dates throughout the year and is designed to gather insights that help improve the customer experience. Passengers who are unable to attend in person are also encouraged to provide feedback via an online survey.
Transport for Greater Manchester has confirmed that Metrolink services on the Eccles line were restored on 30 January following emergency repairs to a damaged overhead line near Salford Quays. The fault was reported before the start of service early that morning, prompting immediate engineering intervention.
Power was reinstated to the line later the same day, allowing trams to resume running between Eccles and Ashton-under-Lyne by the afternoon. TfGM said specialist teams worked throughout the day to deliver a rapid turnaround, enabling services to return to normal in time for the evening peak.
New Mayor’s Fares for the Tyne and Wear Metro have been formally approved, marking the most significant change to the network’s fares structure in more than two decades. The measures are designed to simplify ticketing, limit fare increases and support more affordable travel across the Metro network.
The updated fares package will remain in place until 2027 and forms part of a wider effort to encourage greater use of public transport, particularly as the rollout of the Metro’s new train fleet continues. Nexus says the changes will help balance operational costs while delivering savings for customers and supporting long-term growth in Metro journeys.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has formally commenced procurement for the first major civil engineering packages on Dublin’s MetroLink programme, announcing the release of contract notices for the M401 and M402 design and build contracts. The move marks a pivotal step in the delivery of Ireland’s first metro system, covering heavy civil works including tunnelling, track alignment preparation, stations and major structures such as bridges, viaducts and tunnels.
The contracts will be delivered through a multi-stage procurement process, beginning with pre-qualification to assess bidders’ capability before shortlisted organisations are invited to tender. MetroLink, led by Transport Infrastructure Ireland on behalf of the National Transport Authority, is positioned as a cornerstone of future public transport capacity for the Greater Dublin Area, with sustainability and carbon performance embedded into the contracting framework to encourage low-carbon construction methods and long-term value.
KeolisAmey Metrolink has brought colleagues together for an Extended Leadership Team Day focused on strengthening safety culture, wellbeing and shared learning across the organisation. The event provided space for leaders from across the business to connect, reflect and engage in open discussion around priorities for the year ahead.
The day featured a series of interactive information stations, styled as tram stops, exploring key themes including wellbeing and the organisation’s 2026 roadmap. Sessions were designed to encourage practical insight-sharing from teams across the network, alongside dedicated safety-focused contributions from Jason Anker MBE and Professor Tim Marsh, reinforcing the message that safety and wellbeing underpin every role across Metrolink.
KeolisAmey Docklands has hosted its first Innovation Lunch and Learn, bringing colleagues together both online and in person to explore how innovation and continuous improvement support growth and operational impact.
The session was led by the Business Transformation and Innovation team within Commercial and Strategy and focused on encouraging ideas from across the organisation.
Colleagues were invited to submit suggestions through the Innovation Ideas Portal and more than 67 ideas have already been shared.
Sheffield Supertram has confirmed its corporate membership of Women in Transport, strengthening its commitment to inclusion, diversity and professional development across the organisation. The partnership gives Supertram colleagues access to industry events, networking opportunities and development programmes, while supporting wider collaboration across the transport sector.
As part of the partnership, Megan Burns, Head of People & Development at Supertram, has been appointed Regional Lead for the Women in Transport Yorkshire Branch. In addition to her Supertram role, she will support regional activity, partnerships and initiatives aimed at promoting inclusion and career opportunities for women across the transport industry in Yorkshire.
A recent guest article by transport writer Christian Wolmar, published by Campaign for Better Transport, highlights the scale of transformation taking place on the South Wales Metro, with particular focus on the introduction of new tram-train vehicles. Central to this programme is the new tram-train depot at Taff’s Well, a purpose-built facility that will support vehicles entering service from February and act as a major operational base for the network.
The depot, developed on the site of a former steelworks, will ultimately support around 450 jobs across driving and maintenance roles, mirroring historic employment levels at the site and underlining the wider regeneration benefits of modern rail investment. Wolmar argues that schemes such as this demonstrate the long-term value of tram-train and metro projects, with benefits extending beyond transport to skills and regional renewal.
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has reported another successful year for its Kids Go Free initiative, with 185,950 children under 16 travelling free on the Glasgow Subway during school holidays in 2025. The scheme offered 98 days of free travel across the Easter, Summer, October and Christmas holiday periods, supporting families to make greater use of public transport.
SPT estimates that families saved more than £178,000 in fares over the year, while the initiative also delivered environmental benefits by encouraging a shift away from car travel. The scheme is set to continue during the 2026 school holidays.
The latest blog from Crich Tramway Village reflects on the 100-year anniversary of the closure of the Portstewart Steam Tramway, which ceased operation on 30 January 1926. Ireland’s first roadside steam tramway, the narrow-gauge line connected Portrush and Portstewart along the public highway, playing a vital role in linking the seaside town to the wider rail network for more than four decades.
The blog explores the tramway’s distinctive steam operation, its mixed fleet of locomotives and passenger cars, and the impact of changing railway ownership on its fortunes. Originally independent, the line was later taken over by the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway before entering a period of decline in the early twentieth century, with Crich’s curatorial feature highlighting the tramway’s significance in Ireland’s early tramway history and its lasting place in the heritage story of street-running railways.
UKTram
UKTram has appointed Colin Robey as Honorary President in recognition of his exceptional and longstanding contributions to the organisation and the broader light rail sector. Colin has spent over sixty years working in heavy and light rail, including almost twenty years with UKTram. During this time, he has shaped strategy, development, governance and professional standards.
The UKTram Centre of Excellence met to review progress on several technical and strategic projects. The focus was on tramway design guidance and developing skills and apprenticeship pathways for the light rail sector.Â
Members discussed ongoing work to support Mixed Use Railway approaches, building on learning from tram-train and shared-use operations. Members noted the importance of capturing experience and guidance to support more efficient integration between light rail and the wider rail network, thereby reducing complexity and improving deliverability for future schemes.
The next round-up will be published on Friday, 12th February, if you are a UKTram Member, and you'd like to be included in the round-up or the Members News section of the UKTram website. Please send your press releases, event updates and career opportunities to chelsea.branch@uktram.co.uk