Sheffield Supertram disrupted due to hole at Park Square

[button_boxer]

Surprised this hasn't popped up here before now... No trams between Sheffield Station and the city centre due to a large hole that has appeared beside the track at the delta junction on Park Square roundabout. Meadowhall services are unaffected (other than the fact that nothing is running west of Cathedral at the moment anyway, but that's planned engineering works).

http://www.supertram.com/latestfromsupertram_8166.html

Tram tickets are being accepted on Stagecoach 120 and 123 bus services between the city centre and Manor Top but if you're going towards Meadowhall it's probably quicker to walk from the Station stop to Fitzalan Square.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

I take it that engineers are looking into it?

I'll get my coat.

 

[button_boxer]

I take it that engineers are looking into it?

No, they appear to be looking the other way entirely

https://twitter.com/TravelSYorks/status/506438080472309760/photo/1

 

[edwin_m]

Looks like an OLE pole is at risk of toppling in.

 

[455driver]

No, they appear to be looking the other way entirely

https://twitter.com/TravelSYorks/status/506438080472309760/photo/1

As its panto season-


its behind yoooooo

 

[dtaylor84]

As its panto season-

It's what!?

 

[455driver]

Pantomime season!


Working on the railways its panto season all year round!

 

[bb21]

Does that mean the Purple route is running direct between Sheffield Station and Hyde Park?

 

[ECML180]

Working on the railways its panto season all year round!

Oh no it isn't!

Makes you wonder how they're going to cope with this! Seeing as track replacement is ongoing there can't be many spare vehicles available to work some sort of 'cross-hole shuttle'.

 

[dosxuk]

No. Yellow trams are direct between Cathedral and Meadowhall. Blue & Purple trams are limited to Sheffield Station to Halfway / Herdings Park respectively.

Both yellow and blue trams were already affected by the closure of the route from Cathedral to Middlewood / Malin Bridge for engineering work.

I'm not sure how they're getting trams to/from Sheffield Station for the blue / purple routes, or if they're being maintained on this side of the block instead.

 

[button_boxer]

I'm not sure how they're getting trams to/from Sheffield Station for the blue / purple routes, or if they're being maintained on this side of the block instead.

Given the location of the hole the city-bound track should still be fine for occasional use to at least get trams to and from the depot (i.e. depot to fitzalan sq, reverse and run wrong road to the station crossover, that section is fully segregated).

 

[unlevel42]

5th September PM

Secure fencing covering a much wider area added across all south bound lines.
East side footpath closed.
Pole now disconnected from catenary- only one connection.
Strapping supporting pole connected to metal and wooden fencing.
Hole now does undermines sleepers.
Yellow trams from Meadowhall to Cathedral working normally but approach the junction very slowly.
Five trams parked up between the junction and the station during shift change.

The position of the fencing on the station to Cathedral track suggests could be opened up to allow depot access but not the Cathedral to station track or Meadowhall to Station tracks in both directions.

Supertram website now says:

"We have decided to run a dedicated shuttle bus service from Monday 8 September 2014. The R1, which will operate between Granville Road tram stop and Angel Street."

This is not really useful for station users. There is no road access at Sheffield Station Supertram stop.
As thousands of students and their baggage are about to arrive they would hopefully be directed to use buses from the Interchange/Arundel Gate
The pathway parallel to the tram track into town is level, quiet and without obstruction.

 

[WatcherZero]

Its better to play it safe until theyve done some test cores, you never know what it could be, simple subsidence, full sink hole or even forgotten mine shaft. All could expand to swallow the tracks without warning.

 

[455driver]

Its better to play it safe until theyve done some test cores, you never know what it could be, simple subsidence, full sink hole or even forgotten mine shaft. All could expand to swallow the tracks without warning.

Why do they need bore holes?
Cant they just shine a torch down or shout down the hole which is already there?

For those lacking a sense of humour I am not being serious!

 

[unlevel42]

Although there are mine workings underneath and the site was heavily industrialized, the original roundabout was built up to accommodate the tram partly using the concrete rubble from the then largest high rise estate in Europe at Kelvin.

 

[Oswyntail]

I'd call for Prof. Quatermass.

 

[DimTim]

Where is the river Sheaf in relation to the collapse?
I'm aware it flows under Midland station & joins the river Don near Castlegate but I think is now underground in between other than a sighting at Pond Hill (exit from bus interchange)

 

[unlevel42]

Where is the river Sheaf in relation to the collapse?
I'm aware it flows under Midland station & joins the river Don near Castlegate but I think is now underground in between other than a sighting at Pond Hill (exit from bus interchange)

Not a contributing factor as the Sheaf does not go under Park Square Roundabout.

Even the truncated Yellow route to Meadowhall is disrupted due to a bus /tram collision at Angel Street (formerly to Sheffieders the Hole in the Road- this together with Hole in the Roundabout were filled with the same rubble)

Tram 108 video here

 

[button_boxer]

All back to normal from tomorrow, according to http://www.supertram.com/latestfromsupertram_8168.html:

Supertram is to resume a normal service across the network from tomorrow (Saturday 13 September) following the completion of work to replace large sections of track and repair a hole near the tram system.

Trams will return between Sheffield City Centre, Middlewood and Malin Bridge from first thing on Saturday following completion of this year’s major rail replacement works by VolkerRail to protect the long-term future of the city’s tram tracks.

Separately, structural engineers from Amey working on behalf of Supertram, SYPTE and Sheffield City Council have now also finished the necessary work to allow tram services to resume between Sheffield Station and the city centre following the discovery of a hole in the ground near the track at Park Square which caused services to be temporarily suspended through the area as a safety precaution.

As a result, services across the Supertram network are able to return to normal.

 

[unlevel42]

The Park Square solution is temporary.
They removed the pole from the hole and left it trackside.
The hole is still fenced off.
No east to south and vv traffic-coned off
There is a speed restriction on all routes.