Supertram Refreshed

If you were to look at two photographs of the interior of a tram, one from 1994, when Supertram first adorned the streets of Sheffield, and a recent one, you would have great difficulty noticing any real difference between the two. That’s because apart from the fitting of CCTV cameras, racks to hold the free Metro newspapers and recent alterations to the next stop displays, there has been no real change.

Those that travel regular may ask the question “why fix it if it ain’t broke?" after all one only has to look around, the trams are kept as clean and grafitti free as possible and they are extremely reliable.

There will be very little change to the general engineering of the tram; the design uses tried and tested components with only a small number of these becoming obsolete; any out of date components being sourced and custom built locally.

When the trams were initially commissioned, it was expected that they would be refurbished after 15 years of service. To keep pace with changes in current technology and to bring the image and décor of the vehicle up to date the decision was made to “Refresh" the tram after 10 years. Once the decision was made various companies placed tenders and eventually the contract to undertake the refresh was awarded to Atkins Rail industrial designers and the livery design was awarded to Best Impressions who were already heavily involved with various projects within Stagecoach.

After numerous consultations between all parties the decision was made to undertake the work on site at Nunnery depot and after some reorganisation the work was started late in 2005. Each tram will take around 7 weeks to complete the transformation with the programme lasting into 2008.

The three companies met to determine what the projects main objectives would be and how improvements to the vehicle could be best achieved. Ultimately it was decided that the main aims of the Refresh were to:

• Maintain and improve passenger and staff comfort.
• Enhance the interior Ambiance.
• Improve accessibility to meet the needs of less able passengers.
• Ensure that the vehicle maintains it’s current high standard of reliability and where possible update older components.

Tram 115 has been the test bed for these improvements. The first noticeable change will be to the livery; the current design is based on the original Stagecoach colours and design, which have since been superseded. The new livery, in an eye catching blue, orange and red, has been designed giving consideration to the latest disability legislation which requires a high degree of contrast between the main body of the vehicle and the doors.

Once inside the tram, the difference is remarkable. The whole of the floor has been re-covered in two contrasting tones of blue, the lighter blue covers the majority of the floor area with the darker blue placed in areas where greater care may be needed such as on the steps and on the articulation.

The low floor area of the tram has also been changed quite drastically, again to comply with current Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The four seats between the doors have been removed and a ‘perch’ seat put in their place with the floor area being marked for wheelchair use. On the opposite side, 3 pull down seats have been installed. In addition to this, Department of Transport regulations require that at least 5 seats per vehicle should be identified for priority users (disabled, elderly, etc), Supertram has surpassed this, with 5 seats at each end of the tram having identifying markings woven within the seat material.

All of the grab rails have been repainted in a very bright yellow and the step edges have also been highlighted, again to comply with the DDA. Although the current purple bars which identify the door opening mechanism has been given the same colour as the door to make it obvious that like the doors, they are a moving part and should be avoided.

A subtler ambiance has been given to the interior of the tram by the introduction of new saloon lighting. In addition, the current grey plastic trim has been replaced with a very light cream colour. Not only has this given a better feel to the saloon, the new light diffusers are much easier to keep clean than the originals. The seating has not been forgotten either, the material on the bases and backrests have been replaced with a darker blue design to complement the changes to the rest of the tram interior.

A review of the tram interior found that there are over 140 separate “do’s and don’ts" labels which includes over 40 different designs. After discussions with staff and disabled groups a standard template has been designed with a border colour similar to the new grab rails. This should draw attention to the notice and reduce the number of labels required to approximately 20.

A regular complaint over the years has been that the current stop request button, which also acts as the door open button when situated around the door area, can be a little confusing. This issue has been addressed in two ways; the stop request buttons have been changed for a newer easier to operate design and the door open buttons are now separate buttons using the same design as those that are currently used to open the doors from outside. Another addition to the door open buttons is the introduction of Braille markings for the visually impaired.

Now we have told you all about our exciting project, make sure you look out for it on the streets of Sheffield and come and have a ride and let us know what you think. If you can’t get to see it, keep an eye on this site and we will bring you the latest photos as we get them.

For now, why not click on the more button for some before and after images. Please note that at present, the after images are computer generated and will be updated as soon as real images have been processed.