South Yorkshire Supertram back under public ownership

22 March saw the management of South Yorkshire’s 21.5-mile (34.6km) tramway system move rom Stagecoach to South Yorkshire Future Tram Ltd, under the arms-length ownership of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), with existing staff transferred to the new operator. Passengers will see change gradually rather than immediate, with stops and shelters receiving a deep clean as one of the first moves. A new stop at Magna in Rotherham is planned. There are plans to refurbish the 25 Siemens-Duewag trams dating from 1993, by 2027, but it is hoped a new fleet can be introduced from 2032. About 8.4M passengers/year use the network. 

 

The new Sheffield tramway was run by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive from 21 March 1994 before passing into the ownership of Stagecoach in 1997, under a contract that expired on 21 March 2024. The transfer back into public ownership was announced in 2022 as a move by SYMCA to introduce a fully-integrated passenger transport system. Bus franchising is likely to be another move in this direction. 

 

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said, ‘Today is a historic day for South Yorkshire; it is one small step for tram, but its the first step in our journey back to a public transport system that puts people first, connecting our communities and helping us to build a bigger and better economy’.  

 

Stagecoach Non-Executive Chairman Ray O’Toole said, ‘I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Supertram team. Their commitment to serving the community of South Yorkshire has been pivotal in shaping the success of our 27-year long partnership, and we at Stagecoach wish them all the very best in their next chapter with SYMCA’.