Supertram blue route partially suspended after well found under track

Supertram Blue route services have been partially suspended between Gleadless Townend and Halfway since Sunday 23 August, after engineers investigating a track issue at Birley Lane identified what appears to be an old well beneath the tram line, which likely dates back to when the area was used for coal mining.

It looks like when this section of the Supertram network was built back in the early 1990s, the track was laid directly over it, and as far as we can tell, it wasn’t documented in the records we have today.

The discovery means repairs will be more complex and take longer than initially hoped, but our focus is on making the area safe and carrying out a permanent fix. We are also reviewing historic records to understand whether similar features may exist elsewhere in the area so that if other work is necessary, we can do it at the same time.

As you’d expect, the most important thing now is making the area safe and fixing it properly. Unfortunately, that won't be a quick repair, but the safety of passengers and staff must come first.

Customers travelling to and from Halfway should continue to use the replacement bus service running between Halfway and Gleadless Townend, where they can connect with tram services.

From the afternoon of Thursday 27 August, most Supertram services will return to their normal city centre routes following completion of the £3 million Delta Junction track upgrade at Ponds Forge. Blue Route trams will continue to terminate at Herdings Park while work at Birley Lane continues, with replacement buses operating between Gleadless Townend and Halfway.

We’re very sorry for the disruption to journeys at this time.