Sheffield Supertram rail replacement out to bid

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport is pressing ahead with phase 2 of its worn rail replacement programme.

The rail network has worn down much faster than expected back in the 1990s when the project was first built. This forced the transport authority to call in VolkerRail to replace around 15km of rail between 2013 and 2015 at a total cost of around £20m.

The wear of the embedded rails has now reached a critical condition on remaining lengths of the network that tram wheels run the risk of running on the bottom of the rail groove.

It is now proposed to complete the remaining 10 km of replacement over the summers of 2018 and 2019.

The works element of the programme is estimated to cost £12.5m, with the total cost expected to be around £17m.

Two thirds of this will be funded by the Department for Transport with the SYTP making up the balance.

To the north of the city this will involve a section running from Middlewood to Langsett Road stations and to the south several sections from Springlane to Hackenthorpe stations.