Engineers have spent eight months sitting in a van next to a Metrolink line watching trams going through a problem junction. The men have been stationed next to the track at the point where the MediaCity spur meets the Eccles line at Salford Quays since October.
Transport chiefs say the men are carrying out ‘manual monitoring’ which is estimated to have cost more than £15,000 so far.
The two workmen, who are sub-contractors of engineering firm Thales UK, have been seen waiting in a white van and working on the track points. Transport chiefs say they have been monitoring the junction as part of the ‘complex operation’ to integrate the new system.
A spokeswoman for Thales UK said: "Thales UK has had engineers on hand, observing and monitoring the new system as it has been bedding in, as we would with any new system. The service, using the new system, is now running well."
The £19.75m extension to MediaCity opened in September. A shuttle service to the complex has now been operating for several weeks.
Figures revealed by the M.E.N. in February showed the spur had been the site of 24 failures since it opened as part of the Eccles route, causing delays of up to five hours.
We revealed that the cause of all the problems was the new computerised tram management system, called TMS, being tested on the spur.
The junction where the spur meets the Eccles line is one of the most complex on the Metrolink network. The TMS system is due to be rolled out across the whole network. It controls points and signals and can pinpoint trams to within metres, giving passengers real-time updates. Transport for Greater Manchester say it will be vital to expanding the network.
Philip Purdy, TfGM Metrolink director, said: "The contractor, Thales, is constantly monitoring the junction to the new spur and carrying out necessary adjustments.
"The integration of the new system has, on occasion, led to some disruption of services and the on-site presence has kept that to a minimum. It also ensures that, if any further issues arise, they can be dealt with quickly." It is understood the engineers are being posted there at no extra cost to TfGM.
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This story could be right out of the Daily Mail, and who pays for it (altogether now) "You, the tax payer".
Nice boring job if you can get it.
I don't get the Media City Spur at all. It's about 50 yards long yet seems to have cost millions and cause untold trouble. The nearest alternative station to Media City is about 30 seconds walk away. Why bother with the spur at all?
Why not just use CCTV?
Its nice to see someone actually following up rather than ignoring any problems for seven years until period of liability ends. And its not costing Transport for Manchester any money.
The TMS system if not fully tested before going on the full system will turn the system into mayham so they have to get the system fully working on the test site having people onsite is the only way to test and with them having onsite people if they do find the system not working they have the right people there to find what not right without having the line closed untill the crew turn up as Metrolink teams would not be the right people to be sent to sort out the test site. £15,000 is very little money to spent. I used to get payed £600 a week to be in a nightclub in London when they was open as it costs more money when a system breaks then to have someone onsite. my role was to be there just in case the sound or lighting went down. The engineers onsite are getting the data needed before the full system goes live. ETCS (European Train Control System) is being tested on the Cambrian Coast line. you have to test a new system on a bit of non inportent line first. http://www.rail.co/2011/04/28/etcs-european-train-control-system-a-learning-experience/
£15,000?
That's a hell of a lot of Tea they have drank!!!
Ah nothing like the M.E.N to whip up the doubters and General 'this is all a waste of money' masses.
This is surely needed to be done and yes there will be problems that need ironing out.
Might as well invest some time and money in getting the system right.
In an ideal world everything would work first time with no problems and everything would work all the time. But alas it's not but give it some time and tweaking.
There are people I know who are closely following all work being done on the Metrolink expansion and since the Shuttle to MediaCityUK has been restarted no major problems have been reported. This section of track was funded by Peel and I'm sure that costs will be taken by the contractors until it's all sorted and running correctly. I myself was down there a couple of weeks ago and yes there was the van there doing the monitoring and while I was there for the couple of hours everything was running fine with a tram pulling into the spur every 10 mins or so. Yes maybe Metrolink were a little too keen to get that spur opened and probably that's why now the Cholton section from Trafford Bar is taking a long while to open. As we speak the trails are been done with the new M500 trams on that section and going through heavy use to simulate that section to density of operation once the line runs to East Didsbury and the Airport.
It is looking like a possible opening of that early next month once full testing and driver training complete. But Metrolink are keeping that date under their hats as I'm sure that this time round things will be better for that opening than the issues with MediaCityUk spur.
There really is nothing like the Evening news to go with a 'Somethings wrong with the Metrolink' story to attract those who feel it was all a big waste of money.
Manchester was lucky to get Metrolink as cities like Leeds were turned down for government help for a similar system to be built. Yes of course these light rail systems are not cheap to build or maintain but Metrolink has proven to be very successful in the amount of passengers using it and it has been said is one of the most sussessful light rail systems to have been built in the uk since they were reintroduced when the Docklands light rail was opened in the 1980s and Tyne And Wear Metro before that.
this is not rocket science, the victorians built some very complicated railway bjunctions so there is a wealth of knowledge and experience to be tapped and blaming computers is a lame excuse. It is the hunman input that is to blame. I have rarely seen so many lame excuses in so short a time, The most complex here must pale into insignificance compared to most othere tramways.
Type your comment here...Could this not have been done by CCTV recordings etc...
I wonder of the same thought has been given to the roads leading to Media City from Salford? It is already a bottle neck if there is an event on at the Lowry
did they really need a dedicated media city stop? there already was one adjacent to the site?
ever since they built it they've had nothing but problems with the points here.
Sound like the same people who sell the tickets for the 2012 Olympics, Over paid out of touch idiots ( or are we the idiots for keep paying and putting up with it?)
The contractors at Media City not only perform a safety task minding the points. They change the points & reset the system when the network breaks down. The article is badly researched and shows both the contractors and company in a poor light.
CCTV is better than a man sat in a transit van all day getting bored a CCTV system never gets bored it records everything 24/7 without taking its eyes off the subject .I know it cannot stop people putting their foot into points but there again you cannot have the men in the van looking after the points 24/7 everyday ? You can use CCTV in all the unaccessable places as well as the places you can see at the fraction of the cost of mens time.
Would it not be of more benefit to look at how our NHS system fails the people of Manchester, how the police seem to fail the people of Manchester and how the council fails the people of Manchester,
As a private company it would be their responsibility to make sure what their are selling is working properly, so the cost would not come from the people of Manchester.
It is not about time the MEN starts looking at more productive revelations or is that more difficult.
Mr Boo, Rochdale so we need a white van at every problem spot on the system to keep a eye on things ?? typical british way of doing things..instead of finding the fault and fix it they waste time and energy on a bad design by the sounds of things.....we are a joke in britain.
Just sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time!!! haha
Trust the MEN to take the negative stance on every story about Metrolink. They don't report on the vast majority of the time when it works well do they?
As already stated, the engineers are being paid for by Thales, the supplier of the new signaling system at no extra cost to the taxpayer.
Monitoring by CCTV is not satisfactory because if something goes wrong, how long will it take to send engineers to the site? How long will the system be disrupted for?
The media city line and the 4 trams that run on it was mostly paid for by peel holdings, not the taxpayer. The opening date was set by peel, hence the desire to have it open on time.
If the new signalling is to be rolled out across the entire network, which it needs to be.Isn't it best to test it on a small portion of the network to ensure it works as it should?
" It is understood the engineers are being posted there at ***no extra cost*** to TfGM."
Get over yourselves people. Some complain for the sake of complaining.
Shay Given gets paid more than that a day to watch his teammates play football every week.
Whatever happened to the indicators at each stop to tell you the times of the next trams?
I arrived in St Peters Square on Saturday about 4.30. There were no trams running at all. This system has not improved,and Media City seems to be the icing on the cake. I had a run up just out of interest it baffles me.
Trams have been around for well over a century and in the past have worked perfectly efficiently and perfectly safely and they have always had points and junctions which, in the past have caused little or no problem. Now with our supposedly improved systems they are suddenly managing to create chaos and danger. Perhaps a visit to Blackpool to ask how a proper tram system works would prove a far cheaper option than having people sitting round watching a set of points to see if they are working or not.
sod media city bring the metrolink to bolton via bury it would be a great service
GfMTPEQZ should run a line via the Brewery in Hulme.
Hopefully then they could learn to organise a **** up.