Sheffield supertram broken track: How replacement buses are running as major Halfway route shut down

The first tram replacement buses have taken to the streets, after half of Supertram's blue line was shut down by a broken rail in Sheffield.

A message was scrolling along the timetable board at the Cathedral tram stop this morning, warning passengers that the blue line was not operating between the city centre and Halfway, stating that the replacement buses would be running.

And officials from the Supertram operator, Stagecoach, dressed in hi-vis vests, were on site to guide people to the bus stop, several hundred yards away. Staff were carrying out the same task at Castle Square.

The buses in the city centre were starting and finishing at Commercial Street, round the corner from Ponds Forge, and as a bus dropped off its passengers, their views on the situation were mixed.

One angry passenger said her views on having to take a bus instead of a tram would be 'unprintable'

But another, although he had been initially unaware of the changes and had been concerned, said he had found the service, on a First bus, very good, and quicker than the tram would have been.

He said he was very disappointed when he heard he could not get the tram into town, and walked into town yesterday.

Of the bus he said: "I've got no complaints. I think they've done a good job. It's a broken rail on Manor Top, so what can they do? They've put a service on and I think it's worked out a bit cheaper."

He said a broken rail maybe sounded like a lack of forward planning.

Sandy Brearley, waiting for the replacement bus on Commercial Street, said she had been late for a hospital appointment as a result of the changes.

She said: "I found it difficult this morning because I didn't know they were on replacement buses, so I've had quite a journey to get to a hospital appointment. If I'd known about it, it would have been OK, but it's made me late. I'm not very happy about it really, I suppose."

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Annie Vohra, from Heeley, was on her way to a job interview near Crystal Peaks, and was trying to find the bus stop.

She said: "I think it was a bit inconvenient, because I've got an interview, so I feel a bit worried about that. It's good that there are replacement buses and all the staff are really helpful, telling me where to go."

Operator Stagecoach has said it is unable to provide a timescale for repairs to the tracks.