Supertram Sheffield: Video shows sparks on overhead lines in icy conditions

The footage was shared by Mark Jeffries, who said it showed the first tram travelling along Infirmary Road in Sheffield today, Friday, December 9, and struggling to get power due to ice on the overhead lines. Although it looks alarming, he said this happens every morning when it’s frosty and is ‘actually harmless’.

The snow and ice are not understood to have caused any significant disruption to Stagecoach Supertram services in Sheffield this morning. The operator tweeted this morning to say a ‘tram fault’ meant the 7.15am departure from Cathedral to Meadowall was running approximately six minutes late but other than that trams are believed to be running normally.

A spokeswoman for Supertram said: "What is captured in the video is called 'arcing' and is completely normal especially in icy/frosty conditions.”

She added: “It poses no risk to trams, customers, other road users or the public in general and there was no disruption to services today that was in any way linked to arcing on the overhead line."