Northfield tram extension begins night-time test runs ahead of spring opening

Trams have begun running overnight on the new section of Line 2 between Millbrook Junction and Northfield, the first time vehicles have moved under their own power on the 4.2 km extension. Test runs start shortly after the last passenger service and finish before five in the morning, when the regular timetable resumes.

The first nights were slow by design. Trams crept along at walking pace while engineers measured clearances at bridges and kerbs, then built up to the line speed of 50 km/h on the straight run beside Coldharbour Lane. Each of the five new stops is being checked for the gap between platform and floor, which must stay under five centimetres for wheelchair users.

Letters to 3,100 homes

Wrenhaven Tram wrote to 3,100 households along the route before testing began, warning of lights, low engine hum and occasional bell tests. Horn checks are limited to a single depot siding. Ewan Doherty, the project's test manager, said the overnight slot was chosen because it gives crews a clear track without disrupting the rest of the network.

We would rather find the small problems now, at two in the morning with nobody on board, than in the first week of service.

Councillor Ravi Desai, cabinet member for transport, confirmed that fares will not change when the extension opens. A single journey will cost the same whether it starts in Old Quay or at the new Ashdown terminus, and the scheduled trip from Northfield to the city centre is expected to take 24 minutes, against 41 minutes on the current bus route.

• Length of extension: 4.2 km, with five new stops

• Planned frequency: every eight minutes at peak times

• Park-and-ride spaces at Ashdown: 380

The extension has been more than a decade in planning. An earlier version of the route was shelved after a funding gap, and the current scheme was redesigned to run along the old freight cutting behind Northfield Retail Park, which avoided demolishing homes. Construction began two years ago and the track was finished ahead of schedule, though the overhead wiring took longer than planned because of supply delays.

Not everyone along the route is sleeping through it. Pauline Agbaje, who runs a hardware shop near the Larkspur Road stop, said the noise was "less than the bin lorries" but asked that testing finish earlier on school nights. Driver training on the new section begins once the night trials end, followed by a final inspection from the national rail safety regulator.