Massive increase in test runs Uithoflijn tram in coming months

This is stated in a letter alderwoman Lot van Hooijdonk sent to the municipal council on Thursday, September 12. Malfunctions in the tram tracks meant it was not justifiable to start transporting passengers from Utrecht Central Station to De Uithof in July or August. That news had already been made public in early July. DUB had also already published that the Uithoflijn tram would not run at full capacity immediately.

The alderwoman’s letter mentions a similar story for December. Most of the technical malfunctions have been fixed, she writes, but there are still too many issues to let the tram start running twelve times an hour from the start.

Now that most technical issues have been resolved, the frequency of the test runs will be increased by quite a lot in the coming months. Partially in order to test the tracks, but also to make the public aware of the trams on the tracks. Aside from the frequency, test runs will now also be made with double trams cars.

In the letter, Van Hooijdonk doesn’t mention safety on the route. The quarterly report of the Uithoflijn tram, attached to the letter, does say a few words about this topic. Under the header ‘complaints’, it mentions the ‘perceived safety of the crossings with the tram tracks at the Weg tot de Wetenschap and the Heidelberglaan’, and it promises further measures.