Category Archives: West Midlands Metro

Midland Metro Alliance helps to inspire the next generation

Posted on Wednesday 18 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

Year 12 pupils from Thomas Telford University Technical College (TTUTC) have got their future careers on the right track after they designed their very own Metro extension as part of a project led by the Midland Metro Alliance. (Whether their … Continue reading →

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Buses to return to Birmingham’s Broad Street in June – but what about the trams?

Posted on Tuesday 17 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

Bus services are due to return to Broad Street – Birmingham’s “golden mile” – in June it has been confirmed. The news comes after the successful completion of successful infrastructure tests which took place in early May. It may be … Continue reading →

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Out and About: Wondrous Stories in Birmingham

Posted on Monday 16 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

No, its not the story of how trams once ran on the West Midlands Metro! In this latest edition of “Out and About” we head into Birmingham City Centre to see when trams did run on the system during the … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Driver familiarisation continues on West Midlands Metro

Posted on Saturday 14 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

We’ve been bemoaning the apparent lack of any form of tram movement on the West Midlands Metro in recent weeks – with a target of reopening by the end of May we had expected there to be some runs to … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Trams on test in the West Midlands

Posted on Wednesday 11 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

We’re promised that by the end of May there will once again be a tram service running on West Midlands Metro (although we’ve had promises like that before). In preparation it is presumed that the next few weeks will see … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: New Black Lake crossing completed

Posted on Sunday 8 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

As we reported before, the end of April saw rail replacement works being undertaken on the still closed West Midlands Metro network. This was at Black Lake where the track over the road crossing at Black Lake was being replaced … Continue reading →

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Work resumes in Wolverhampton

Posted on Saturday 7 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

Construction work on the West Midlands Metro extension to Wolverhampton Railway Station has resumed – with a hope remaining that trams may start running on the short extension this summer. Work had actually started back in 2019 with tracks laid … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: West Midlands Metro Brierley Hill extension photo update

Posted on Thursday 5 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

The West Midlands Metro extension from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill is slated for an opening in 2023 which means that construction works are now starting to progress at a pace (considering that 2023 is next year!). In this latest photo … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Rail replacement works on West Midlands Metro

Posted on Sunday 1 May 2022 by Gareth Prior

With no public tram services still able to run on the West Midlands Metro as repairs to the trams continue at the depot the chance (sensibly) is being taken to undertake maintenance work on the tramway. This has recently included … Continue reading →

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Midland Metro Alliance use new risk assessment process as part of handover of extensions

Posted on Thursday 28 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

With testing now underway on the West Midlands Metro extension to Edgbaston Village and set to kick-off in the coming months on the line to Wolverhampton Railway Station, the Midland Metro Alliance are starting to prepare for the handover of … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: West Midlands Metro Brierley Hill extension works

Posted on Thursday 21 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

We have recently seen good progress being made on Castle Hill, Dudley on the construction works for the West Midlands Metro extension to Brierley Hill but that isn’t the only location on the route where the Midland Metro Alliance are … Continue reading →

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Out and About: The sun has got its hat on the West Midlands Metro

Posted on Wednesday 20 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of “Out and About” we take a trip to the West Midlands Metro as we take a look at the trams running in late winter (obviously before services were suspended).

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In Pictures: A look at the Birmingham Westside extension – phase two

Posted on Monday 18 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

Over the past few weeks the focus of attention on the Birmingham Westside extension has been related to the start of testing and commissioning of the second phase of the line between Library and Edgbaston Village. However, although trams have … Continue reading →

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West Midlands Metro extension works in Dudley continue with concrete pour

Posted on Friday 15 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

Away from the high-profile lack of trams on the current West Midlands Metro there continues to be good progress on adding additional lines to the network in the future with the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension having recently hit another … Continue reading →

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West Midlands Metro services to resume by the end of May?

Posted on Friday 8 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

It looks like there will be no service on the West Midlands Metro until the end of May as repairs to the trams continues at Wednesbury Depot. The news that it will take over two months between initial suspension and … Continue reading →

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Out and About: Jasper Carrott in action on the WMM

Posted on Wednesday 6 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

Its time for another edition of “Out and About” as we head onto the West Midlands Metro – pre-suspension obviously – for another shot of a tram in service.

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Testing and commissioning starts to Edgbaston

Posted on Tuesday 5 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

Its been rare lately to have a positive news story from the West Midlands Metro but for once we can report on one as the first tram has reached Edgbaston Village on the second phase of the Birmingham Westside extension. … Continue reading →

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Split of final round of pandemic light rail support confirmed

Posted on Tuesday 5 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

Last month it was confirmed that bus and light rail operators in the UK would be sharing £150 million of additional funding – the last set of pandemic related funding to help services to continue whilst passenger numbers recover. At … Continue reading →

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Trams repairs continue but no clues on a service return but testing set to start to Edgbaston

Posted on Sunday 3 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

It has now been over two weeks since tram services on the West Midlands Metro were suspended and despite work having commenced on the replacement of the panels where the cracks were found there is no news yet of when … Continue reading →

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What’s New on British Trams Online? 3rd April 2022

Posted on Sunday 3 April 2022 by Gareth Prior

There are two sets of photos added this week as we feature recent images as well as heading back 10 years to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Flexity2 trams in Blackpool:

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