For an extension which it has been said would be open by the end of 2021 progress on the final section of the Wolverhampton City Centre West Midlands Metro extension still seems to be making very slow progress with no signs of when trams may be able to start testing let alone when public services may kick off. Whilst there is no rush currently to get trams running – with the tram problems and the fact they haven’t yet started to run on the already completed extension of the line to Library – the slow progress here does make you think whether its another extension which is competing with Blackpool for how long it can take! Andy Walters provides these photos of the eventual Wolverhampton Railway Station terminus.
The Wolverhampton City Centre terminus is being constructed fully overhead free and leaves the current line just before Wolverhampton St George’s heading onto Piper’s Row, passing Wolverhampton Bus Station (where an intermediate stop will be provided) before turning onto Railway Drive on the approach to the railway station where it will terminate directly outside the station entrance. The extension is 0.7km in length. It is planned that trams will run at peak times every six minutes.
A spokesperson from the Midland Metro Alliance recently said an opening date would be announced “soon”, although when soon may be is unknown.
The railway station is in the background with the new station building seen on the left of this image. The tracks and being laid outside the station and here on the right we see as the double tracks merge into a single track at the end of the line.
Slightly further back away from the end of the line and the station building dominates this image. The double tracks are down here with block paving surrounding them.
There remains a gap between the previously installed rails on Railway Drive and the new track being laid in front of the station as we see in the view. The tracks on Railway Drive run to just beyond the further white van.
The artists impression of how things will look has been around for so long the trams still have the old magenta livery! (All Photographs by Andy Walters, 27th January 2022)
No hurry again – when it finally opens in two or three years’ time doubtless it will be trumpeted as a fine example of the government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda announced February 2022.
It is also worthy of note that, whilst the trams on the artist’s impression are in the old livery, they are also Greater Manchester Metrolink Bombardier Flexitys too complete with oversized fleet numbers.
What is it about railway stations that make it difficult to lay tram tracks and get trams operational?!
Yes, but you see, this is Britain! NOTHING in transport, except that temporary platform at Whitehaven after the floods, ever gets done quickly. That platform just shows that we CAN do it when we want to and are not drowned in bureaucracy!