The hard work returning trams to service on the West Midlands Metro is continuing with Monday 14th February seeing a further Urbos3 entering service for the first time since the entire fleet was withdrawn back in November. This time around its 31 – still complete with its Cyril Regis MBE name and special vinyls – which has run for the first time in several months. Meanwhile, 42 has become the first of the Urbos 100 trams to receive an advert with it being noted carrying ads for Nourished Personalised gummy vitamins.
31’s first day back in service wasn’t without incident though as it had to be withdrawn from service during the morning because of a slight leak just behind the driver’s cab in the passenger section. However, it was only a minor fault and it was returned to service the following day – a day which proved to be a far more successful outing for the tram.
The return of 31 to service now means that the following trams are confirmed as having run since the resumption of services in December:
Urbos3: 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 31, 34, 36
Urbos100: 38, 39, 40, 42, 45
Just a few days later and our attention has been switched from more trams entering service to the very first advert to be carried on one of the newer Urbos 100 trams. 42 is the chosen vehicle with the adverts – in the usual West Midlands Metro design of the centre section having full height adverts and the rest of the tram just having the vinyls above the windows – being for Nourished personalise gummy vitamins. According to the internet these, which are “Made in Birmingham”, are the “world’s first truly personalised nutrition product using innovative 3D printing technology and a patented vegan encapsulation formula” (no, we don’t particularly understand that sentence either!).
Not only is the first advert on a Urbos 100 it is also the first new advert since August 2021 when 19 received internal adverts for the “M is for Metro” promotion and the first commercial advert since the same tram received Marks Electrical ads in February 2021. It is also the first tram with a commercial advert since 32 had its for Brindleyplace removed in September 2021.
31 heads northbound when caught at Dudley Street. (Photograph by Andy Walters. 15th February 2022)
42 and its new advert is seen here. The advert has a white base colour and the centre section includes vinyls on the windows. Not the destination display on the tram states “Library” as opposed to Birmingham.
A close-up of the end section above window ads.
More detail of the new advert is seen here. (Photographs x3 by Andy Walters, 17th February 2022)