No trams on West Midlands Metro again as more cracks found

Its happened again. Just three months after services resumed on the West Midlands Metro they have been suspended again with further cracks – in a different location to the previous cracks – discovered on the original Urbos3 trams. Services were pulled part way through Saturday 19^th March – and that was a reduced service in itself with tram availability having reduced to such an extent that it was only possible to run between Wolverhampton St George’s and Bull Street.

The original fleet of 21 Urbos3 trams were built by CAF in Zaragoza, Spain between 2013 and 2015 with the first examples entering service during 2014. Replacing the original T69 trams they provided greater capacity and were 100% low floor giving full accessibility to the entire tram for all. When first introduced they were overhead powered only but in 2017, 18 became the first of the class to be fitted with batteries for use on sections of line which were not to have wires installed. This work was undertaken in Spain and after testing it entered service complete with batteries in April 2018. Over the following couple of years the remaining 20 trams were also fitted with batteries (none having to head back to Spain though with the work undertaken at Wednesbury Depot).

The problems of cracks on the structure of the trams in the West Midlands were first found in June 2021 when during routine checks there were cracks found on the underframe at each end on at least one tram. This led to a complete service suspension from Friday 11^th to Monday 14^th June (resumption of service on Tuesday 15^th June) whilst checks were completed and that was thought to be the end of it.

But then on Saturday 13^th November the service was completely suspended again after the discovery of further cracks which required a permanent fix before the trams could be considered for a return to service. This was a much lengthier suspension with no trams at all until Wednesday 15^th December at which point sufficient numbers had received this fix – along with some of the newer Urbos100 trams – to allow a service to run between Wolverhampton St George’s and Bull Street. Although never confirmed publicly these cracks are believed to have been around the wheel arches and in addition to problems on these trams in the West Midlands similar examples in Sydney, Bescancon (France) and Belgrade have also reported body cracks.

Upon the resumption of services in the West Midlands in mid-December and the gradual return of further trams over the past three months – indeed just the day before the service was cancelled again 37 returned to service for the first time since 2020 having spent some time in Spain for repairs after accident damage whilst 41 (of the new trams) had also recently entered service for the first time – it seemed that things were back as they should be. That was until Saturday 19^th March.

The previous day has seen tram availability issues which led to no trams from Bull Street to Library but then halfway through Saturday 19^th March and the decision was made to suspend the service immediately, return the trams to depot with “operational issues” the initial reason put out on social media.

Initially said to be from Saturday 19^th March, then Sunday 20^th March it was soon confirmed that the suspension would be “until further notice”. In a statement on the West Midlands Metro website it was said:

“Due to an operational issue, there will be no service in operation from Sunday 20th March until further notice. The safety and security of our customers and team members is always our first priority. During inspections, new bodywork cracks have been identified on some of our older trams which require additional checks to be carried out by the manufacturer. As a precautionary measure, tram services have been suspended until further notice. We are working alongside the manufacturer, to restore services as quickly as possible. We understand the frustration many people will feel at this latest interruption to services, and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

The cracks found this time are in a different place to those fixed previously with them being discovered around the doors. It will now be necessary for all the trams to be checked once more and repairs, as necessary, instigated which will likely take quite some time to do safely.

Needless to say the fact the service has been suspended again, especially so soon after the last time, has led to recriminations and anger with the Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street apologising and confirming he has been talking to the CEO of CAF demanding a resolution to the problems.

Mr Street said: “On Saturday, we were told of a new safety concern coming from the manufacturers CAF. It was different to what we had before Christmas as it’s all about cracking in the bodies, particularly around doors. Obviously, when you get an instruction like that, all the trams have to come out immediately, safety first, and we’re now going through examining each of them until we know the extent of the problem and, indeed, what is going to be needed to be done to deal with this repair.

“We cannot say exactly when the service will come back. We are also looking at whether we can bring forward our newer trams that have been delivered in advance of the extensions to bring them into service as quickly as possible, so maybe that can be a swift solution as well. I know this is deeply frustrating for passengers who are relying on it and I’m sorry, I know it is an unacceptable position.

“I’m ultimately responsible, but I am holding those who are responsible for this to account. I have spoken directly to the CEO of the manufacturer to impress upon them the need for reliable service and to get this repair done once and for all to be sure we’ve got a safe service that everyone can rely on.”

It now appears that the best chance of a service resuming anytime soon is that sufficient numbers of the new Urbos100 trams – which as new vehicles have not been affected by the bodyside cracks – are cleared for service. So far, eight have been delivered to Wednesbury Depot and six of these have so far carried passengers (38, 39, 40, 41, 42 and 45).

However, their entry into service hasn’t been without teething problems with recent weeks having seen limited examples in use and when they have run its often not been a full day out before a fault has been experienced. Testing of the new trams has already recommenced with 41 and 45 being noted out on Tuesday 22^nd March. But even if all these trams are commissioned for service it won’t be possible to run a full service as there just won’t be enough available for that. April has been mentioned as a resumption of services although until an official announcement is made take that with a pinch of salt.

Ironically the service suspension announcement came just a day after a press release from the West Midlands Combined Authority to say testing would commence to Edgbaston Village in May with public services starting in June. But there is currently very little chance of those dates being met with the lack of trams available to even run on the current line. And then there is the apparent July opening of the Wolverhampton City Centre extension which looks increasingly doubtful too.

There is no doubt this latest suspension of the service is hugely damaging for the reputation of the West Midlands Metro in the future. Much of the blame may be able to be laid at CAF’s door as the manufacturer of the tram but the public will not care for the reasons why they will just see the trams being off the road again and for those who rely on the service to go about their daily business the temptation to never go back again and find alternatives must be a very tantalising prospect.

Just a few days before the service was suspended again and it seemed that thins were on the up as 37 was being tested ahead of returning to service. This tram last ran in 2020 and spent several months back in Spain receiving major accident repairs so this looked like a positive sign. Seen on 17th March at Priestfield the tram was on test but returned to service a couple of days later only for the service to then be suspended. (Photograph by Andy Walters)

18th March saw the entry into service of 41 – normally cause for an article all of its own but its rather been trumped but other events! – and we see the tram at Grand Central. 24 hours later and there were no more trams running on any part of the network. (Photograph by Mark Cufflin)

On 22nd March with 41 running on test as an attempt is made to get the new trams readied to operate some sort of service. (Photograph by Andy Walters)