We now know that trams will not be running on the West Midlands Metro extension to Wolverhampton Railway Centre until at least Spring 2023 but what does that mean for progress on the remaining construction works? In this photo update from the camera of Ken Jones we see where work is taking place and where there has been little recent progress with cones and barriers still in place.
This extension will run for 0.7km leaving the current Metro line just before the Wolverhampton St George’s terminus and then running along Piper’s Row, Railway Drive and terminating adjacent to the railway station. As well as the new terminus stop there will be an intermediate stop at Wolverhampton Bus Station on Piper’s Row. The service plan is for a six minute frequency at peak times and a 15 minute service off peak. At the same time two to four trams an hour will still run to St George’s.
Why is it every time we feature photos of the tramstop on Piper’s Row there seem to be people in the vicinity seemingly waiting for a tram?! Could it be the people of Wolverhampton are very optimistic or is just pure luck? This is the platform which will be served by trams head to the railway station. As we noted in our recent article on Edinburgh trams construction works on the West Midlands Metro platform signage comes along much later.
This is the platform back to the original Metro line outside the bus station. And someone else arrives for the next tram!
Further works as the tramway turns into Railway Drive – previously completed work has now seen a new trench dug alongside the tracks.
The approach to the station (the black and gold building is the new station building which contributed one of the delays to the tramway). Work to complete the path on the left carries on.
As the line curves past the entrance to the station most work is complete, including the block paving.
The terminus will be slightly beyond the station entrance and this is where work remains to be done. This view shows the platform and shelter. It will be another single track terminus.
A new fence is being put into place between tramway and railway. (All Photographs by Ken Jones, 10th November 2022)
Why haven’t they put the station stop right outside the station entrance which the trams will pass anyway – and not several hundred yards further on? An unnecessary and inconvenient walk for anyone with mobility impairments.
Also, now splitting the route to two termini at St Georges and the Station approximately halves the frequency on each route. Which route do you walk to if you are catching a tram towards Brum? You could wait for half an hour at St Georges.
It all seems sub-optimal, non-passenger-focused, planning.
I cannot believe in this day and age, it is acceptable to have such an interchage where you get out of a dry tram and have to walk through rain (no matter how hard the rain fall) to get onto a train, and vice versa.
So the idea of having overhead wires on the line seems to have been given up and it has reverted to battery power – if and when it ever operates. Being ironic, I would suggest a heritage horse tram could be arranged to operate if it is decided not to open it. It would not be the first tramway abandoned never used (as at Charleroi for instance).
This extension was always going to be battery operated. The papers reported it back in 2017 when they also said the extension would open in 2019 see
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/transport/2017/07/03/wolverhampton-metro-extension-to-be-free-of-overhead-lines/
OK I must have imagined it!
The photo of the terminus suggests that the work has taken so long to complete that vegetation has grown around the site. This extension like every other ridiculous Midland Metro extension only seems to exist in order to give the building workers long-term employment. I looked at Bull Street yesterday. Another six months gone by and still no track has been laid. The need to demolish a building to enable the Eastside extension to proceed is another daft idea. It would have been much better routed along High Street and Carrs Lane. Then it would pass close to Moor Street station.
This comment is so right, but remember while they are demolishing this building and building the Eastside extension in Digbeth they don’t have an exact route on how to get to Curzon Street saying things like – we are awaiting final plans with HS2 – which means a gap between Bull Street and Curzon Street for “a long time”
To be fair to the Alliance their ability to construct the final part of the Wolverhampton Station line has been severely hampered by progress, or lack of progress, on the Network Rail station project.