In an unexpected development another of West Midlands Metro’s Urbos3 trams has left Wednesbury Depot. 27 – which is one of the trams which hasn’t returned to service since the line reopened in June – had been noted outside the depot during the week before it was loaded and left on Friday 9th December.
The destination of 27 isn’t known but presumably it hasn’t gone to the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre at Dudley as it is thought the limit of capacity there is for two trams – with 17 and 26 having gone there in October. That leaves Wolverton Works as the most likely destination; 28 had previously gone there for repairs back in the summer.
Aside from the departure of 27 there hasn’t been a huge amount to report on the tram front recently. No more trams seem to have entered service whilst the addition of more blue vinyls to those which have been repaired hasn’t seen any more join the ranks either. At least 28 and 36 have been continuing to operate with white panels still evident.
Services on the network have continued to be delayed over the past week. There seem to be a number of speed restrictions at various points on the line, which presumably will require some maintenance work before these can be cleared. 37 also failed whilst in service on Thursday 8th December which led to further delays and saw the tram stationary for around half an hour before it was returned to depot.
28 is seen here at The Crescent with its white panels still in evidence. (Photograph by Andy Walters, 8th December 2022)