And then there were none. No CAF trams at the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley that is. For the first time since October 2022 when 17 became the first of the class to head that way for repairs the facility is devoid of Urbos3s after 32 was transported back to Wednesbury Depot on Thursday 15th February 2024.
32 had originally headed off to Dudley back in around August 2023 and has been undergoing the repair work since. It had seen long-term stablemate 35 alongside it up until the start of this month (2nd February 2024) when it also made the return but less than two weeks later and it too was on the way back to Wednesbury Depot.
This will presumably be an end to trams going to Dudley for repairs. In total 11 of the trams have been there (17, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33 and 35) whilst one further example (28) went to Wolverton Works for repair work. 17 was the first to go to Dudley on 25th October 2022 and 32 has now returned on 15th Ferbruary 2023 – that’s a total of 478 days or one year, three months and 21 days!
Whilst the last Urbos3 has left Dudley it doesn’t mean the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre is without a tram of course. Midland Metro T69 16 was moved in late 2023 to the facility and it is to be used as a test tram in due course once it has received some attention.
32 on its way back to Wednesbury Depot. (Photograph by Anthony Nicholls, 15th February 2024)
Have all the faulty trams now been repaired?