Construction of the West Midlands Metro line to Dudley is continuing with the aim being to start passenger services by the end of 2025, but there is a slight issue which was discovered late last year with one section of line as it appears the track may not be at the right level close to Dudley Castle tramstop. A bill of at least £100,000 is now to be met by Dudley Council and Transport for West Midlands to rectify the problem.
Its not quite known how this problem happened (an investigation is underway to discover who may be to blame) but according to reports it was found last year that when the tracks were laid crossing Zoological Drive in Dudley the fact there was a temporary road surface wasn’t taken into consideration. The road the tramway will be crossing is an access road to the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre but the error is going to lead to a significant bill to put right.
As things stand at the moment all looks OK, but its when the temporary surface is removed that the problems will be seen. That will mean that the road surface is at the wrong level and trams will not be able to travel along the tracks at this point.
Cllr Paul Bradley, Deputy Leader at Dudley Council, said: “We are working with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) on the best solution which will meet the requirements of the highway, allow the trams to operate and also enable the continued operation of the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre while any works are undertaken.
“Part of this work has been exploring routes to secure funding for any required changes. We are looking at the possibility of using grant funding to cover the work required or utilising project efficiencies to make a contribution towards the works from existing budgets.
“We are also reviewing the construction drawings to understand how the issue has arisen.”
Estimate for the rectification work range from £100,000 to £350,000.
So they need to jack up the tracks by a few mm on a section just lomg enough to cross a road. How does that cost around a quarter of a million quid? And the fact the other party is the Light Rail Innovation Centre… Well, you couldn’t make it up could you? It’s like they’ve set Laurel & Hardy on as transport planners!