Category Archives: West Midlands Metro

In Pictures: West Midlands Metro 25 gets some heart

With the Spring Bank Holiday weekend set to see Birmingham Pride taking place, West Midlands Metro – and public transport in general – are supporting the event with 25 having received some rainbow hearts on selected windows. Currently this is … Continue reading

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In Pictures: Works continues on Birmingham Westside extension

The next part of the West Midlands Metro system which will open will be phase one of the Birmingham Westside extension which will travel from the current Grand Central terminus to Centenary Square via Victoria Square. New stops will be … Continue reading

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Award wins for Midland Metro Alliance

Its another week and another awards ceremony with the Midland Metro Alliance celebrating a double win at the 2019 West Midlands Celebrating Construction Awards. The wins came in the Integration and Collaborative Working and the People Development categories at the … Continue reading

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In Pictures: First track laid on Pinfold Street

With trams due to start running on the first part of the Birmingham Westside extension by the end of this year it is no surprise to see that good progress is now being made on track laying. Following on from … Continue reading

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In Pictures: 23 returns to service with batteries fitted

There are now nine West Midlands Metro Urbos 3 trams available for passenger service with batteries fitted with the latest, 23, being used in revenue earning service on Friday 12th April – although the tram was then noted out of … Continue reading

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Next stage of Metro extension works to start in June

As work on the Birmingham Westside extension of the West Midlands Metro continues at a pace it has been confirmed that the Five Ways underpass will be closed to all traffic from Monday 3rd June until 2021 – the year … Continue reading

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In Pictures: Metro 34 back out on test

Having not been seen in service since 11th December 2018, West Midlands Metro 34 is on the comeback trail having recently seen workshop attention and started testing on the mainline. With the hoped for return to service of the tram … Continue reading

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Satisfaction remains high on (some) English tramways

The latest Transport Focus Tram Passenger Survey has shown that passengers continue to be satisfied on four different English tramways – although for West Midlands Metro there has been a fall in satisfaction between 2017 and 2018. The Blackpool Tramway … Continue reading

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Chance to join new Metro Matters forum

Do you travel regularly on the West Midlands Metro? Well if you do now is the chance to have your say on the future of the service with a new “Metro Matters” forum being created to provide tram users with … Continue reading

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Another Metro tram to be named

It has been announced that another Urbos 3 is to be named although it is unlikely to elicit as much excitement with the public as the last one! Roger Lawrence, current leader of Wolverhampton City Council and portfolio holder for … Continue reading

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Power failure causes more problems for West Midlands Metro

Coming just a couple of weeks since damage to the overhead wires caused major disruption to West Midlands Metro services, there has been further problems with a power failure meaning no trams were able to run into Birmingham City Centre … Continue reading

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Metro Brierley Hill extension gets funding green light

The West Midlands Metro is set to continue its major expansion in the forthcoming years following the news that the West Midlands Combined Authority have given the final go-ahead for the cash to be made available for the line to … Continue reading

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Two more battery trams for West Midlands Metro

The next two West Midlands Metro trams to have batteries installed are seeing excellent progress in the fitting of the equipment although at the time of writing neither have been fully completed. The two trams are 23 and 19, which … Continue reading

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In Pictures: Tree cutting on West Midlands Metro

Over the years that West Midlands Metro has been operating the trees alongside the tramway have become more and more overgrown, adding to problems with leaf fall on the tracks as well as potentially causing overhead problems with overhanging branches. … Continue reading

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New support package announced for businesses affected by Metro extension

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has agreed a support package for businesses affected by the construction of West Midlands Metro extensions. The initiative will be specifically targeted towards businesses who have frontages directly affected by construction.

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This week on British Trams Online

This week we feature photos of battery trams now operating in West Midlands Metro:

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Canal tunnel reopened as Birmingham Westside works continue

Work on the West Midlands Metro Birmingham Westside extension are continuing at a pace with the Broad Street Canal Tunnel reopening on Thursday 14th March – two days ahead of schedule. This is all part of the second phase of … Continue reading

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More overhead problems in the West Midlands

Coming hot on the heels of the previous disruption, Sunday 10th March saw further delays for passengers on the West Midlands Metro with overhead problems seen between Priestfield and Wednesbury Parkway causing shuttle services to operate until repairs could be … Continue reading

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More than 7 million passengers carried on Metro in 2018

New figures reported in the Wolverhampton Express and Star have shown that the West Midlands Metro system has never been so popular with 7.3 million passenger journeys recorded during 2018 – an increase of one million from 2017. And with … Continue reading

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More overhead woes on West Midlands Metro

Its been a while since we last saw major disruption to West Midlands Metro services due to overhead damage but that was exactly the situation seen for two days this week with no trams able to run between Soho Benson … Continue reading

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