In mid-January 2025 we reported that two West Midlands Metro trams had departed from Wednesbury Depot and as all recent moves had been to Worksop we made an assumption that’s where 34 and 36 had ended up (especially as they had both been there before). But that was a wrong assumption as the two trams have actually gone to the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley where they seem to be undergoing repairs.
You will no doubt recall that after the fleet of Urbos3 trams was grounded with bodyside cracks a programme of repairs was initiated and this included 11 which were treated at Dudley. 34 and 36 were not two of those and any repair work they have previously had would have been done internally at Wednesbury.
Its not known whether these latest repairs are related to the bodyside cracks – 34 had been running in service not long before its move and 36 is known to have collided with a bus in Birmingham – but they are visible from outside the Innovation Centre where it can clearly be seen that they are being worked on.
For the record 34 left Wednesbury on 17th January 2025 with 36 having departed two days earlier on 15th January 2025.
A view from outside the workshop at the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre with 34 clearly the tram closest to the window. (Photograph by Andy Walters)
Those trams must be the worst buy since Blackpool got the Coronations and Sheffield got the Roberts Cars! Someone from Sheffield Supoertram said to me many years ago, “trams are a great investment because their lifespan is much longer than that of a bus”. Well, not if they’ve been built by ‘Naff’ they’re not!