{"id":51056,"date":"2023-09-19T22:00:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T21:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=51056"},"modified":"2023-09-19T21:45:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T20:45:29","slug":"in-pictures-wolverhampton-railway-station-extension-opens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=51056","title":{"rendered":"In Pictures: Wolverhampton Railway Station extension opens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Its taken its time but the West Midlands Metro is now running public services to Wolverhampton Railway Station following the opening of the much delayed extension on Sunday 17th <\/sup>September \u2013 with things finally happening as planned on the day with no major issues causing problems!<\/p>\n

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The short extension \u2013 its less than half a mile long (0.43 miles to be precise of 0.7km if you prefer) \u2013 leaves the original West Midlands Metro line just before the St George\u2019s terminus (which is currently closed whilst more works take place) and then travels along Piper\u2019s Row and Railway Drive before terminating just beyond the main entrance to Wolverhampton Railway Station. As well as the stop at the Railway Station there is also one on Piper\u2019s Row adjacent to Wolverhampton Bus Station. There are overhead wires until the intermediate stop with the rest being without wires.<\/p>\n

It had been the original plan that services to Wolverhampton Railway Station would commence in 2020 but many things have got in the way which have seen delays in its completion. These have included the pandemic, war in Ukraine and supply chain problems to name but three. Every time it seemed that we were getting closer to it opening then something seemed to set it back but it will not be set back any more as trams are now running seven days a week onto the extension.<\/p>\n

For now all services will only go to the Railway Station but it is planned that later this autumn services will alternate between Wolverhampton Railway Station and Wolverhampton St George\u2019s. Each terminus will be served every 15 minutes meaning that the bulk of the system will see a much improved frequency of every 7-8 minutes. But for now the timetable introduced from 17th<\/sup> September sees trams every 10 minutes Monday-Saturday and every 15 minutes on a Sunday (early morning and late evening sees lower frequencies). The end to end journey time is 57 minutes.<\/p>\n

Services started on Sunday 17th<\/sup> September with Urbos3 31<\/strong> doing the honours of the very first public working. 31<\/strong> is of course named Cyrille Regis MBE who once played football for Wolverhampton Wanderers, as one of contributors notes it would have been good if this was a deliberate act! Other trams out on the first day included 30<\/strong>, 37<\/strong>, 43<\/strong>, 44<\/strong>, 45<\/strong>, 51<\/strong> and 53<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Some 30 minutes before the first tram would depart we see the platform information screens telling us that trams are running to \u201cWolv\u2019hampton Train\u201d. Unfortunately the full length of the destination can\u2019t be shown because its too long \u2013 when St George\u2019s is open again it will be interesting to see how they show the difference between the two!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Before public services began, 40 was sent onto the extension as a final test run. (Photographs x2 by Andy Walters, 17th September 2023)<\/p><\/div>\n

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31 comes off the \u201cmain line\u201d at Wolverhampton and crosses the road before entering Piper\u2019s Row with the first service down to the Railway Station. (Photograph by Anthony Nicholls, 17th September 2023)<\/p><\/div>\n

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The crew of the first tram pose alongside having arrived at Wolverhampton Railway Station. (Photograph by Michael Morton, 17th September 2023)<\/p><\/div>\n

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30 \u2013 which retains white panels from where its body panels repairs took place \u2013 comes round the entrance to Wolverhampton Railway Station on the final approach to the terminus.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The new map at Wolverhampton Railway Station showing the newly opened stops. (Photographs x2 by Dan Noon, 17th September 2023)<\/p><\/div>\n

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53 is seen here approaching the station.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Passengers wait at Piper\u2019s Row for 37 to arrive with a service heading back to Edgbaston Village. (Photographs x2 by Ken Jones, 17th September 2023)<\/p><\/div>\n