Metro trams to roll again after cracks
WEST Midlands Metro has revealed trams will finally be up and running again this month. Bosses say they are ‘very confident’ that a full service will be in operation ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Services were axed in March as a safety precaution after cracked body panels were discovered. It was the third time in just nine months services have faced such disruption.
It was thought that the service would be resumed at the end of May but this has now been delayed due to ‘further snagging work required before the trams meet the quality standards required for acceptance into service’.
Limited services are now expected to resume this Sunday.
“We can confirm that West Midlands Metro services will resume in the week beginning Sunday, June 5, with trams running between Wolverhampton St George’s and Birmingham Bull Street,” said spokesman for West Midlands Metro. “This return to service has been enabled by the replacement of tram body panels progressing to schedule. We are now looking to accelerate repairs to get more trams back out on our network as quickly and safely as possible to restore a full service.
“We are working with CAF as the manufacturer to recruit more engineers to carry out the specialist repair work as well as moving trams off-site to a third-party facility, with the first of these having left the Wednesbury depot this week.
“With this acceleration we remain very confident that a full service will be in operation in good time ahead of this summer’s Commonwealth Games.”
The spokesman issued an apology to passengers as part of the statement: “We, of course, share passengers’ frustrations that the original timescale provided by CAF to restore a service next week has not been met.
“Despite assurances that enough trams would be available, they have now informed us that this is now not possible until the following week due to further snagging work required before the trams meet the quality standards required for acceptance into service.
“We would once again like to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience the suspension of service has caused. Further updates will be issued in due course.”
But pub chain JD Wetherspoon condemned the “frustrating” delays as “unacceptable”.
It comes after the entrance to its biggest pub in the city was surrounded by another set of roadworks for the second time in less than a year.
With its two Broad Street bars yet to see a Metro tram after five years of work to build the £149 million Westside extension, JD Wetherspoon has called for more transparency about what is going on across the network.
Meanwhile, work to build the 1.2 mile Westside extension from Grand Central to 54 Hagley Road, which began in June 2017, has still not been finished.
Phase one between Stephenson Street and Centenary Square went into public service in December 2019. Phase two from Centenary Square up to 54 Hagley Road was meant to go into service before Christmas.
A Wetherspoon spokesman said: “The roadworks outside the Square Peg have been extremely frustrating for many months now, causing ongoing disruption for our staff and customers. It has been extremely disappointing that there has been no communication or consultation at all with any of the local businesses affected.
“Likewise the delay and disruptions to tram services for both the Square Peg and the Soloman Cutler and Figure of Eight on Broad Street has been unacceptable.”
Asked why the Hagley Road terminus was still not finished five months after the line was due to open, a Midland Metro Alliance spokesman said: “We are currently completing finishing works in this section in preparation for handing the line over to West Midlands Metro in coming weeks. Preparatory works are also taking place for future transport expansion along Hagley Road.”