Local authorities to operate West Midlands trams

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) will run the Midland Metro trams from October 2018, when the current National Expressoperated concession ends.

TfWM is the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). It said this move will enable it to put profits into expanding the network.

National Express staff will transfer to a new subsidiary company, Midland Metro Ltd, which will be wholly owned by WMCA.

The expanded network is expected to enable passenger numbers to rise from 6.5 million to 30 million in the next decade. WMCA expects this to generate £50 million in profits over the first 11 years.

“Metro is a fundamental part of our plans not only for transport but for the West Midlands economy as a whole,” said WMCA Lead for Transport Roger Lawrence.

“It is a proven catalyst for economic growth and is critical to best connect and feed into HS2 so we can reap the maximum economic benefits possible from the high-speed rail line.”

TfWM Managing Director Laura Shoaf said: “If we didn’t do this, and instead outsourced operations to a private company at a time of such major expansion, then it would be extremely difficult to accurately define the scope of services required from the operator.

“That would lead to continuous and expensive commercial negotiations to agree the price for the delivery of those network changes.”

National Express Midlands Metro General Manager Colin Saward added: “It’s disappointing we won’t get the chance to run the tram service when our current contract is up next year. But we appreciate TfWM’s reasons for taking services back in house when the network is about to change so much.

“We will continue to work closely with TfWM to ensure a safe handover.”