West Midlands Metro fleet is grounded for the second time in six months
the West Midlands Metro (WMM) route between Birmingham and Wolverhampton were suspended in mid-november for a period expected to be “at least four weeks” to address crack repairs required to the 21-strong CAF built Urbos 3 tram fleet – the second time in less than six months that services have been suspended on the tramway. A statement released by WMM operator Midland Metro Ltd on November 12 said: “Earlier this year West Midlands Metro discovered cracks on our trams, which resulted in a temporary interruptiontoservicesforinspectionsandrepairs. “Temporary repairs were carried out to return our fleet to service as soon as possible, but inspections have found that more extensive and permanent repairs are now required.
“To ensure the future safety of our customers and colleagues, we have made the decision to suspend all services from November 13.
“We are continuing to work alongside the tram manufacturer to understand the issues and carry out the repairs as quickly as possible.
“At this time we are unable to confirm when services will resume, but we expect it will take at least four weeks. “We have taken this difficult decision to ensure services can continue to run safely and reliably in the future.”
The temporary closure of the line has seen passengers advised to use bus and rail services. Transport for West Midlands is understood to be looking at enhancing the provision of bus services while the trams are out of use.
Commenting on a social media post, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “This is incredibly disappointing and frustrating for customers – but safety must come first.
“It is now critical that Midland Metro Ltd get the repairs done and restore a safe service as soon as possible.
“I am seeking urgent answers from them and the manufacturer as to what has gone so wrong.”
The move follows an announcement that buses were to replace trams on one route of Sydney’s light rail system in Australia for a period of up to 18 months due to their fleet, also from CAF’S Urbos 3 design, requiring repairs to address structural cracking.
The WMM Urbos 3 fleet was purchased by Transport for the West Midlands to replace the earlier fleet of 16 Ansaldo-breda T69 trams that had been built by in 1998, the last of which was withdrawn in August 2015. WMM is currently undergoing construction of several extensions in a major expansion of the tramway into a network of lines. A further 21 trams have been ordered from CAF to serve these extensions, although these are from the Urbos 100 design and it is believed that the bodyshells are constructed from different materials. The first eight of the new trams, numbered 38-45, have already been delivered to the WMM Depot at Wednesbury, but none have yet been approved for passenger service.