West Midland Metro testing begins on Edgbaston Village extension...
IN THE early hours of April 4, a West Midlands Metro tram became the first vehicle to travel along the extension from Library in Birmingham to Edgbaston Village, ahead of the route opening to passenger services in the summer.
The first trip, carried out by CAF Urbos 100 tram 45, marked the start of testing and commissioning of the new Westside extension, which runs along Broad Street in Birmingham and will add three new tramstops to the WMM network.
Peter Cushing, director of the Midland Metro Alliance (MMA), which has built the extension on behalf of Transport for West Midlands, said: “It is fantastic that the first tram has now travelled along Broad Street as testing of the new route begins. This marks a significant milestone in the project and shows just how close we are to opening for passenger services. “It is exciting to think that we will soon see passengers waiting at the new tram stops that we have recently built. The first tram test has proved a success and I would like to thank the team who have worked incredibly hard to reach this important phase in the project.”
A spokesman for MMA told Railways Illustrated that testing will be carried out overnight for a few weeks during April, before daytime testing and commissioning begins ahead of driver training and shadow running prior to opening.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street announced in March that the new extension would be opened in June, although services on the tramway were suspended shortly afterwards due to construction and it is unknown if the service suspension will have any effect on the extension opening schedule.