… But wait continues for services to restart on the existing WMM route

SERVICES ON West Midland Metro have not yet resumed following the discovery of further cracks in its CAF Urbos 3 tram fleet, which led to the suspension of passenger services on March 19 (Railways Illustrated, issue 231).

A press release posted on the West Midlands Metro website on April 8 stated: “Works to restore the West Midlands Metro services have been progressing and we now expect to be in a position to resume passenger services by the end of May 2022. “Alongside the manufacturer, CAF, we have now completed a detailed assessment of the tram fleet and begun a schedule of works to replace cracked body panels that will enable trams to return to service as quickly as possible.

“Midland Metro Limited has required the manufacturer to replace the panels rather than repair the existing ones to ensure the future reliability and robustness of the service.

“While works are well underway at the Wednesbury depot, further steps are being taken to accelerate the repair programme, including securing additional off-site workshop facilities. Further details of where trams may be sent for repairs will be confirmed in due course. In the meantime, we have also brought in additional engineers from across the UK and overseas who have the necessary skills to carry out these specialist panel replacements. “This week has also seen another new tram being cleared for operational service after successfully completing a thorough testing and commissioning programme as we strive to rebuild fleet availability. “Our new tram fleet continues to be tested and will be running through the network to ensure that they are ready for when the service recommences. “Once again, we would like to apologise for the ongoing inconvenience and share the frustration of our customers at this suspension in services.”

Services on West Midlands Metro have now been stopped on three separate occasions during the past year, all related to safety concerns surrounding cracks on the Urbos 3 trams.

In June 2021 the trams were stood down for three days while safety checks were made, before the fleet was stopped again in November for five weeks while repairs were carried out to cracks in the tram bodies.

The latest suspension is due to panel cracking around the tram doors that is understood to be separate to the previous issues.