West Midlands Metro tram services finally return after 79-day stoppage
SERVICES ON the West Midlands Metro tram route were reintroduced on a reduced basis on June 9, having been stopped since cracks were discovered in the operator’s fleet of CAF Urbos 3 trams.
Services were withdrawn midway through the day on March 19, when the fleet was brought back to WMM’S depot in Wednesbury for ‘operational reasons’, with operator Midland Metro Ltd later confirming that services would not restart until further notice due to cracks discovered in the body panels of the Urbos 3 trams (Railways Illustrated, issue 231), which required replacement by the manufacturer.
A total of 21 Urbos 3 trams were supplied by CAF for use on WMM, entering traffic between 2014 and 2017. However, over the past year the fleet has been stood down on three separate occasions due to cracks discovered in the vehicles. The first stoppage last June saw services cancelled across the network for four days.
The fleet was stopped again in November, although this time it was five weeks before it was returned to use. This latest cessation has been the longest, with no services operating for a total of 79 days.
MML previously stated that services would be reinstated before the end of May, but shortly beforehand confirmed that this would not be possible, with trams set to return in the week commencing June 5.
A statement published on the WMM website on June 7 read: “Following the successful testing of the first trams to undergo body panel replacements, we can confirm that tram services will resume between Wolverhampton St George’s and Birmingham Bull Street.
“The number of repaired trams, along with the new trams that have successfully completed their testing and commissioning, means we are able to deliver a consistent service. Trams will initially run every 12 to 15 minutes throughout the day.
“We continue to work closely with the manufacturer to accelerate the repair programme. As more trams become available, we will review the service we are able to provide.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience that our customers have experienced during this time and thank them for their continued patience as we return a robust service across the entire network.”
To help get the Urbos 3 trams back into service, it is understood that some of the trams are being sent to Wolverton for repairs by CAF.
Tram 28 was the first of the fleet to be removed for off-site repairs, leaving Wednesbury Depot on May 27. Eight new CAF Urbos 100 trams, numbered 38 to 45, have been delivered to Wednesbury over the last 15 months to enhance the fleet in preparation for extensions being built from Birmingham Library to Edgbaston and a short spur line in Wolverhampton to link the tramway to the railway station in the city.
These trams are now being used for the reinstated services, with repaired Urbos 3s also being used.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street announced in March – before services were suspended – that the new extension to Edgbaston would open during June.
However, despite no further updates on the opening of the extensions, it now seems unlikely that this will happen until more trams are back in service following repairs.
The operator has also stated that it is confident that sufficient trams will be available to operate a good service across the network for the duration of the Commonwealth Games, which are taking place in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8 this year.