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Midland Metro
*** Shopping-Tip: Midland Metro
{{mapit}}
Image:Midland Metro tram.jpg thumb|250px|A Midland Metro tram
The '''Midland Metro''' is a
light-rail tram system in the
West Midlands (county) West Midlands of
England. It runs between the cities of
Birmingham and
Wolverhampton via
West Bromwich and
Wednesbury.
The system is owned and promoted by the public transport body
West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive Centro, but operated by a private consortium called
Travel Midland Metro.
Midland Metro carries about five million passengers annually, fewer than expected.
Routes
{{MetaSidebar||#eeffff|right|Midland Metro Line 1|Principal stations (* connection with
National Rail)
Birmingham Snow Hill station Birmingham Snow Hill*
St Paul's tram stop St Paul's
Jewellery Quarter station Jewellery Quarter*
Soho Benson Road tram stop Soho, Benson Road
Winson Green Outer Circle tram stop Winson Green, Outer Circle
Handsworth Booth Street tram stop Handsworth, Booth Street
The Hawthorns station The Hawthorns*
Kenrick Park tram stop Kenrick Park
Trinity Way tram stop Trinity Way
West Bromwich Central tram stop West Bromwich Central
Lodge Road West Bromwich Town Hall tram stop Lodge Road, West Bromwich Town Hall
Dartmouth Street tram stop Dartmouth Street
Dudley Street Guns Village tram stop Dudley Street, Guns Village
Black Lake tram stop Black Lake
Wednesbury Great Western Street tram stop Wednesbury, Great Western Street
Wednesbury Parkway tram stop Wednesbury Parkway
Bradley Lane tram stop Bradley Lane
Loxdale tram stop Loxdale
Bilston Central tram stop Bilston Central
The Crescent tram stop The Crescent
Priestfield tram stop Priestfield
The Royal tram stop The Royal
Wolverhampton St Georges tram stop Wolverhampton St Georges
}}
Line One, the 20.2-km (12.5-mile) Birmingham to Wolverhampton route, was opened in
1999, and runs mostly along the trackbed of the former
Great Western Railway line between the two cities, which was disused for many years.
At the southern end, the present terminus is
Birmingham Snow Hill station in
Birmingham city centre. At the northern end, trams move off the former railway trackbed to run along streets to a terminus at
Wolverhampton St Georges tram station St Georges in
Wolverhampton city centre.
Places served by Line 1 are listed below.
*
Birmingham Birmingham Snow Hill station Snow Hill
*
St Pauls Square, Birmingham St Pauls
*
Jewellery Quarter
*
Soho, Birmingham Soho
*
Winson Green
*
Handsworth, West Midlands Handsworth
*
The Hawthorns
*
Kenrick Park
*
West Bromwich
*
Wednesbury
**The main depot is located here
*
Loxdale
*
Bilston
*
Priestfield
*
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton St Georges tram stop St Georges
Vehicles and services
The Metro operates a fleet of 16 Type T-69 articulated two-car trams, which were built by
Ansaldo in
Italy. Vehicles are numbered 01-16 and have a top speed of 70 km/h (43.5 mph). Each tram has 56 seats and can carry 208 passengers, and also has wheelchair access. T-69s have three entrances on each side. They first entered service in
1999.
Throughout most of the day services run at eight-minute intervals, although less frequently at weekends.
According to [http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk British Trams Online] the T-69s are to be replaced with a fleet of 40 new vehicles from an as yet unknown supplier. The T-69s have had reliability problems since introduction and with each vehicle being different to all others maintenance is very difficult.
Image:Midland Metro2.jpg thumb|250px|A tram on the off street section
Future extensions
Although fewer people use the trams than expected, expansion to the system is planned, including in the near future, an on-street extension through
Birmingham city centre running close to
Birmingham New Street Station then to
Five Ways, Birmingham Five Ways and
Edgbaston (one of the critisms of the current system is that it does not serve directly the shopping area of Birmingham), and a branch from Wednesbury to the
Merry Hill Shopping Centre at
Brierley Hill. An order authorising the city centre extension was made in July 2005. [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20051794.htm]
There had been talk of running the tram line through Birmingham city centre in tunnels, rather than through the streets. However the council axed this option in October 2005.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/west_midlands/4348612.stm]
Further into the future, Phase Two extensions are proposed to link Birmingham city centre to
Birmingham International Airport (UK) Birmingham International Airport. Another line is planned to connect Wolverhampton to
Dudley,
Wednesfield,
Willenhall (connecting with Line One), and
Walsall.
The section of the Midland Metro between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill (via Dudley) is expected to be opened in 2008, while the line heading eastwards from Birmingham may open in 2010.
See also
*
Transport in Birmingham
External links
-
Travel Midland Metro - Homepage
-
Centro Midland Metro pages - includes details of future extensions
-
Light Rail Transit Association - useful information
-
topic:transport - Critical website
-
More information and pictures at thetrams.co.uk
-
Collection of Google Earth locations of Midland Metro stations (Requires [http://earth.google.com Google Earth software]) from the Google Earth Community forum.
{{Britishmetros}}
Category:Electric railways
Category:Light rail
Category:Tram transport in the United Kingdom
Category:Transport in Birmingham, England
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