Commuters give thumbs up to new Metro trams
COMMUTERS and transport enthusiasts have been given their first glimpse of the new trams for the Midland Metro.
The Urbos 3 tram was on display on the Metro platform at Snow Hill station in Birmingham and according to transport authority Centro, secured a resounding thumbs-up from the public.
Paul Griffiths, Metro Programme Director for Centro said: “They praised it for its roominess, extra capacity and liked touches such as green seats indicating priority seating.
“The one constant question was ‘When are they coming into service?’, and we were happy to tell them that it will be in the summer.”
The new tram is one of a £40m fleet that will eventually be 21-strong.
The Urbos 3 vehicle is made by CAF of Spain and is a third bigger than the Metro’s existing trams, carrying around 210 passengers compared to 156 on the current T69 model
This, together with a frequency of 10 trams an hour, will increase overall capacity on the line by 40%, easing the overcrowding that sometimes occurs during peak times.
The new trams are still undergoing testing, to be followed by a period of driver training, before entering service on the line between Snow Hill and Wolverhampton
They will eventually be deployed on the Metro extension from Snow Hill to New Street now being constructed through Birmingham city centre which, when completed in 2015, will see trams return to the city’s streets for the first time in more than 60 years.
The £128m extension project is jointly managed by Centro, the Black Country councils and Birmingham City Council. It is expected to create more than 1,300 new jobs and boost the regional economy by more than £50m a year once operational.
It is also expected to increase the number of passengers using the Metro each year from five to eight million.
Work is progressing on laying the on-street tracks for the extension which will see trams run from Snow Hill through Bull Street, Corporation Street and Stephenson Street, terminating outside New Street station, where the £600m rebuild is also due for completion next year.
