West Midlands tram services suspended ‘until further notice’

Tram services in the West Midlands have been suspended again due to cracks on the vehicles.

The network, which runs between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, was first suspended due to cracks in June, but services were partially reinstated after repairs.

West Midlands Metro (WMM) said permanent repairs were needed and it would take its fleet of 21 trams out of service.

It said: “Earlier this year West Midlands Metro discovered cracks on our trams, which resulted in a temporary interruption to services for inspections and repairs.

“Temporary repairs were carried out to return our fleet to service as soon as possible but inspections have found that more extensive and permanent repairs are now required. To ensure the future safety of our customers and colleagues, we have made the decision to suspend all services from 13 November 2021 to carry out these repairs.”

WMM said it is continuing to work alongside the tram manufacturer to understand the issues and carry out the repairs as quickly as possible.

The statement added: “At this time we are unable to confirm when services will resume but we expect it will take at least four weeks.

“We have taken this difficult decision to ensure services can continue to run safely and reliably in the future.

“We apologise sincerely for the inconvenience this will cause and we are working with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to ensure measures are in place so that our customers are still able to travel safely and reliably around the region on public transport.”