I took the tram home from Wolverhampton to Birmingham - now I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner
I enjoyed a tram ride from Wolverhampton to Birmingham, and I’m no longer a hater.
As a Brummie, I never understood the appeal of taking the tram.
Afterall - what was the point - when there’s always a train, a bus or even car to travel between Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
I remember the years of tram works in Birmingham, before the tram services eventually began rolling out in phases from 2015 onwards.
After a long 62 year absence.
The tram works were pretty annoying from memory.
As the tram services began expanding - I thought, I’m never going to be using this service.
Well, fast forward to June 2026, and I found myself sat on a tram service between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, wondering why I hadn’t used this service before.
Typically, I’d head straight from work to Wolverhampton railway station. However on this occasion I was influenced by the reams of people waiting at the Pipers Row tram stop.
I hopped on, and before I knew it I found myself on an afternoon tram service.
I quickly had the afterthought - how do I pay?
Well, that was quickly answered when a conductor approached me and asked me where I was going.
There was something old-school about paying face-to-face, usually when using the train you’re urged to pre-book a ticket, and if you don’t you can incur a penalty fine.
With supermarkets relying on self-service checkouts, I couldn’t help but appreciate the friendly tram conductor who was able to assist me on my first tram travel. It was nice to actually have human contact.
I’ve found out since that tram conductors will soon be completely replaced by the payment machines at each tram stop - but even then I can see it is easy enough to book on the Midlands Metro app.
There was an ease to taking the tram that I hadn’t even considered before. You can kind of just sit back and relax.
I appreciated how you can quickly wade through differing Black Country such as Bilston, Wednesbury and The Hawthorns.
Another thing that I appreciated was that it was rather speedy, it felt like we got through quickly and there weren’t any delays to the service.
Pricing was another positive.
Typically, I usually pay, £6.60 for a single train ticket to Wolverhampton each day. The benefits of the tram was that it cost £4.60 between zone four and two.
Slightly higher than a adult single bus ticket, at £3.
Would I take the tram again?
Yes! I would, especially on a day where you want to sit back and relax.
Though the only downside was that I was a bit far from where I needed to get to in Birmingham, and the bus services were abysmal on the day I travelled.
However what ensued was a lovely walk home.
There’s a joy in taking the tram that I hadn’t considered before and will be doing it again.