West Midlands Metro: first tram tests out new Broad Street route

A tram travelled along Broad Street for the first time on Wednesday (20 April) night as testing of the second phase of the Birmingham Westside Metro extension got underway.

The 3G tram made its way from the current Library terminus to the end of the new line at Edgbaston Village, marking the start of testing on the newly laid track.

Further trials will now see trams running across the new route over the coming weeks in preparation for the launch of passenger services in June.

When the route opens in June, three new tram stops will connect passengers to the area’s ‘Golden Mile’.

Meanwhile, all metro services in the region remain suspended after cracks appeared on some of the older trams in March.

The services are expected to resume by the end of May, but it may initially only be the service between Bull street and Wolverhampton.

Transport for West Midlands say it is likely the metro services will return in phases.

What’s been said about the new Broad Street extension route?

Cristian Bostan, Head of Integration at MMA, said he is ‘delighted’ that the team has reached this ‘essential phase’ of the project.

He said: “Testing and commissioning is an important phase which involves running out of service trams at low speeds along the newly installed track, allowing engineers to complete a series of tests in a working environment.”

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