What Birmingham transport boss Cllr Wassem Zaffar says about the trams being suspended

Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment Cllr Wassem Zaffar has said people in the region are “fed up with excuses” after after all tram services in the West Midlands were suspended for a third time in nine months.

All Metro services have been halted since Sunday (March 20) until further notice due to cracks on some of the older trams.

As a result,Transport for West Midlands have decided to suspend all services as a precautionary measure.

All tram services in the region were suspended last June, and then again in November after cracks were discovered for a second time.

Regular services returned at the end of January, but have now been suspended once again.

“You have broken promises”

In a letter issued to West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, Cllr Zaffar said: “The last time this happened, in November, I was given assurances that this would be resolved once and for all. When the trams went back into service last month, I was hopeful that the issue had been dealt with, and that the people of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands could look forward to a reliable service in the future.

“Once again you have broken your promises and the trams have ground to a halt. The people of our region are fed up with excuses and demand a working metro service.”

Cllr Zaffar also called for certainty that public transport is going to be fully operational in the region with the Commonwealth Games coming up this summer.

What has the mayor said?

In a video posted on his Twitter account, Mr Street apologised to passengers, and said he is “holding those who are responsible to account.”

He said: “Now on Saturday, we were told of a new safety concern coming from the manufacturers CAF.

“It was different to what we had before Christmas. It’s about cracking in the bodies, particularly around the doors.

“Obviously when you get an instruction like that, all the trams have to come out immediately, safety first and we’re now going through examining each one of them.

“Now until we know the extent of the problem, and indeed what is going to need to be done to deal with this repair, we cannot say exactly when the service will come back.

“We’re also looking at when we can bring back newer trams that have been delivered in advance of the extensions, to bring them into service as quickly as possible.

“So maybe that can be a swift solution as well. I know this is deeply frustrating for passengers who are relying on it, I’m sorry I know it’s an unacceptable position.

“I’m ultimately responsible, but I am holding those who are responsible for this to account.

“This morning, I’ve spoken directly to the CEO of the manufacturer to impress upon for the need for reliable service, and to get this repair done once and for all to be sure we’ve got a safe that everyone can rely on.”

Mr Street also told the BBC he expect the metro services to resume in weeks.

He said: “It’s weeks if the repairs are as I expect”.

He added: “My full expectation at the moment is that we will be resuming the service, running the extensions and having a full service for the Commonwealth Games.”

He also told the BBC that a new fleet of trams would also be brought into use quickly to help minimise the period without a service.

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