The West Midlands Metro is a passenger light rail line in the West Midlands conurbation in England, which opened in 1999. Its rolling stock consists of 21 Urbos 3 trams which came into service in 2014/15, replacing the older T-69 trams which had operated the line since 1999.
Video West Midlands Metro rolling stock
Urbos 3
A new fleet of 21 CAF Urbos 3 trams began to enter service in September 2014, they replaced the old T-69 fleet in 2015. In February 2012 Centro named CAF the preferred bidder for a contract to supply 19 to 25 Urbos 3 trams. A £40 million firm order for 20 was subsequently signed, with options for five more. The first of the new trams was unveiled at the Wednesbury depot in October 2013, with the first four entering service on 5 September 2014.
The new fleet provided an increased service of 10 trams per hour in each direction, with an increased capacity of 210 passengers per tram, compared with the 156 passengers on the former T69 trams. The Urbos 3 trams are 33 m (108 ft) long; 9 m (30 ft) longer than the former T69 stock, and have a maximum operating speed of 70 km/h (43 mph). They are low floor throughout, and consists of five sections with four articulations. Three of the modules are mounted on bogies and the other two modules are suspended.
At 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in) wide, The Urbos 3 trams are slightly wider than the 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in) wide T69s. The line was closed for two weeks during March and April 2013, in order for the platforms on each of the stops to be narrowed by 15 cm (5.9 in) to accommodate the new trams. The T69s were modified with wider steps to be compatible with the narrower platforms.
In 2016, it was announced that the Urbos 3 fleet would be fitted with rechargeable batteries to allow them to operate along various extensions of the Midland Metro network intended to be constructed without overhead lines.. The first tram to be fitted this way, number 31, was relaunched in a new blue livery on 16 July 2018.
Maps West Midlands Metro rolling stock
Former fleet
T-69
Sixteen T-69 trams, were the original fleet, introduced into service in 1999, These were withdrawn from service gradually during 2014/15 as the new Urbos 3 fleet was introduced. The last, no. 16, was withdrawn from service in August 2015.
In February 2016 proposals were unveiled to convert the Isle of Wight Island Line into a tram line. It was reported that the remaining T-69s could be purchased second hand and re-used for this scheme.
The T69s were used only on the Midland Metro, and were built by the Italian company AnsaldoBreda. Their closest "brothers" were the SL95 running in Oslo, Norway. At 24.36 m (79 ft 11 in) long, the T-69s were the shortest modern tramcars in Britain. The vehicles are articulated, resting on three bogies, and have low floors over about 60% of the length. The central section of the trams is low floor, with inwards facing seating at the sides, while at each end is a raised seating area, accessible by steps. Each tram has 56 seats, with space for another 100 standing. They are accessible from three 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) wide entrances on each side, with twin plug doors.
At delivery, all trams had a livery of a blue body, red fronts, grey skirt and yellow doors, but several were refurbished and repainted in Network West Midlands' silver and magenta livery. From their entry into service, each tram had a roller-blind style destination board. in 2013, these were replaced with new LED Destination boards on all trams.
Most trams were named after local celebrities or people of note. After withdrawal 1-15 were placed in storage at Long Marston. In 2018 two were donated for preservation with the remaining 13 sold for scrap. Tram 16 remains at Wednesbury Depot, having been retained as an engineering vehicle.
Maintenance vehicles
National Express Midland Metro, the operator of the tramway, acquired a number of vehicles for maintaining the line. These included a Unimog, a road-rail lifting platform and one of the formerly used T69s (Tram 16).
References
Bibliography
Source of article : Wikipedia