Midland Metro's tramway currently runs between the St. Georges stop in Wolverhampton and Snow Hill Railway Station in Birmingham. It has been operating since 1999 with a fleet of sixteen Ansaldo model T-69 trams. The operator has ordered twenty much larger trams from the Spanish company CAF and these are their Urbos 3 design. CAF also supplied trams to the new tramway in Edinburgh, although of a different type. The new trams will increase the capacity of the Metro, including an increased frequency. They will serve the new extension in Birmingham to outside New Street Railway Station, which is due to open in 2015.
This picture shows one of the new CAF Urbos 3 trams which was on display to the public at St. Georges for a few hours on Saturday 14th June 2014. The first four of these trams are expected to enter service around August Bank Holiday this year. Behind it is an Asaldo tram no.09 and one of the few to have been repainted into the new "magenta and silver" livery.
P L Chadwick
CC BY-SA 2.0
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