Official Midland Metro Thread

[Engels]

Originally Posted by Nacho

Work on trams to commence in October,delivery next autumn,and in use in 2014 .These new trams will be fitted with super capacitators so they can do stretches without wires (I saw this in action yesterday btw).Note also that the old fleet may be maintained and used for the Brierley Hill / Wednesbury line .This is the first time I've heard this as I thought they were going to be farmed out : http://www.lrta.org/mag/magi.html

Funny how the clapped out old trams are suddenly good enough for use on the Brierely Hill extension now that they have got the funding from the Dft for anew set

I'd always thought this might happen as it has the benefit of lowering the cost of the Brierely Hill extension proposal increasing the likelyhood of receving central government funding from the Dft. It's one way of playing the Dft's game.

[ReissOmari]

But haven't Westfield put money aside for the extension too?

[Engels]

Originally Posted by ReissOmari

But haven't Westfield put money aside for the extension too?

They have been quoted as committing 25% of the estimated costs which is the minimum local contribution that the Dft require for light rail schemes - yet to-date a convincing business case seems not yet to have been made to get the majority (public) funding. The Dft Major Scheme fund requires local authorities (or Public transport promoters) to jump through a lot of hoops and there is only so much money in the Dft's pot to fund these sorts of schemes.

I would guess that by reusing the old trams - through a relatively cheap mid life refurbishment - that this will reduce the overall cost of the scheme. Westfield's contribution is likely to stay the same (in £) and therefore rise as a % of the funding requirement meaning the Benefit:Cost ratio should improve significantly and make the scheme significantly more viable than if it was a standalone scheme needing new trams.

[Nacho]

The Metro Plaza development (as posted by Red Ape in a West Bromwich thread) : http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/multimedi...57_728x332.jpg

The hotel going up right next to St Paul's station (as posted by Metrogogo) :http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...467944&page=47

[Luke3000]

I've been looking at the extension from New Street to Broad Street. Has the funding and approval been granted the same time as the Snow Hill to New Street. Some things I've seen on the Internet suggest it has but others suggest it will be done after
When is it planned for? My only worry with all these extensions is they seem to take years to actually get built so for the network to be big it will be decades down the line at this rate.

[nigeman]

Originally Posted by Luke3000

I've been looking at the extension from New Street to Broad Street. Has the funding and approval been granted the same time as the Snow Hill to New Street. Some things I've seen on the Internet suggest it has but others suggest it will be done after
When is it planned for? My only worry with all these extensions is they seem to take years to actually get built so for the network to be big it will be decades down the line at this rate.

The Council as committed £25 million as part of something like £60 million to kick start the new business rates initiative coming out of the new Economic Zones towards the next extension. I understood the money was in place as part of ensuring Paradise Circus starts as soon as the Library moves (correct me anybody if I've got it wrong). Whether that money will still be there with the council's need now to cut back drastically its spending I don't know.
Otherwise I would see the next stage beginnin g as soon as this stage is completed...well I hope this is the case

[Nacho]

Metro update from Centro's website:http://www.centro.org.uk/newsroom/Pr...ease48519.aspx

[Nacho]

Today's update concerning the Wolverhampton extension.Apparently it is a joint effort with Neptune Developments.The article mentions a figure of 15 million pounds;in earlier reports we have seen a sum of 30 million pounds.

http://www.centro.org.uk/newsroom/Pr...ease58747.aspx

[Nacho]

I see that the above is to run along Piper's Row and is not the loop as originally proposed.I imagine that is where costs have been reduced by half.New trams will not be needed for this small extensión.

[Nacho]

Here are further details including a map : http://www.centro.org.uk/metro/Details.aspx

[DBadger]

I found this image of Bilston Central station, how it was supposed to look. (1990)


http://blackcountryhistory.org/colle.../GB149_P_1620/

How it turned out (night time):

image hosted on flickr


I'd have much preferred the masonry than the modern crap we have. The station roof, mimicking the bus station behind it, would have tied the two together too.

[Nacho]

A video advert for the Metro : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jRjik-5okY

[Typhoon2000]

Originally Posted by Nacho

Here are further details including a map : http://www.centro.org.uk/metro/Details.aspx

This is a really very sensible plan.. I like it and really do think this should be fully supported.. good stuff!

[Nacho]

Wolverhampton extensión update: http://www.centro.org.uk/newsroom/Pr...ease60002.aspx

[Brums'grove]

It feels like the only way to extend the metro now is for little extensions. we are going to end up with one really long line with extensions planned at both ends of line 1 but I think most of us on here want additional lines cutting through line 1 which seems like something that will never happen. Light rail is supposed to be used for fairly short rail journeys like sprawling out from a city core not connecting city to city something that heavy rail is used for.

In my opinion the reason why our current system never achieved what it was supposed to is because the route choice was very poor and this meant we struggled to gain funding for future routes. We are the second largest city yet the likes of Sheffield and Nottingham have done a much better job with there's as there is plenty of park and ride facilities and they link up with places like shopping centres and destinations. If you take nottingham for example there is over 2500 free park and ride spaces compared to 550 on the midland metro. We have a lot to learn if we are gonna have a network that works plus our pricing structure is non comparable £5.50 for a return compared to £3.50 for an all day ticket in nottingham.

[metrogogo]

The old roller type destination blinds have been replaced with new digital dot matrix signs on most trams, this also seems to coincide with new dot matrix information signs inside the trams synchronized with audio passenger announcements. Head lights, side lights reversing and indicators have been updated for some time now. Conductors have been issued with type P50 ticketing machines.

Old type destination blind and head light clusters.
image hosted on flickr
Midland Metro Wolverhampton by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
P1010853 by metrogogo, on Flickr

New type destination board.

image hosted on flickr
Midland Metro by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
Midland Metro by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
Midland Metro by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
Midland Metro by metrogogo, on Flickr

[zero_wlv]

Originally Posted by metrogogo

The old roller type destination blinds have been replaced with new digital dot matrix signs on most trams, this also seems to coincide with new dot matrix information signs inside the trams synchronized with audio passenger announcements.

That "hold on tight etc." announcement at every single stop drives me crazy. There's also a very strange pause before the name of the station is announced. And to top it all off the woman insists on trying to pronounce the "h" in Birmingham which always sounds very self-conscious cos no-one really tries to do that when they're speaking naturally!

But hey-ho, life goes on, I'm sure I'll get over it - it's just that I can't understand why they bothered to update the announcements if they end up sounding so amateurish! At least it's someone with a local accent this time, I'll admit that.

[jrawle]

Originally Posted by zero_wlv

That "hold on tight etc." announcement at every single stop drives me crazy. There's also a very strange pause before the name of the station is announced. And to top it all off the woman insists on trying to pronounce the "h" in Birmingham which always sounds very self-conscious cos no-one really tries to do that when they're speaking naturally!

But hey-ho, life goes on, I'm sure I'll get over it - it's just that I can't understand why they bothered to update the announcements if they end up sounding so amateurish! At least it's someone with a local accent this time, I'll admit that.

I haven't heard the new announcements on the trams, but your comment makes me think of station announcements at New Street and across the country. New Street was the first place I know that had automated announcements many years ago (and it was the first time they'd been intelligible!) After some years, the same voice (Phil Sayer) was rolled out across the country. But in the last couple of years, they've been "upgrading" the system used at stations, but whereas the old system sounded like someone speaking naturally, the new one has lots of pauses, as if the computer is having to load the correct sample for the station name or something:

The next train from platform...... 1 is the...... 9:52... service to...... London Euston.

The pause is just long enough to sound unnatural and it makes the whole announcement quite jarring. Maybe that's the point: people listen and remember what's just been said if it has annoying pauses. Seems like a backwards step to me, though, when the old system sounded so natural. Especially for New Street where 95% of the announcements are of no interest to a particular passenger.

[ReissOmari]

The trams looks much better with the LED dispalys!

[Typhoon2000]

not being funny but if these trams will eventually get chucked why has their been such an extensive refurbishment on a few of them so far. I've seen a couple with this set up and the new livery on them. They almost look like new trams, certainly very well refurbished (from the outside at least).