West Midlands Metro - News & Discussion

[spp]

There is also the Dudley extension which I believe is planned to open in later this year and those trams will need to go somewhere in Birmingham city centre.

Ive wanted Dudley to extension to hurry up and open for ages but now I use the tram daily I’m worried as soon as it does the service on the current part will get even worse.

They’re always using trams with nin functioning doors etc, so if using those Whats the state of the stock they aren’t using?

 

[Haywain]

Is there any indication of when the stretch of the Eastside extension from Millennium Point to Digbeth is likely to be opening?

 

[The Pelican]

In this HS2 report to parliament, which was also discussed on one of the forum's HS2 threads,
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hs2-6-monthly-report-to-parliament-march-2026

It says that the empty site for tram section through the HS2 station will be handed over in September this year.

 

[Haywain]

In this HS2 report to parliament, which was also discussed on one of the forum's HS2 threads,
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hs2-6-monthly-report-to-parliament-march-2026

It says that the empty site for tram section through the HS2 station will be handed over in September this year.

Quite a way off from being open to trams carrying the public then. Thanks for the info.

 

[dvboy]

They've said on X that "for trams to the new stops the information boards will say Edgbaston Village via Millennium Point".

I suppose once people have experienced the slow trundle to Millennium Point and back once they'll quickly learn to skip it next time around... (But as someone who lives at the end of the new extension this is very exciting news!)

I’ve seen a picture (it’s on a friend’s personal instagram so I won’t share it here) that on the front of the trams it says Millennium Point.

 

[The Pelican]

It seems like the service was designed to avoid any two services having conflicting paths over the Corporation Street/Bull Streeet/Albert Street delta junction, because all three legs of the Edgbaston Village-Wolverhampton St Georges-Millenium Point-Edgbaston village service use the outermost sides of the triangle. Singapore's Jurong Reigon metro line, due to open later this year, also has a similar triangle with trains operating along the outer edges, such that one branch is only served in one direction.

I doubt this was a consideration, though, as the tram runs on line of site so waiting for another tram to cross the delta wouldn't have slowed things down that much.

I wonder how long it will take for the branch to operate to the same destination as it's trams arrive from, and whether it will run both ways or just towards Wolverhampton?

 

[spp]

They've said on X that "for trams to the new stops the information boards will say Edgbaston Village via Millennium Point".

I suppose once people have experienced the slow trundle to Millennium Point and back once they'll quickly learn to skip it next time around... (But as someone who lives at the end of the new extension this is very exciting news!)

Just on a tram now.

The electronic information boards at stops definitely just both say Edgbaston Village. Not sure if the tannoy announcement says ‘via Millenium Point’ as I was only at the stop for one Birmingham bound arrival which didn’t but may well not have been anyway.

 

[VT 390]

I wonder how long it will take for the branch to operate to the same destination as it's trams arrive from, and whether it will run both ways or just towards Wolverhampton?

I am sure eventually the line will be used in both directions as its was built to allow this, they are probably waiting until the Dudley extension opens to provide a more consistent service to Millennium Point.
Although I am not sure why they did not just have a Wolverhampton to Millennium Point and Edgbaston to Millennium point service (both every 15 minutes) to start with, with the existing Wolverhampton Station to Edgbaston being every 15 minutes.

 

[spp]

I’ve seen a picture (it’s on a friend’s personal instagram so I won’t share it here) that on the front of the trams it says Millennium Point.

It does seem looking at the front of the tram is more reliable than the electronic boards at the stops (strangely). Whenever theres signal or road issues at Wolverhampton and the trams terminate short at The Royal (at least once a week) the destination on the front is correct while the destination boards ay the stops still shows timetabled destinations. Same as the boards on the tram itself, strange how the three must run off a different system.

 

[Cross City]

I was also on the team today and yeah, the information board at the stop don’t specify ‘via Millennium Point’ but the front of the tram did. They also explained it over the in-tram tannoy.

Hopefully when the Dudley Extension is open we get something like
Wolves Station-Edgbaston
Dudley-Mill Point
Dudley-Wolves St George’s

 

[The Pelican]

I was also on the team today and yeah, the information board at the stop don’t specify ‘via Millennium Point’ but the front of the tram did. They also explained it over the in-tram tannoy.

Hopefully when the Dudley Extension is open we get something like
Wolves Station-Edgbaston
Dudley-Mill Point
Dudley-Wolves St George’s

Yes, that would seem like the natural setup for the next stage to me!

 

[VT 390]

I was also on the team today and yeah, the information board at the stop don’t specify ‘via Millennium Point’ but the front of the tram did. They also explained it over the in-tram tannoy.

Hopefully when the Dudley Extension is open we get something like
Wolves Station-Edgbaston
Dudley-Mill Point
Dudley-Wolves St George’s

I would hope they provide something from Edgbaston to Millenium Point to maintain the Edgbaston frequency and connect New Street station to the new extension.

 

[spp]

No tannoy announcement as to whether you’re getting a Edgbaston Village bound tram or Edgbaston Village via Millenium point.

 

[danshrimp]

They've said on X that "for trams to the new stops the information boards will say Edgbaston Village via Millennium Point".

I suppose once people have experienced the slow trundle to Millennium Point and back once they'll quickly learn to skip it next time around... (But as someone who lives at the end of the new extension this is very exciting news!)

They've now followed up on this and said that they're aware of an error that is preventing Millennium Point from appearing and they're working to resolve it, but they don't have a timeline for this.

 

[Sheddyone]

They've now followed up on this and said that they're aware of an error that is preventing Millennium Point from appearing and they're working to resolve it, but they don't have a timeline for this.

If only they had been given enough time to sort this out

 

[spp]

Had the poor state of the trams confirmed to me this afternoon around 5pm. Boarded at Pipers Row sat right behind the drivers cab, driver seemed to be having issues as didn’t pull off as quickly as normal.

Got just past the royal and the trams stopped all together. After the driver tried for a few mins pressing different buttons he got on the phone, inspector came up our end opened the door and driver told him he had to do a full restarted. Eventually we got moving probably a 10-20 minute wait (although I was only on a few more stops and at every stop he was having other issues where he had to keep reopening the doors then shutting them 2-3 times before he could get the tram moving).

I asked the inspector if this was the same tram that had broken down earlier (x had told me around earlier in the day a tram had broken down suspending services between Proestfield and Wolves for around 2 hours). The inspector told me it wasn’t but this was one of the old trams, he told me it took them 20mins to get it going when they put it into service! He said there’d been issues with another earlier too towards Birmingham.

He basically said they are struggling to run the current service without using old unreliable trams. Begs the question how will they ever run the additional Dudley line, or maybe thats the real reason for the delayed opening.

 

[Liam L]

Had the poor state of the trams confirmed to me this afternoon around 5pm. Boarded at Pipers Row sat right behind the drivers cab, driver seemed to be having issues as didn’t pull off as quickly as normal.

Got just past the royal and the trams stopped all together. After the driver tried for a few mins pressing different buttons he got on the phone, inspector came up our end opened the door and driver told him he had to do a full restarted. Eventually we got moving probably a 10-20 minute wait (although I was only on a few more stops and at every stop he was having other issues where he had to keep reopening the doors then shutting them 2-3 times before he could get the tram moving).

I asked the inspector if this was the same tram that had broken down earlier (x had told me around earlier in the day a tram had broken down suspending services between Proestfield and Wolves for around 2 hours). The inspector told me it wasn’t but this was one of the old trams, he told me it took them 20mins to get it going when they put it into service! He said there’d been issues with another earlier too towards Birmingham.

He basically said they are struggling to run the current service without using old unreliable trams. Begs the question how will they ever run the additional Dudley line, or maybe thats the real reason for the delayed opening.

Dudley extension hasn't finished being constructed yet.

The older trams seem to spend most of their time on depot these days, only used to make up the numbers. The newer trams are mostly used to run the service currently. I was on Tram 19 earlier today and it reminded me that the older ones are definitely starting to age.

 

[spp]

Dudley extension hasn't finished being constructed yet.

The older trams seem to spend most of their time on depot these days, only used to make up the numbers. The newer trams are mostly used to run the service currently. I was on Tram 19 earlier today and it reminded me that the older ones are definitely starting to age.

It’s all but finished.

That’s exactly my point how can they run an additional line reliably if they’re having to use older unreliable trams (or trams with out of use doors seen almost daily now) to run the current service?

The answer is they’ll probably press ahead with the Dudley opening (because they and the local politicians want the positive headlines) but it will just result in the whole network being completely unreliable. Get ready for way more breakdowns and line suspensions.

I see St George’s is out of use this morning. Reason; ‘broken down tram’.

 

[danshrimp]

In lighter news, they're giving out Metro goodies at the Millennium Point stop today, and Metro tickets can be exchanged for a free coffee in the Clayton Hotel.

I noted that the departure boards still aren't working at the new stops (and not feeding through to Google Maps etc) - didn't get a chance to ask the staff about that before the tram rolled in. The displays on the front of the trams are showing Millennium Point but still not the departure boards (the ones that are working).

 

[Liam L]

It’s all but finished.

That’s exactly my point how can they run an additional line reliably if they’re having to use older unreliable trams (or trams with out of use doors seen almost daily now) to run the current service?

The answer is they’ll probably press ahead with the Dudley opening (because they and the local politicians want the positive headlines) but it will just result in the whole network being completely unreliable. Get ready for way more breakdowns and line suspensions.

I see St George’s is out of use this morning. Reason; ‘broken down tram’.

Im sure they will probably need to place another order for trams soon with the upcoming extensions to digbeth and onwards to the sport quarter.

Id imagine the older trams not doing as much as they was prior to 2021 hasn't helped with reliability.

 

[Sunil_P]

Paid a visit to Brum in order to do Millennium Point today, at lunchtime, and I didn't notice any problems with doors. Maybe, I was lucky!

Took tram 55 from Grand Central to Bull Street, then I took an "Edgbaston Village" tram (no. 47) which I thought might do Millennium Point, but it went back directly towards Corporation Street! So I alighted there and walked back to Bull Street. But at least by that point I had "reprised" the original route to account for the new junction.

So back at Bull Street, I saw that the next tram from Wolverhampton actually had "Millennium Point" as its destination (no. 49). Therefore I finally got to do the new branch. I alighted from 49 and let it depart so I could take some pics of it and the temporary station. Some track has been laid to either side of the station, which occupies its alignment. Also saw the Curzon Street building site had big blue hoardings, so couldn't see much. Happily, the original station building was visible in the distance. The next tram to arrive was no. 58 (pictured below), so I boarded and returned via Corporation Street to Grand Central.

Of course, only did Bull Street to Albert Street, and Albert Street to Corporation Street. Hopefully the "missing" sections of the triangular junction will open when the Dudley branch opens in August?

 

[317 forever]

They've now followed up on this and said that they're aware of an error that is preventing Millennium Point from appearing and they're working to resolve it, but they don't have a timeline for this.

I wonder whether this is partly because the extension to Millennium Point was opened at barely a week's notice, compared to Dudley announced several months in advance.

 

[danshrimp]

Departure board now working at Millennium Point. Amusingly, from spending far too much time watching the trams go by out my window, this mostly seems to have served to increase the number of people who get to the stop and look at the board, frown, look at their phone, then decide they'd be better off walking...

 

[spp]

on the rest of the line Birmingham bound trains still show Edgbaston village for all trams but the ones going via Millenium Point are announced as ‘for Millenium Point’ over the tannoy as well as in the front.

Just seems to cause more slight confusion the vast majority of people boarding between Wolverhampton/West Brom won’t know or likely care where Millenium Point is. Typical Brummie arrogance from the metro though presuming everyone knows Birmingham.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Apr 2026 ==

I wonder whether this is partly because the extension to Millennium Point was opened at barely a week's notice, compared to Dudley announced several months in advance.

It wasn’t opened at a weeks notice at all.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Apr 2026 ==

Im sure they will probably need to place another order for trams soon with the upcoming extensions to digbeth and onwards to the sport quarter.

Id imagine the older trams not doing as much as they was prior to 2021 hasn't helped with reliability.

If the order hasn’t already been placed as a daily user (not like those on here who pop on once in a blue moon as a transport tourist) I’ll be very worried about the service levels well get once Dudley opens.

 

[Cross City]

Just seems to cause more slight confusion the vast majority of people boarding between Wolverhampton/West Brom won’t know or likely care where Millenium Point is. Typical Brummie arrogance from the metro though presuming everyone knows Birmingham

And nobody from Birmingham knows or cares where "The Royal" is either, but there we are. Keep having a chip on your shoulder.

It's whinges like this that means nothing gets done around here because of pettiness, rather than sensible collective thinking, and why we lag behind Greater Manchester and were stuck with the awful West Midlands name, a substandard metro system, and little regional coherence.

 

[Liam L]

If the order hasn’t already been placed as a daily user (not like those on here who pop on once in a blue moon as a transport tourist) I’ll be very worried about the service levels well get once Dudley opens.

There enough trams to run the Dudley extension. If you go past wednesbury depot on a regular weekday there always around 20 of them parked up.

 

[spp]

There enough trams to run the Dudley extension. If you go past wednesbury depot on a regular weekday there always around 20 of them parked up.

So why are they using faulty trams?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Apr 2026 ==

And nobody from Birmingham knows or cares where "The Royal" is either, but there we are. Keep having a chip on your shoulder.

It's whinges like this that means nothing gets done around here because of pettiness, rather than sensible collective thinking, and why we lag behind Greater Manchester and were stuck with the awful West Midlands name, a substandard metro system, and little regional coherence.

The Royal isn’t a terminus though is it. Both terminuses in Wolverhampton carry its name.

It wouldn’t be an issue if not for the confusing mixed messages but if you’re standing waiting for a tram at Wednesbury wanting to go to West Bromwich and the board says Edgbaston Village (which you’ve over time learned is the other side of Brum), but Then the tannoy says Millenium Point a lot of people will be in the position of ‘where is that! Is the tram running short, had the Dudley route opened and it’s that way?.

It’s ok though us Black Country folk are used to being expected to now down to our Brummie masters, we’ll get used to it.

What’s wrong with the name?

 

[Liam L]

So why are they using faulty trams?

Well they aren't using 'faulty trams' as they wouldn't be in service. Trams can & do develop faults in service. I've seen doors fail on trams whilst out in service and the conductor locks the door out and puts a sticker on the door.

 

[birchesgreen]

To be fair Millennium Point is supposed to be a temporary terminus, so it'll only be in use for about 50 years or so or whenever they open the HS2 site.

 

[Cross City]

So why are they using faulty trams?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Apr 2026 ==


The Royal isn’t a terminus though is it. Both terminuses in Wolverhampton carry its name.

It wouldn’t be an issue if not for the confusing mixed messages but if you’re standing waiting for a tram at Wednesbury wanting to go to West Bromwich and the board says Edgbaston Village (which you’ve over time learned is the other side of Brum), but Then the tannoy says Millenium Point a lot of people will be in the position of ‘where is that! Is the tram running short, had the Dudley route opened and it’s that way?.

It’s ok though us Black Country folk are used to being expected to now down to our Brummie masters, we’ll get used to it.

What’s wrong with the name?

Look at a route map.