Work to connect the new Dudley extension to the existing West Midlands Metro network will take place this month, marking another important step for the popular tramway.
Over the school half‑term holidays, engineers will complete final ‘tie‑in’ works to join the new track to the current line. To allow this essential activity to be carried out safely, there will be temporary changes to some tram services.
Trams will continue to operate every eight minutes between Wolverhampton Station and Wednesbury Great Western Street stops. However, there will be no onward services to Birmingham city centre and Edgbaston Village from around 21.00 on Monday 16 February until the end of service on Wednesday 18 February.
Ed Williams, Metro’s Head of Engineering, explained: “Connecting the new extension to the existing line is a significant milestone in preparing the route for opening later this year. The timing of the tie‑in has been planned to coincide with the school break to minimise disruption for customers and we’re doing all we can to keep customers moving while the work is taking place.
“National Express buses in the area will be accepting Metro tickets and passes for the duration of the works, and the bus operator is also running an enhanced timetable to provide connections with early and late trams between Wednesbury and Wolverhampton.”
Prior to the tie-in, Metro will also be carrying out upgrades to infrastructure at Wolverhampton St George’s, and the stop will be closed from Saturday, February 7.
“While all these works are taking place, we’re taking the opportunity to carry out other essential maintenance and renewal work across the network to further avoid future disruption for customers,” Ed said.
“Decisions to temporarily reduce or suspend services are never taken lightly and are only made when absolutely necessary. We would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience and thank them for their patience and understanding,” he added.
Full details of the temporary tram timetable and alternative bus services can be found here.
