Replacement trams to be built in Spain

New trams rolling through the Black Country will be built in Spain, it was announced today.

The replacements for the ageing Midland Metro fleet will be made by Spanish tram manufacturer CAF in a deal worth £40 million. Up to 25 new trams will be provided from late 2014 to run on the 23-stop route between Wolverhampton St George's and Birmingham Snow Hill.

The order will replace the current 16-strong fleet built in 1999 by Italian company AnsaldoBreda.

The new trams are meant to cope with the expected growth in use of the Metro once the £127m extension in Birmingham between Snow Hill and New Street via Bull Street, Corporation Street, and Stephenson Street is open in 2015.

The extension is expected to boost the West Midlands economy by £50m a year and create 1,300 sustainable new jobs.But it is a snub to Midland manufacturer Bombardier, which was one of the companies shortlisted for the contract.

The Derby-based manufacturer would have built trams in Germany but finished them in the UK. Last year it announced plans to axe 1,400 jobs last year after losing out on the £1.4billion Thameslink contract to German company Siemens.

Centro chairman Councillor Angus Adams said: "This has been an extremely rigorous tendering process, and all the candidates have been of a very high standard."