Timeline of tram disruption as West Midlands Metro out of action for third time in nine months
West Midlands Metro's tram service was suspended on Sunday until "further notice". It is the third time in nine months the network from Wolverhampton to Birmingham has been sidelined.
We take a look back at the history of the West Midlands Metro and a timeline of disruption to its services.
The tram line first opened on May 30, 1999 and was originally called the Midland Metro. It was a single route between Wolverhampton and Birmingham via Bilston, Wednesbury and West Bromwich.
Construction of the route known as Line 1 began in 1995, and was targeted to open in August 1998 but the deadline was missed and it instead opened the next year.
The route was made loner in 2015, extending across Birmingham city centre as far as Birmingham New Street, and was then extended once again in 2019 with trains now terminating in Centenary Square at Birmingham Library.
The extension of Line 1 to Edgbaston and Wolverhampton Railway Station are under construction with passenger services expected to begin this year.
Meanwhile the construction of Line 4 from Edgbaston to Curzon Street, Digbeth, Solihull and Birmingham Airport is planned to open in phases in 2023 and 2024-2026, depending on when planning permission is accepted.
The system is owned by the public body Transport for West Midlands and is operated through Midland Metro Ltd. Both are wholly owned and run by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which is led by Mayor Andy Street.
Metro timeline
May 30, 1999: West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) opens.
February 2012: Twenty new trams ordered at a cost of £40 million.
September 2014: First four new trams enter service - a year after being unveiled at the Wednesbury depot.
July 2017: Work begins in Wolverhampton city centre to extend the existing Metro line.
March 2018: Work begins on Pipers Row to extend metro line from St George's terminal next to the police station on Bilston Street to the city's train station.
October 2018: System is rebranded to West Midlands Metro as operator National Express is replaced by Transport for West Midlands.
January 2020: Work begins in Dudley for the extension of the West Midlands Metro line to Brierley Hill.
June 11 2021: Services are suspended with all 21 trams withdrawn. Cracks are identified in the under-frame structure at either end and it is four days until a reduced service restarts after inspections and repairs.
November 2021: Five months since the last closure, almost to the day, all trams are withdrawn again when more cracks are found. Further extensive repairs are carried out.
December 12, 2021: Trams start running again, more than a month after services are suspended, but only with a skeleton service between Wolverhampton and Bull Street in Birmingham. Full services resume, more than three months after being withdrawn and two weeks after bosses said trams would be back fully running.
January 2022: Midland Metro Alliance announces that Metro extension opening date will be "announced soon".
January 2022: First lengths of track arrive in Dudley town centre for Metro extension
March 19, 2022: West Midlands Metro announces that services are cancelled for the rest of the day due to "operational reasons".
March 20, 2022: Suspension of services confirmed "until further notice", with bosses revealing more cracks have been found in the bodywork of a number of trams.
March 21, 2022: Mayor Andy Street says "he does not know when trams will return".
