At last! Tram extension to Wolverhampton Railway Station finally opens to the public

The extension has created two new tram stops, at Pipers Row and Wolverhampton Railway Station, via a new 720 metre route from St George’s.

Tram enthusiasts and Metro staff gathered at Wednesbury Parkway early on Sunday morning to get on the very first passenger tram to make the journey to its newest stops.

At 7.41am, the tram set off, with excited passengers filming the journey on their phones for posterity.

There was a palpable sense of glee from Metro staff as the tram slowly pulled in outside Wolverhampton Railway Station, with some passengers staying on the tram to enjoy the route back.

The much-anticipated development has been marred by delays, having originally been due to be completed in 2019, but passengers can now finally ride the tram to Pipers Row and Wolverhampton Railway Station.

Sophie Allison, managing director of West Midlands Metro, said of the extension: "It's fantastic. It's great for the people of Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands.

"By connecting the Metro to two fantastic interchanges - the train station and the bus station - they'll have an opportunity to connect with the wider transport network, so it's really good news.

"We're now focusing on the next Metro extensions, and construction from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill is well underway.

"That will bring nine new stops in phase one of the development, to Flood Street in Dudley, and that will be fantastic again for the people of Dudley who will have a fantastic interchange and connectivity."

Addressing the challenges of the last few years, which saw the project's budget soaring from £35m to £50m, she added: "Like many things at the moment, there's that cost of inflation so that's obviously impacted us and there was Covid, and building in the city centre has its challenges.

"But we're coming in now and we're happy to be open for our customers."

Iain Anderson, member of the Alliance Leadership Team, said: "The extension is absolutely fantastic and I have to say I'm immensely proud of the product that we've ended up with.

"I think it looks really fit for the city, it's fantastic. And the train station, bus station, and the tram are now all connected together with cycling in the same interface. It's really quite progressive.

"That connectivity will really benefit local residents. It's now an integrated transport system, which is what Transport for West Midlands is trying to achieve - they're not considering the different modes separately, they're doing it all together in a linked way for passengers, whatever their needs are."

He added: "In terms of challenges, it has taken a number of years to do for what's a relatively short section of track.

"But being in the city centre, and with all of the stakeholders that we're dealing with - we've had to stop while the new station was being built, we've had Covid, we've had a couple of things where we've had to stop and modify things - we've got a myriad of stakeholders that we're dealing with on this very short space - whether it's Wolverhampton Council, whether it's West Midlands Trains, Network Rail, the bus company, the Metro - everyone has their wants and needs and what we've tried to do and I think we've achieved is come up with a solution that best meets all of those needs together."

Projects sponsor Nicky Haigh said: "It's actually quite emotional, I've got to say. It hasn't been the easiest project and there have been some real challenges.

"But to see the tram come through and people waiting at the stop, it's fantastic to see. It's been really rewarding. It'll be great for the people of Wolverhampton."

She added: "My role is very much bringing people together. It's been quite a change for the building of the Metro system, to being involved with both highway requirements and Network Rail requirements - that's the first time it's been done for one of these kind of projects, so it's been a learning curve for us all.

"But we've worked together as a team and we've all got what we needed.

"One of the particular requirements of building a new system is that it's accessible for everybody and that's been critical for all of us on the project. That's why we've got a fantastic stop here today."

The project was first delayed by 18 months due to construction work at the railway station.

Metro bosses then hoped the extension would be ready for the Commonwealth Games last July but pushed back the opening date until autumn 2022.

Last October the project was again pushed back to spring 2023, which was missed.