Midland Metro rolling stock

The Midland Metro is a passenger light rail line in the West Midlands conurbation in England, which opened in 1999. Its rolling stock includes sixteen T69 tramcars, and a small number of maintenance vehicles.

Passenger

T69

T-69
Tram 05 at West Bromwich Central
In service	1999 – Present
Manufacturer	AnsaldoBreda
Built at	Naples, Italy
Constructed	1998–1999
Refurbishment	2007
Number built	16
Number in service	14
Formation	2 sections per tram, articulated intersection
Fleet numbers	01–16
Capacity	56 seats, 152 standing per tram
Operator	Travel Midland Metro
Line(s) served	Wolverhampton – Birmingham
Specifications
Car body construction	Aluminium
Car length	24 m (78 ft 9 in)
Width	2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)
Height	3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Maximum speed	43.5 mph (70 km/h)
Weight	45 tonnes (44 long tons; 50 short tons) per tram
Traction system	Four 105 kW (141 hp) separately-excited DC traction motors
Electric system(s)	750 V DC Overhead lines
Current collection method	Pantograph Brecknell Willis High Reach
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

Midland Metro tram 13 running from West Bromwich station towards Birmingham

The T69 trams, used only on the Midland Metro, were built by the Italian company AnsaldoBreda. Their closest "brothers" are the SL95 running in Oslo, Norway. The vehicles are articulated, resting on three bogies, and have low floors over about 70% of the length.

16 trams entered service altogether. At delivery, all trams had a livery of yellow doors and red and blue body, but several have been refurbished and repainted in Network West Midlands silver/magenta livery.

Most trams are named for local celebrities or people of note.

Fleet Number	Tram Name	Livery
01	Sir Frank Whittle	Midland Metro
02		Midland Metro
03	Ray Lewis	Midland Metro
04		Midland Metro
05	Sister Dora	Network West Midlands
06	Alan Garner	Midland Metro
07	Billy Wright[1]	Network West Midlands
08	Joseph Chamberlain	Midland Metro
09	Jeff Astle	Network West Midlands
10	John Stanley Webb	Network West Midlands
11	Theresa Stewart	Midland Metro
12		Midland Metro
13	Anthony Nolan	Midland Metro
14	James Eames	Midland Metro
15	Agenoria	Midland Metro
16	Gerwyn John	Midland Metro

Tram 01 is out of service for a major overhaul.

Trams 09 and 10 had a major collision near to Soho Benson Street in December 2006. Unit 09 was rebuilt out of the undamaged parts of the two trams, re-entering service during 2007. Tram 10, rebuilt from the damaged sections, re-entered service during late 2008.

Unit 07 was used for spares and repairs for other trams for some years. After a major overhaul, it returned to service during 2008.

Tram 05, rebuilt following a collision with a fire engine in May 2007, re-entered service during late February 2009.

Successor

Centro planned to replace all T69s with up to 40 new vehicles from an as yet unknown supplier.

Ancillary

Travel Midland Metro, the operator of the tramway, acquired a number of vehicles for maintaining the line. These included a Unimog^[2] and a road-rail lifting platform.^[3]

References

1. ^ "Midland Metro : Trams : 07". TheTrams.co.uk. http://thetrams.co.uk/midlandmetro/trams/07. Retrieved August 27, 2010. 
2. ^ "Ancillary vehicle at Wednesbury depot". Thetrams dot co dot uk. http://thetrams.co.uk/midlandmetro/pictures/000309?sid=1277756210&seq=6&ref=L3BpY3NlYXJjaHJlc3VsdC5waHA/c2VjdGlvbj1taWRsYW5kbWV0cm8mc2VhcmNoPXMmc3ViamVjdD13ZWRuZXNidXJ5. 
3. ^ "Ancillary vehicle at Wednesbury depot". Thetrams dot co dot uk. http://thetrams.co.uk/midlandmetro/pictures/000311?sid=1277756210&seq=8&ref=L3BpY3NlYXJjaHJlc3VsdC5waHA/c2VjdGlvbj1taWRsYW5kbWV0cm8mc2VhcmNoPXMmc3ViamVjdD13ZWRuZXNidXJ5.