- Midland Metro rolling stock
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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.
Contents
Passenger
T69
T-69
Tram 05 at West Bromwich CentralIn 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) 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
- ^ "Midland Metro : Trams : 07". TheTrams.co.uk. http://thetrams.co.uk/midlandmetro/trams/07. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
- ^ "Ancillary vehicle at Wednesbury depot". Thetrams dot co dot uk. http://thetrams.co.uk/midlandmetro/pictures/000309?sid=1277756210&seq=6&ref=L3BpY3NlYXJjaHJlc3VsdC5waHA/c2VjdGlvbj1taWRsYW5kbWV0cm8mc2VhcmNoPXMmc3ViamVjdD13ZWRuZXNidXJ5.
- ^ "Ancillary vehicle at Wednesbury depot". Thetrams dot co dot uk. http://thetrams.co.uk/midlandmetro/pictures/000311?sid=1277756210&seq=8&ref=L3BpY3NlYXJjaHJlc3VsdC5waHA/c2VjdGlvbj1taWRsYW5kbWV0cm8mc2VhcmNoPXMmc3ViamVjdD13ZWRuZXNidXJ5.
UK light rail vehicles Tram HeritageSecond generationCR4000 (Croydon) · Citytram · Edinburgh Tram · Flexity 2 (Blackpool) · Incentro AT6/5 (Nottingham) · M5000 (Manchester) · Supertram (Sheffield) · T-68 (Manchester) · T-69 (Midlands) FamiliesFlexity Swift · Flexity 2 · Incentro Metro CurrentB90/B92/B2K (Docklands) · B07 (Docklands) · London Underground · Tyne and Wear Metro (Class 994) WithdrawnTram-train DieselCategories:- Tram vehicles of the United Kingdom
- Transport in Wolverhampton
- Transport in Birmingham, West Midlands
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