The Birmingham West Midlands Metro opened on 31 May 1999 and is the first of a planned 3-line network of a modern metro-tram, i.e. similar to a German Stadtbahn it runs partly on streets. The original Line 1 was 20.4 km long and started at Snow Hill railway station in the centre of Birmingham. It uses an old railway alignment for about 18 km through Wednesbury and West Bromwich towards Wolverhampton. The final 2.4 km after Priestfield station in this city is along Bilston Road where it shares its right-of-way with road traffic up to its Wolverhampton terminus at St. George's. All the stops have 30 cm high platforms which provide stepless access into the low-floor vehicles. By mid-2015, all original Ansaldobreda T69 vehicles had been replaced by new CAF Urbos trams. In Dec. 2015, the original Snow Hill terminus was abandoned and replaced with a new stop further north, and the line diverted via a ramp to Bull Street from where trams finally started to run through the city centre down to the city's main railway station New Street (Grand Central).

31 May 1999: Birmingham, Snow Hill - Wolverhampton, St. George's

06 Dec 2015: Snow Hill – Bull Street
30 May 2016: Bull Street – Grand Central
11 Dec 2019: Grand Central – Library
17 July 2022: Library/Centenary Sq – Edgbaston Village (1.1 km)
17 Sept 2023: The Royal – Wolverhampton Station (0.5 km)

 Projects

By 2023, a new 11 km branch will open from Wednesburg via Dudley to Brierley Hill, mostly taking advantage of a disused railway corridor. [Project Website]

West Midlands Metro (Official Website)

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) (Official Website)

Network West Midlands (Official Website)

Midland Metro Alliance (Extension projects)

West Midlands Metro at Wikipedia

BLOG: Read your webmaster's impressions of the Birmingham tram system after a visit in Sept. 2015

Robert Schwandl: METROS IN BRITAIN. Underground & Light Rail Networks in the U.K. - March 2006, ISBN 3936573123 More info

J. Boynton: MAIN LINE TO METRO. - May 2001, Mid England Books, ISBN 0952224895