West Midlands tram services suspended until at least end of Monday

All 21 trams have been taken out of service after minor cracks were found on one during maintenance checks

Tram services in the West Midlands will not resume until the end of Monday at the earliest after cracks were found on one of the fleet.

West Midlands Metro, which runs the service between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, removed all of its 21 trams on Friday for inspection.

The inspection would take until the end of Monday, a spokesman said.

Calls have been made to suspend Birmingham's Clean Air Zone charges which are due to start Monday morning.

Due to the problems with the Midland Metro, the Conservative group on Birmingham City Council has called for a delay in the payments.

The charges, which are aimed at cutting pollution, are due to start on 14 June and will affect people driving high polluting vehicles into and out of the city centre.

Midland Metro Ltd managing director Steve McAleavy said they had no option but to remove the trams from service to keep passengers safe.

"We are very sorry for any inconveniences this is going to cause and we understand the implications for anybody who was choosing to use public transport as an alternative to the car on Monday," he said.

Passengers will be able to use their tram tickets on local bus and rail routes

The manufacturer, CAF, found minor cracks on the chassis of one of the trams during maintenance checks and informed the tram operator, Mr McAleavy added.

He said they would not know the cause until all the trams had been inspected and their investigation finished.

Alternative travel arrangements have been put in place with passengers able to use Midlands Metro tickets on bus and rail services.

Passengers can keep informed of the latest developments on the West Midlands Metro website.

Eight million journeys were made on the network in 2019-20, according to figures from the Department for Transport.

The tram service normally operates every 6-8 minutes during peak times between Birmingham Library and Wolverhampton St Georges, travelling through Handsworth, West Bromwich and Wednesbury.