West Midlands Metro: Date announced for tram services to resume

West Midlands Metro services were cancelled in March after an earlier stoppage in November

Tram services in the West Midlands will resume from Thursday after months of disruption.

Services are due to run every 12 to 15 minutes between Wolverhampton St George's and Birmingham Bull Street.

The trams have been out of action three times over the past year after cracks were found in some of the vehicles.

Operator Midland Metro Ltd said some had been repaired and new trams had also been bought and were ready for service after testing.

The tram service will only go as far as Birmingham Bull Street

The company said it was continuing to work with manufacturer CAF to "accelerate the repair programme" and would review its timetable as more repaired trams became available.

Normally, the trams operate every six to eight minutes during peak times.

At the end of May, Midland Metro Ltd had to apologise after missing its target of restoring the regional service.

Trams were suspended when a crack was found on one vehicle in June 2021. Services resumed after temporary repairs but stopped again when more cracks were discovered in November.

They resumed briefly in February but ceased operating again in March when yet more cracks were found.

Trams were tested along the Broad Street line extension in April

The operator apologised to customers for the inconvenience over the past year and thanked them for their "continued patience".

In April, the latest extension of the tram network in Birmingham city centre, which runs along Broad Street to Edgbaston Village, was tested.

Midland Metro said at the time the route was due to open to passengers this month however was unable to confirm a date when asked by the BBC on Tuesday.