The West Midlands Metro EXPLAINED

[@stevieinselby]

Yes, you're right that there is already a good 🚆 train service between Birmingham and Wolverhampton ... but the 🚋 tram wasn't about connecting Birmingham to Wolverhampton, it was about connecting all the intermediate stations to Birmingham and connecting all the intermediate stations to Wolverhampton (and potentially to each other).

[@konadesu]

Yeah, the only reason to take the entire route is when trains get cancelled.

[@paulwheeler4283]

As a viewer from Birmingham I really appreciate this video thank you

[@ethandunbar8005]

Great spelling of Worcester!

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

The line from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill is being built right now, with the first phase to Dudley aiming to be completed by 2022 for the Commonwealth Games.

[@malcolmgeorge1180]

That would be good

[@mittfh]

As was noted, much of the route is a former railway line, so while the previous tracks have long since been lifted and nature started to reclaim it, relaying track and adding overhead lines for those stretches is relatively straightforward.

[@randomphil8666]

lol, as somebody who lives near Dudley, it’s safe to say this will not be opening in 2022… Probably 2024 if your lucky.

[@SomeBritishGal1]

Couple notes on pronunciation: Wednesbury is pronounced Whens-bree Brierley Hill is pronounced Bry-lee Hill Edgbaston is pronounced Edge-bas-tun

[@AtTheBellEnd]

Ah, but is it EDGE-buss-tun, edge-BASS-tun or EDGE-BASS-tun?

[@paleonard1979]

@@AtTheBellEnd definitely the former ... And it's So lee hull #ProudOfMyHomeTown

[@craignicklin4573]

dom't forget DUD lee

[@paleonard1979]

@@craignicklin4573 Dud lay surely!

[@craignicklin4573]

@@paleonard1979 hay i'm from Coventry not the black country, i only work there.

[@philipvellowwood]

Great explainer. It would be good if you could expand on that proposed 2040 plan at the end, or even just how the metro connects into the existing rail/transit network in the city region. Birmingham always seems like a comparatively car and bus-reliant city, so it's interesting to see these faster public transport options opening up.

[@Crepello100]

Strangely enough, while trying to find the tram timetables on the net last week, I ended up bogged down by all the different bodies involved. Result was I found lots of stuff on the history, also bus timetables but not ones for the trams cos I couldn't figure out what the network was called. Now you've explained it!

[@trainman305team]

Good stuff good stuff, we all love it

[@transitcaptain]

YAY! This is a topic I have been hoping to see. The West Midlands Metro is very interesting.

[@calebpell7916]

The upcoming West Midlands Mayoral Election will be important. The incumbent mayor has put a big focus on improving the network, and seems to have done a good job at attracting funding for many of his projects

[@DadgeCity]

It's a bit too much about him. Govt should be willing to co-operate with improving transport in the West Midlands without needing a Grinning Tory to take the credit.

[@calebpell7916]

I agree, but if it's the only way that places outside the South East get any meaningful infrastructure spending, I can put up with a Grinning Tory

[@jonathanmitchell420]

@@calebpell7916 So its cash for votes it is then.

[@hibees3370]

Can u do Edinburgh trams explained btw there are lots of extensions planned

[@lordgemini2376]

Yes, and Manchester too!

[@sr6424]

The Brierley is on 2 former Railway Lines. The OWW went from Stourbridge to Dudley and then Wolves. The first part is still a freight line (To Round Oak Terminal) . At Dudley the the South Staffs Started and went to Burton. Until the 1980s the two lines were used as a through route for freight The line between Round Oak and Walsall was never lifted.The extension to Wolves Station was started years ago. I believe will open veery soon.

[@AtTheBellEnd]

6:13 that's a photo of Manchester, isn't it?

[@ashleyrabot]

You have a keen eye Adam! Sadly there is a lack of stock footage of Birmingham

[@AtTheBellEnd]

@@ashleyrabot It just tickled me a bit given the second-city-themed rivalry between Manchester and Birmingham. I only lived in Brum for a couple of years, but I had images of native Brummies' blood boiling at that point... 😅 Love your channel all the same.

[@lordgemini2376]

Would be great to see a video on Manchester

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@AtTheBellEnd Birmingham is number 2 due to area and population ant the City of Manchester is number 8 in size.

[@Andrewjg_89]

With the West Midlands Metro. They are also plans for extensions including to Birmingham International Airport, Birmingham NEC, Coventry City Centre, Dudley, Merry Hill shopping centre, Walsall and yes Wolverhampton. Plus with new trams and train-trams that will serve Birmingham and the West Midlands region. And with HS2 to be built and a new Curzon Street HS2 that will see both HS2 serving Birmingham and the trams that it will have connections with. I would like to Birmingham and to ride on those trams.

[@visionentertainment8006]

It already goes to Wolverhampton

[@lordgemini2376]

Can you do the Manchester Metrolink and all of it's planned extensions next?

[@YorksLancsTransportHub]

Lol it will look like the tube by 2050 lol. Maybe it might even exstend all the way up to Wigan and Stockport.

[@lordgemini2376]

@@YorksLancsTransportHub Haha, it will. So much potential!

[@juanescobar8123]

@@YorksLancsTransportHub there are also possible extensions to Warrington, Bolton and Leigh, so yeah it has the potential to be huge

[@YorksLancsTransportHub]

@@juanescobar8123 I doubt Warrington because that's in Cheshire.

[@juanescobar8123]

@@YorksLancsTransportHub The London underground goes out of London, Merseyrail goes outside Merseyside, Scotrail goes out of Scotland

[@paulwilliamdixon3674]

They should improve the rail links too. Reopen Redditch to Evesham, for example. And the Berkswell to Kenilworth link. And Leamington to Rugby, via Marton, all for commuter passenger traffic. And local stations on Coventry to MK eg Roade and Castlethorpe. Kilsby & Crick could be reopened as a parkway station as it is near the motorway.

[@SuperSupermanX1999]

I know some of that is currently being done. For example the railway stations in Moseley and Kings Norton (I think) are being rebuilt to provide extra urban rail coverage. which'll be amazing as a step to reduce car traffic and create more space in the city centre for pedestrians, cyclists, and extensions to the tram network. brum will look very different in a few years time

[@olivercuenca4109]

8:26 Eh, I dunno, spread over twenty years that doesn't seem too shabby really. Especially when you consider that that will hopefully be subsidised a little by the fare revenue from the new lines to some extent.

[@toddlithgow]

You’d think the government would be jumping to invest in light rail and similar schemes as part of their decarbonisation/net zero plans. Would definitely help more than the £30 billion they want to spend on making already big roads even bigger and encouraging more car usage

[@idot3331]

@@toddlithgow You forget that the government is completely incompetent and would never make a reasonable well-judged decision like that.

[@musiqtee]

Wow, so many companies and semi-public entities... I really wish for the public that they end up with a well deserved transportation network, but can’t stop wondering...; How many of these corporate entities are into real estate investments, as well as dabbling with rail infrastructure, rolling stock and transport logistics? Just curious... 😅👍

[@wishkid79]

Your information of ownership is slightly incorrect. Allow me to explain? 1. West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA)- This is the main political governance of the entire West Midlands region. It’s comprised of the boroughs that formulate the West Midlands region. They are the cities of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry and the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. 2. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM)- This is an amalgamation of the former West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority (WMPTA) and it’s executive, WMPTE (rebranded as Centro in 1990). TfWM control, develop and maintain all public transport infrastructure and the management of the concessionary fares scheme. They also own the Midland Metro, which was operated under contact by National Express from 1997 until 2018. Since 2018, TfWM have also commenced operational management of the Metro. TfWM don’t own or operate any bus services. Although they do subsides commercially unviable, socially necessary bus services, which are competitively tendered to local, private bus companies. TfWM do control and manage all local railway services within the West Midlands. The cycle hire scheme and of course, the Metro. These are all subdivided into the following… West Midlands Bus (Red branding), West Midlands Rail (Orange branding), West Midlands Cycle (Green branding) and West Midlands Metro (Blue branding). 3. Midland Metro Limited (MML)- This is a private, limited company, which is owned exclusively by WMCA. It is the company that now own and operate the entire Metro system in the West Midlands. MML operates the trams under the branding of West Midlands Metro (WMM). WMM operate the trams, including staffing, ticketing, revenue protection, vehicle maintenance, infrastructure maintenance (stops, depots and buildings on the system), timetables, customer relations and so forth. 4. Midland Metro Alliance (MMA)- This is consortium of specialist companies, that deal with railway construction and capital project deliverance. It is they who now design and build the expanding tram network on behalf of the WMCA. So to summarise, the Metro is broken down into two sections- operations and construction. The responsibility of which belongs to: * West Midlands Combined Authority * Transport for West Midlands * Midland Metro Limited (t/a West Midlands Metro) * Midland Metro Alliance.

[@insertyourquarters]

Thank you very much for this. I've been looking to understand this myself from thorough research.

[@Fluteboy]

2:06 - One train named after Jeff Astle, the greediest football player in history. He and his wife showed up at a charity dinner, and proceeded to fill their faces, while completely ignoring their company, or the fact that they were there to present an award. In fact, the only time Jeff acknowledged his company was to ask the question: _"Any more pie?"_ This became a feature on Danny Baker's Talk Radio show in the 90s: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH-wh3aImLKYo5Y

[@ymodnar]

5:48 You spelt Worcester wrong

[@Ryan1992channel]

I just hope that line 2 Brierley Hill to Wednesbury will be extended to my town of Walsall & further into the Staffordshire town of Lichfield. The buses go Dudley are always full & same with Litchfield. This could add a further 8 stops a long the line. Making it fast & more convenient for passengers & could boots local economies in Dudley, Walsall & Litchfield. The. South Staffordshire Line connecting Oxford with Burton upon Trent via Dudley & Walsall. The fact they only using half the line were the rest of the original rail line is still there has really frustrated locals in my town. Who also lobbied for a metro link to Wolverhampton to Walsall link via Willenhall but but shot down by the combined authority saying there was in demand. But my down is getting 3 stations Auldridge, Willenhall & Darlaston... yet the metro would get to areas of Walsall that would benefit from the tram rather then relying on buses & cars.

[@Alto53]

Litchfield won't get the Metro as its not in the WMCA area.

[@davidbull7210]

No, the Eastside extension hasnt even begun main construction so it won't be opening in late 2021. It is due to be open "by 2025". The Brierley Hill extension began construction last year and will be opening in 2023. There aren't plans to extend to Wolverhampton Station, it's nearly finished!

[@q3b26]

Yeah I thought the Wolverhampton end was pretty much done by now, I know one of the Piper’s Row stops were open

[@teecefamilykent]

Great video sir.

[@underworldjam]

Line 1 didn't reintroduce rail to Tipton. Tipton already had a station on the Wolverhampton (High level) to Birmingham New Street line. It did reintroduce rail to Bilston and Wednesbury however.

[@torchwood2020]

There are plans to take trams from Wednesbury to Walsall

[@YoloMenace001]

Could you do the Nottingham Express Transit?

[@JM-wt7rh]

If there ever was a region in desperate need of light rail... it's brum

[@craignicklin4573]

plus some extra heavy rail stations, some freight only lines need badly opening up for passenger traffic like the sutton park line,

[@hamishashcroft3233]

Yes I agree. Only Leeds I would say needs it more

[@lorddarlo6194]

Well half the lines planned have good bus links linking the areas

[@juanescobar8123]

@@lorddarlo6194 buses aren't that convenient as they are slow, polluting and infrequent

[@youtubespeedrunlol]

There's tons of traffic anyways in the west midlands

[@tobeytransport2802]

Did the midland metro have any street running prior to the extension or was it just a light rail line?

[@visg8303]

Pains me that Sheffield doesn’t get any extensions when they need it so bad

[@juanescobar8123]

The only extension built has been the tram train

[@juanescobar8123]

Can you do a vid on the proposed West Yorkshire Rapid Transit. It is a new proposed light rail system serving Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, etc. The T69 trams sound like a terminator.

[@martineyles]

But does Birmingham have anything similar to crossrail in terms of frequency, length and distance between stations?

[@wentonmastermind]

Ashley - thank you for your clear (despite your forebodings) explanation of these developments. Shouldn't you have been speaking with a Brummies accent? Keep up the good work!

[@neilbloggs5008]

why? only one place has a brummie accent the rest of us do not sound anything like that

[@micgaming2]

amazing got a new sub and liked the video

[@jonathanmitchell420]

Compare the lack of vision beyond a few lines, a complicated network of companies and a lack of integration of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to that in Manchester (TfGM) and Wales (TfW)- who in the same time have taken over most of their network and have some pretty ambitious integration and growth plans. Meh. Great video btw Ashley, keep it up.

[@UHarshanBlackBoy1995]

Nice video and nice explanation! I like it. Could the future plans be earlier, such as 2030 instead of 2040?

[@hendog3894]

Never appreciated how large the metro is due to become!

[@DanJamesJames]

Another pronunciation observation:the first letter in "HS2" is pronounced AITCH, and definitely not HAITCH

[@robloxdude7564]

some people prefer aitch, some people prefer haitch

[@DanJamesJames]

@@robloxdude7564 Hmmmm .....or perhaps that should be Mmmmm .....

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

If you are on about the pronunciation of HS2, it is pronounced wit the letter H or as you put it Haitch, if it was pronounced as Aitch S 2 it would be AS2

[@jackhughes1299]

Centenary square, not century square

[@paulkemmitt6962]

Much of the expansion is 'justified ' by the commonwealth games in 2022. Once this has been and gone I doubt there'll be any more growth in the network.

[@rolandharmer6402]

Nah! They have got the tram building bug, they won’t stop!

[@lorddarlo6194]

Not to mention this Metro has killed off local bus services an example I live in Darlaston on the border with Wednesbury Wednesbury Parkway is about a 15 - 20 minute Walk along the A41 Black Country New Road and other roads. Darlaston Bus Station is about 5 - 7 Minute Walk Wednesbury Bus Station about 10 Minute Walk. Now Darlaston was proposed to be on line 1 and what would become the 5 W line Wolverhampton - Wednesbury - Walsall - Wednesfeild - Willenhall or Wolverhampton - Wednesfeild - Willenhall - Walsall - Wednesbury to join with line 1 near to the Metro depot at Wednesbury Parkway. Darlaston Tram Stop would have been about 5 minutes away and I would have walked over it to get to the Stop. Now The reason all of this is significant is Darlaston would have a link to Birmingham. Which it used to as a Bus Service called the 79 operated by National Express West Midlands ran between Wolverhampton and Birmingham following the Metro from Wolves to Bilston. Then again from Bilston to Moxley passing Great Bridge Road which led to Bradley Lane and Loxdale which is after Bilston. The 79 passed St Georges which it used to stop outside of. Then the Royal, Priestfeild, The Crescent Bilston Central, Loxdale, Bradley Lane the Tram then ran to Wednesbury directly. With the 79 following the A41 upto the Moxley Junction the A41 would then become dual carriageway to West Bromwich and J1 of the M5 known as the Black Country New Road, Or Spine Road. The 79 then continued from there into Darlaston where I live. It then came back on itself to serve an estate instead of down the main road my estate of to Wednesbury. The 79 then joined that main road further up to serve Wednesbury Bus Station before following the Tram past Black Lake and Guns Village and then the West Bromwich stops. Lodge Road, West Brom Central for the bus station and Trinity Way. The 79 then remeets the A41 at J1 of the M5 and the Tram shortly after following the A41 Birmingham Road passing the West Brom Ground The Hawthorns where the Tram and the Snow Hill lines joined following the Tram all the way to Snow Hill. Anyway the 79 still runs but saw a Service change from every 5 to 8 minutes to every 10 to 12 minutes running only between Wolves and West Brom now traffic on the A41 Birmingham Road and around Wolves affected this but the bus was cheaper. And still was when the 79 was cut to West Brom now I have two options to get to Birmingham by bus 79 to West Brom then 74 which ran with with the 79 between Birmingham and West Brom extending to Dudley or a Bus to Walsall then the x51 limited stop bus to Birmingham. But if the Tram running between Birmingham and Dudley happens and Wednesbury many local bus services will be affected the 74 might as well be scrapped but that is a 24 hour service the Tram isn't and then buses from Walsall to Merry Hill and Dudley via Wednesbury as the Tram would run from Wednesbury to Those destinations. And at Walsall there is another bus to Merry Hill directly via West Brom, Blackheath or Oldbury to get to get to Dudley or to Halesowen diverting at Blackheath where you could connect and one to Blackheath but also that might be at risk as the bus from Wolverhampton to Birmingham formerly the 126 now the X8 runs via Blackheath idk if if goes via Dudley or if that is 8 running to Stourbridge from Wolvo via Dudley which sort of follows the x8 most of the way until Dudley could be at risk due to the Tram. Also they are planning sprint a sort of Bus/Tram thing from Walsall to Solihull so the Metro would be pointless this is just more bs from someone thinking Trams are the Solution maybe upgrade bus lanes and stuff and people might get out of there cars when they see a bus pass them. Considering Bus fares from the biggest Operator NXWM have frozen this year whist the Tram is more expensive

[@stephenfisher2413]

Wolverhampton LowLevel to Birmingham Snow Hill closed in March 1972 not 1992 !!!

[@n1thmusic229]

The way he pronounced CAF

[@Footballedits9889]

Expectation vs Reality: Phase 2 of Westside Extension, Expectation: Open Late 2021, Reality: Actually Opened in August 2022. Birmingham East Side Phase 1, Expectation: Planned in 2021, Reality: Will Open in Early 2025. Brierley Hill Extension, Expectation: Planned in 2023, Reality: Will Open in Late 2025.

[@brianmarshall4753]

Want to expansion to NEC Birmingham airport and solihull town centre

[@mikesaunders4775]

No such letter as ' Haitch'

[@blotski]

Aitch not Haitch.

[@Cowman9791]

5:49 You spelt worcester wrong, you just lost ONE subscriber for spelling my home town wrong! Just kidding, I still love your videos

[@juanescobar8123]

I think they should extend the metro from Edgbaston, along the A456 and A458 to Halesowen, which isn't served by a railway

[@q3b26]

Loving hear you butcher these pronunciations 😂

[@the_9ent]

The line from snow hill to grand central was a waste of time and money. Such a service was never needed nor asked for. I speak as a Brummie who saw all the disruption it caused to build the thing. Totally pointless.

[@DarnIDidntKnowThat]

soo slow 2 decades to get this far lol

[@ce1834]

The metro is a tram? 😂

[@eurostare300tmst5]

Yes😂

[@adebolabloke6962]

Badly needs an update to show how the Metro is now the most useless form of transport in the world and keeps on getting taking off for the same suspicious reasons. Meanwhile the local economy is being killed where extension works are taking place. It is a giant shit show

[@jackroom1261]

As a Dudley resident I see no value to Dudley’s part in the metro. £1 billion will be spent on the regeneration of my town but what’s the point in giving a small town like Dudley a tram which runs through half the town? You can walk the distance in about 5 minutes, who wants to come to a town which only has charity shops and low cost stores like Iceland, heron foods and home bargains? That money should of been better spent on creating incentives for higher end shops to come back to our high street like they were about 40 years ago and general upgrades to the town.

[@greenfly1264]

Pointless, expensive and useless