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West Midlands’ public transport co-ordinator Centro has officially opened the Midland Metro tram depot at Wednesbury, UK, after the £13.8m refurbishment.

Under this project, the Potters Lane complex has been modernised as part of the ongoing £128m expansion of the line between Wolverhampton and Birmingham in the UK.

West Midlands councillor Darren Cooper said: "This is a fantastic addition to the Midland Metro infrastructure and proof of our ambition to achieve an even higher standard of service.

"An awful lot of work that has gone into refurbishing the depot while keeping the Metro in operation and I applaud all those who have made it happen."

"This is a fantastic addition to the Midland Metro infrastructure."

Commissioned in 2012 by the Centro, construction of the tram depot was carried out by contractors Morgan Sindall.

The project’s first phase included the construction of a testing and commissioning shed, additional trackwork and overhead line electrification that delivers stabling facilities for up to 24 vehicles.

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It was completed in 2013 and provided testing and commissioning facilities for the new fleet of Urbos 3 trams in the same year.

Second phase of the project saw the 42m-long extension to the existing maintenance shed, new office and staff space, in addition to new storage facilities for the tram maintenance works.

It also modernised some of the electrical substations and included provision of a new substation at West Bromwich.

The Midland Metro currently provides service from Wolverhampton to Snow Hill station in Birmingham city centre through Bilston, Wednesbury and West Bromwich.


Image: The newly expanded Midland Metro depot gets the thumbs up from councillor Roger Horton, left, and councillor Darren Cooper with workers at the site. Photo: courtesy of Centro.

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