148-449: The West Midlands Metro is a light-rail / tram system in the county of West Midlands , England. The network has 33 stops with a total of 14.9 miles (24.0 km) of track; it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via the towns of Bilston , West Bromwich and Wednesbury , on a mixture of former railway lines and urban on-street running . The system
296-705: A Methodist and attending the Wednesbury Methodist meetings, where fellow Methodists – many of them colliers and drovers – knew him as "Brother Earl". West Bromwich Town Hall , situated in the centre of the High Street, is a Grade II listed building. It was built between 1874 and 1875 in brick and stone to an Italian Gothic design, and its interior reflects the Victorian interest in Gothic and Medieval architecture. Its Grand Organ, built in 1862,
444-576: A consortium of various engineering and consultancy firms, the Midland Metro Alliance, to design and construct future network extensions. The current operator, Midland Metro, has produced accounts from 1 October 2017. Between 1999 and 2003, Altram had operated Midland Metro unsuccessfully on a for-profit basis. However, operating revenue did not cover costs, and in February 2003, auditors refused to sign off Midland Metro's accounts as
592-579: A going concern . From 2006, under sole National Express control, losses were largely covered by cross-subsidy from other parts of the National Express group, but the figures were not shown separately in their published accounts. Passenger revenue and passenger numbers are published by the Department for Transport. The key available trends in recent years for West Midlands Metro are (years ending 31 March): Detailed passenger journeys since
740-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
888-469: A 'live' digital display of services, closed-circuit television , and an intercom linked to Metro Centre. Some of the line is electrified at 750 V DC using overhead lines , and that system was renewed in 2010/11, requiring short-term closures. The current trams have batteries, and charge at specially adapted tram stops, eliminating the need for visible power infrastructure within certain city sections. The Metro Centre control room, stabling point and depot
1036-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
1184-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
1332-1142: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
1480-535: A couple of the new trams during routine inspection in June 2021 leading to all services being briefly suspended. Services were suspended again in November 2021 for four weeks as further inspections had discovered that more significant permanent repairs were required. The service was suspended again on 20 March 2022 for replacement of body panels and recommenced on 9 June 2022. West Midlands Metro has previously operated
1628-712: A formal place of worship in West Bromwich since the opening of the Shree Krishna Mandir in 1974, in a converted church once called Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, which had closed in 1971. It was damaged by fire on 8 December 1992, the same date that a Mandir in Birmingham and another in Coventry were damaged in arson attacks. It was believed to have been connected to religious violence in India that
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#17327720577651776-573: A high vacancy rate for commercial and industrial units. Many local towns, particularly Dudley, lost many of their major stores around the time that the Merry Hill Shopping Centre which was developed at Brierley Hill during the second half of the 1980s as businesses looked to take advantage of the Enterprise Zone incentives that the centre offered. West Bromwich's fortunes as a retail centre were seriously affected by
1924-502: A joint planning committee to look at light rail as a means of solving the conurbation's congestion problems. In summer 1984 they produced a report, "Rapid Transit for the West Midlands", which set out ambitious proposals for a £500 million network of ten light-rail routes that would be predominantly street-running, but would include some underground sections in Birmingham city centre. One of the proposed routes would have used part of
2072-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
2220-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
2368-543: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
2516-538: A member of parliament willing to sponsor an enabling Bill . Following the abolition of the West Midlands County Council and establishment of a new Passenger Transport Authority in 1986, a new light-rail scheme under the name "Midland Metro" was revived with a different set of lines. The first of up to 15 lines was intended to be operating by the end of 1993, and a network of 200 kilometres was planned to be in use by 2000. In February 1988, it
2664-642: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
2812-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
2960-457: A significant number of Afro-Caribbean immigrants also settled in West Bromwich. The majority of these immigrants settled in the older parts of the town that were mostly made up of Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses. The local road network was also greatly increased during the 1960s and 1970s. West Bromwich is at the extreme northern end of the M5 motorway , with junction 1 serving the town on
3108-741: A smart-card system (similar to Transport for London 's Oyster card ) to improve access, alongside a range of measures including a new Tube-style map and electric bus networks. This has now launched and is called the Swift card. In March 2022, the fare system was amended again, with the graduated fares replaced by four zones: Fares are now charged on a per-zone basis, with fares payable for travel in Zone 1 slightly higher than Zones 2-4 (this applies to single zone, two zone and three zone fares). The stops at Jewellery Quarter , Black Lake and Priestfield are "boundary stations", meaning they sit in both zones. When
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#17327720577653256-560: A steady nationwide decline in this sector since the 1970s. Sandwell General Hospital (on the site of the former Hallam Hospital) is located near the town centre. It is currently part of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust , one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the United Kingdom. William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth had his seat at Sandwell Hall . Legge was unusual as an aristocrat of this period by being
3404-534: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
3552-481: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
3700-516: Is Sandwell Valley , which contains Sandwell Valley Country Park and Sandwell Valley RSPB nature reserve . The 660 acre country park is located on the River Tame , in the middle of the urban conurbation between Birmingham and West Bromwich. The RSPB nature reserve is adjacent, and attracts over 150 different bird species. There are also two farms on the site that are open to the public: Sandwell Park Farm and Forge Mill Farm. West Bromwich
3848-637: Is a culturally diverse area with many places of worship for several different religions. At the time of writing (2023), The Church of England provides the most places of worship across the geographically wider West Bromwich Deanery (taking in West Bromwich, Hill Top, Stone Cross, Carter's Green, Holy Trinity, All Saints, St Andrew's, St Francis, Friar Park and others) which contains nine Anglican churches. Other Christian denominations are present, including Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist , Methodist , Baptist , Elim Pentecostal , Assemblies of God and other independent churches. The deanery of West Bromwich
3996-470: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
4144-575: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
4292-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
4440-597: Is at fifteen-minute intervals. Trams take roughly 55 minutes to complete the route. West Midlands Metro operates 42 trams, with more on option. In summary: In February 2012, Centro announced that it was planning a £44.2 million replacement of the entire existing T-69 tram fleet. CAF was named preferred bidder for 19 to 25 Urbos 3 trams . A£40 million order for 20 was signed, with options for five more. The new fleet provided an increased service of ten trams per hour in each direction, with an increased capacity of 210 passengers per tram (compared to 156 passengers on
4588-563: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
West Midlands Metro - Misplaced Pages Continue
4736-467: Is considered to be of historic importance for its musical and technical qualities. West Bromwich Manor House , Hall Green Road, was built by the de Marnham family in the late 13th century as the centre of their agricultural estate in West Bromwich only the Great Hall survives of the original complex of living quarters, agricultural barns, sheds and ponds. Successive occupants modernised and extended
4884-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
5032-502: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
5180-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
5328-559: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
5476-580: Is known for its football club West Bromwich Albion , who have played in the town since the club's formation in 1878. It is also home to parts of Sandwell Valley Country Park and Sandwell Valley RSPB nature reserve . West Bromwich was first mentioned as Bromwic (' broom village') in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is believed that it may have originally been part of the Handsworth parish. A Benedictine priory existed in West Bromwich from
5624-433: Is near Wednesbury Great Western Street tram stop , on land once used as railway sidings . In January 2023, construction began to expand the depot. Unlike many other tram and train networks in the UK, West Midlands Metro does not offer ticket machines or ticket offices at tram stops although machines were provided when the system opened. They were later replaced by conductors. Single, return, and all-day tickets are sold by
5772-751: Is now served by the West Midlands Metro light rail (tram) system with West Bromwich having seven tram stops: The Hawthorns , Kenrick Park , Trinity Way , West Bromwich Central , Lodge Road West Bromwich Town Hall , Dartmouth Street and Dudley Street Guns Village . The nearest main-line railway station is now Sandwell & Dudley railway station , approximately one mile (two kilometres) away in Oldbury town centre. Though services to Stourbridge Junction , Worcester Shrub Hill , Worcester Foregate Street , Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street call at The Hawthorns railway station . There
5920-484: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
6068-556: Is owned by the public body Transport for West Midlands , and operated by Midland Metro Limited, a company wholly owned by the West Midlands Combined Authority . During August 1995, a 25-year contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of Line 1 was awarded to the Altram consortium; construction commenced three months later. It was launched on 30 May 1999 as Midland Metro , partly using
West Midlands Metro - Misplaced Pages Continue
6216-633: Is that it is used regularly by people of many ethnicities, unlike other mosques in West Bromwich which are primarily used by people of one ethnicity. There are also a large number of Sikhs in the area. There are many Gurudwaras . Sikhs have settled in the area since 1950, when the first influx of immigrants came. The oldest Gurdwara in West Bromwich is the Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji on High Street. Other Gurdwara's include Guru Nanak Gurdwara on Edward Street and Gurdwara Sachkhand Ishar Darbar on Vicarage Road. Hindus have had
6364-583: Is under the Anglican Diocese of Lichfield . West Bromwich has four mosques. With two on Dartmouth street, one serving the Bangladeshi sunni community and the other, the Pakistani sunni community. The reason for the separate mosques is due to historic differences in opinions between imams of the berelvi community (Pakistani) and other sunni denominations. The largest mosque in West Bromwich is
6512-517: The A41 road . Traffic passing through West Bromwich on the main route from Wolverhampton to Birmingham was soon diverted along the new dual carriageway, the Northern Loop Road (also known as The Expressway ), after its opening in 1972, with another dual carriageway being built to link The Expressway with neighbouring Oldbury . West Bromwich County Borough was expanded in 1966 to include
6660-687: The Birmingham Blitz , which resulted in thousands of casualties, as well as the less severe raids on nearby Dudley and Tipton . The first major postwar council housing development was the Harvills Hawthorn Estate near Hill Top, which was completed in 1948. Mass immigration from the Commonwealth took place in West Bromwich during the 1950s and 1960s, with most of these hailing from the Indian subcontinent , although
6808-510: The Birmingham to Worcester railway line , before the two diverge. Two stations on this stretch ( Jewellery Quarter and The Hawthorns ) are also tram/railway interchange stations. At the northern end trams leave the railway trackbed at Priestfield to run along Bilston Road to Wolverhampton St George's . From September 2023 trams terminate at Wolverhampton station instead although the original terminus remains open. The original proposal
6956-570: The Black Country , in terms of geography, cultures and dialect . West Bromwich had a population of 103,112 in the 2021 Census . Initially a rural village, West Bromwich's growth corresponded with that of the Industrial Revolution , owing to the area's natural richness in ironstone and coal, as well as its proximity to canals and railway branches. It led to the town becoming a centre for coal mining , brick making ,
7104-473: The Charlemont and Grove Vale district of the town. Charlemont Hall was described c. 1800 as "a lofty neat-looking house of brick, faced with stone, with iron palisades etc. in front." An east wing was added in 1855. The last occupant was the widow of Thomas Jones, town clerk of Wednesbury 1897–1921. The house was demolished in 1948, and is now covered by a number of smaller detached homes. Much of
7252-542: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
7400-662: The European Regional Development Fund contributed £31M, while the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority provided £17.1M and Altram contributed £11.4M. By May 1997, construction work was reportedly 50 per cent complete and track-laying had been progressing at 0.5 km per week. However, the targeted completion date of August 1998 was missed by ten months, leading to compensation being paid by Altram. The original part of Line 1, Birmingham to Wolverhampton,
7548-571: The FA Cup and qualified for European competitions on several occasions. Attendances were high during this era, but slumped during the 1980s when the club's on-the-field fortunes began to decline and culminated in relegation in 1986, at a time which the local economy had already suffered a sharp decline. Albion did not play in the top flight again until 2002, and remained a regular presence in the FA Premier League until 2018, during which time
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#17327720577657696-531: The Football League . It won the league championship in 1920 and has won the FA Cup five times, most recently in 1968 , and won the League Cup in 1966 . Albion were based in and around the centre of West Bromwich during their formative years, but moved further out of the town in 1900 when they switched to their current ground, The Hawthorns . All traces of the original structures are long gone;
7844-517: The Greets Green area. Its exact date of origin is uncertain, but in 1634 it was owned by the Turtons. John Wesley preached there twice in the late 1700s. Reuben Farley gave it to the town as a museum, with the formal opening on 25 July 1898. In 1949 it was protected as a Grade II* Listed Building. In August 2009, The Public arts centre designed by architect Will Alsop fully opened. By 2013,
7992-649: The Library of Birmingham , and in July 2022 the line was extended further to Edgbaston Village tram stop . From the Grand Central tram stop , which allows interchange with the National Rail network at Birmingham New Street station, West Midlands Metro then runs on street through the city-centre to Birmingham Snow Hill station. From there, the line runs north-west, and for the first few miles it runs alongside
8140-758: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
8288-637: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
8436-474: The North Warwickshire Line was also to be converted as far as Shirley station , leaving a question mark over existing train services to Stratford-upon-Avon . Tram tracks would also run alongside the existing line to Solihull and Dorridge , and local train services would have ended. The most serious drawback, however, which proved fatal to the scheme, was that the first proposed route of
8584-874: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
8732-703: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
8880-470: The boroughs of Tipton and Wednesbury as well as a small section of Coseley urban district , before joining with the neighbouring county borough of Warley (which contained the towns of Rowley Regis , Oldbury and Smethwick ) in 1974 to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell . Charlemont Hall, built during the 1750s, stood on the west side of the present Charlemont Crescent, in
9028-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
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#17327720577659176-433: The 12th century around which the settlement of Broomwich Heath grew. In 1727, the town became a stop on the coaching road between London and Shrewsbury and the beginning of its growth dates from this time. The prefix 'West' serves to distinguish it from the village of Castle Bromwich , around 8 miles (13 km) to the east on the other side of Birmingham. In the 19th century, coal deposits were discovered, ensuring that
9324-624: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
9472-409: The 2021 Census was recorded as: The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb ". (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). The town's football club is West Bromwich Albion . The club was founded in 1878 and in 1888 it became one of the 12 founder members of
9620-495: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
9768-601: The Liberal Party again until 1910 when the Conservative Party regained the area which they held until 1918 under the representation of Viscount Lewisham . In 1918, it was won by Labour who held it until 2019, when Nicola Richards [1] was elected as MP. Prior to that the constituency was held by Labour except for the period between 1931 and 1935 when it held by the National Unionists . By
9916-645: The Madinatul Uloon Al-Islamiyah Madrasa on Moor street which accommodates all Muslim Sunni denominations and follows the Deobandi school of thought. The fourth mosque opened in 2016 and follows the Bangladeshi fultoli teachings. The Bangladeshi mosque on Dartmouth street (the Jami Masjid and Islamic Centre) is currently fundraising to rebuild a purpose-built mosque to accommodate more worshippers. Currently, they have obtained
10064-404: The Manor House until it was described in 1790 as "a large pile of irregular half-timbered buildings, black and white, and surrounded with numerous out-houses and lofty walls." The Manor House was saved from demolition in the 1950s by West Bromwich Corporation which carried out an extensive and sympathetic restoration of this nationally important building. The Oak House is an historic building in
10212-429: The Merry Hill development. This contributed to the closure of its Marks and Spencer store on 25 August 1990, along with the Dudley store, to be replaced by a new store at Merry Hill, with most of the staff at the new store being transferred from either West Bromwich or Dudley. British Home Stores also pulled out of the town around the same time, and a new store at Merry Hill which opened in November 1989 and also spelled
10360-406: The Midland Metro system opened in 1999, it was originally operated by Altram, a joint venture of the infrastructure company John Laing , the engineering firm Ansaldo , and the transport group National Express . During 2006, Ansaldo and Laing officially withdrew from the venture after financial difficulties, and day-to-day operation was taken over by the remaining partner, National Express, who ran
10508-431: The T69 trams). The first four new trams entered service on 5 September 2014; all of the T-69s had been replaced by August 2015. In October 2019, WMCA awarded CAF a contract to supply an additional 21 Urbos 3 trams worth £83.5 million for the expanding network, with the option to purchase a further 29. The contract includes technical support and battery management services over 30 years. Cracks were found in
10656-662: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
10804-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
10952-666: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
11100-590: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
11248-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
11396-730: The United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
11544-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
11692-463: The border with Wednesbury. The town suffered significant damage from air raids in World War II , with 58 civilian deaths, most in the raids of 19 November 1940 around Oak Road and Lombard Street to the west of the town centre. There were a few other less severe raids during the war on parts of West Bromwich including Stone Cross and Tantany, with no fatalities. This occurred on the same night as
11840-555: The borders of West Bromwich township. As with many other parts of the Midlands , West Bromwich was hit badly by the recessions of the mid-1970s and early 1980s, resulting in mass unemployment across the town, exceeding 20% in some districts. Queen's Square shopping centre opened in the town centre in 1971, providing shoppers with a 60-unit indoor shopping centre and an 850-space multi-storey car park . It cost £3million to build. The smaller King's Square shopping centre also opened in
11988-586: The bulk of Tipton and Wednesbury , while a small part of the south-eastern section of the town was absorbed into the new Warley County Borough which was centred on neighbouring Oldbury , Smethwick and Rowley Regis . The actual town boundaries of West Bromwich were also altered at this time, placing the Friar Park estate in Wednesbury, while the Hateley Heath area of Wednesbury was now within
12136-866: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
12284-612: The centre of West Bromwich. The first Council housing in West Bromwich was built in 1920 on the Tantany Estate to the north of the town centre. Within 20 years, several thousand council houses had been built by West Bromwich County Borough Council. The largest developments were mostly in the north of the town, including the Charlemont Farm Estate around Walsall Road, and the Friar Park Estate near
12432-623: The city centre to Five Ways , then a second line, Midland Metro Line 2, running to Chelmsley Wood , and then Birmingham Airport . A third line, Line 3 was also proposed, running from Line 1 at Wolverhampton to Walsall , using much of the disused trackbed of the Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway , and then, using the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill trackbed of the South Staffordshire Line (which would close in 1993), running southwards to Dudley intersecting with Line 1 along
12580-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
12728-445: The club attracted a level of average attendance not seen since the late 1970s. The archives for West Bromwich Borough are held at Sandwell Community History and Archives Service . The town is divided into two constituencies: Tipton and Wednesbury and West Bromwich . West Bromwich is served by Sarah Coombes ( Labour Party ), who was elected on 4 July 2024 Tipton and Wednesbury is served by Antonia Bance ( Labour Party ), who
12876-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
13024-475: The decline of the last 35 years. West Bromwich's road links were further enhanced in 1995 on the completion of the Black Country Spine Road which also by-passes Wednesbury and the east of Bilston . The completion of this new road opened up several square miles of previously inaccessible land, and has allowed several major businesses to set up along the route. This has helped relieve some of
13172-755: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
13320-557: The disused Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line . During 2006, Ansaldo and John Laing Group both withdrew from the consortium, thus day-to-day operation of the Metro was taken over by the remaining partner, National Express . In October 2018, the National Express concession ended and the system was taken over by Transport for West Midlands , the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The line originally terminated at Birmingham Snow Hill station at
13468-460: The edge of the city centre , but following an extension opened in December 2015 it now serves the central core of Birmingham, including the principal regional mainline station, Birmingham New Street . Following further extensions the line has terminated at Edgbaston Village since 2022. At the other end of the line, an extension to Wolverhampton station was opened on 17 September 2023. The Metro
13616-580: The end of the Dudley store. The town lost another big retail name in 2005 when the Littlewoods store closed as part of the retailer's decision to switch wholly to online shopping; the unit has since been taken over by New Look . Retail developments around Oldbury, beginning with the SavaCentre hypermarket in 1980, have also affected trade in West Bromwich. The recession beginning in 2008 has pushed
13764-483: The existing line as far as West Bromwich . The scheme suffered from several drawbacks, one being that three of the proposed routes, from Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield , Shirley , and Dorridge , would take over existing railways, and would have included the conversion into a tramway of the Cross-City Line between Aston and Blake Street , ending direct rail services to Lichfield . The northern section of
13912-473: The first of these projects. Work on the Birmingham Metro tram extension began in June 2012, launched by transport minister Norman Baker . The dig was begun at the junction of Corporation Street and Bull Street, with work to move water pipes and power cables. On 6 December 2015, trams entered service on the extension to Bull Street. For nearly two decades, Line 1 between Birmingham to Wolverhampton
14060-525: The following trams: The T-69s were built in Italy by AnsaldoBreda (now Hitachi Rail Italy), and were used only on the Midland Metro (as it was called then). After withdrawal, all 16 were transferred to the tram test centre at Long Marston . The West Midlands Metro is a standard-gauge double-track tramway. Trams are driven manually under a mix of line-of-sight and signals. Turnback crossovers along
14208-404: The future to offer higher education to adults who desire to pursue Islamic studies at a higher level. The premises consists of two large prayer halls and an assortment of classrooms. This mosque is regularly attended by mostly people of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Arab ethnicity (in order of proportions of worshippers from each ethnicity) – but what sets this mosque apart from others in West Bromwich,
14356-542: The iron industry and metal trades such as nails, springs and guns. The town's primary economy developed into the engineering, manufacturing and the automotive industry through the early 20th century. During the Second World War , West Bromwich experienced bombing from the German Luftwaffe . It also suffered heavily during recessions in the mid 1970s , early 1980s and late 2000s . The town
14504-504: The land provided drainage within the soil, however, urbanisation made this increasingly difficult and drainage along the streets was described as inadequate. The West Bromwich Town Improvement Commissioners was established in 1854, and they tackled the drainage problem in the town. They appointed members to new titles and in the 1880s bought land in Friar Park for a sewerage farm. Under the Reform Act 1832 , West Bromwich became part of
14652-610: The land they require for this rebuild but are lacking crucial funding required for the ambitious multi-million pound rebuild. The Jami Masjid and Islamic Centre was the first mosque in the area, of Bangladeshi origin. Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyah, located at Moor street is based at an abandoned church and was converted into a functioning mosque in 2001. The mosque also functions as a madrasa , meaning that it offers taught classes and hosts Islamic events including an annual jalsa (Islamic gathering). It currently (and since 2003) offers Islamic evening classes to hundreds of children and has plans in
14800-458: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
14948-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
15096-462: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
15244-423: The line, including in the street section, have point indicators. On the trackbed section Birmingham to Priestfield, signals are at Black Lake level crossing, Wednesbury Parkway, and Metro Centre. The street section has signals at every set of traffic lights, tied into the road signals to allow tram priority. The tram stops are unstaffed raised platforms with two open-fronted cantilever shelters equipped with seats,
15392-632: The local authority, with the last tram running in 1953. Proposals for a light-rail or Metro system in Birmingham and the Black Country had been put forward as early as the 1950s and 1960s, paradoxically at a time when some of the region's lines and services were beginning to be cut back. Serious inquiry into the possibility started in 1981, when the West Midlands County Council and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive formed
15540-469: The main roads leading into the town until the following morning. The town has enjoyed something of an economic revival since 11 July 2013, when, after a large scale demolition of an area including the school known as Cronehills, the New Square shopping and entertainment complex opened in the town centre on land adjoining the existing Queen's Square shopping centre. Hundreds of jobs have been created and
15688-488: The network, between Five Ways and Castle Bromwich via the city centre, would have involved the demolition of 238 properties. This invoked strong opposition from local residents. The scheme was spearheaded by Wednesfield Labour councillor Phil Bateman, but was eventually abandoned in late 1985 in the face of public opposition to demolishing hundreds of houses, and the Transport Executive was unable to find
15836-592: The new southern division of Staffordshire , and under the Reform Act 1867 it was transferred to the parliamentary borough of Wednesbury. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 , the borough of West Bromwich became a parliamentary borough returning one member. In 1885, it was held by the Liberal Party but from 1886 to 1906 it was held by the Conservative Party before being held by
15984-458: The newly built Eaton Valley Primary School, which opened in September 2009. The police station relocated to a brand new building the other site of the ring road. Major works started on the site during October 2011 and the development was completed by late spring 2013. Dartmouth Park , opened in 1878 by William Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth , lies to the east of the town. Beyond Dartmouth Park
16132-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
16280-558: The on-tram conductors . Tickets valid for 1, 4, or 52 weeks are sold from seven "Travel Shops" located around the West Midlands, though only four are in locations served by the Metro. Up until 2018 single, return, and day tickets could only be purchased with cash or Swift cards, but Contactless payment cards are now accepted. As well as the above, West Midlands Metro accepts a range of interavailable Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) tickets such as nbus+Metro and nNetwork, which can be bought on buses and at railway stations, as well as on
16428-498: The outbreak of World War I in 1914, many of the older houses built to house workers during the Industrial Revolution were becoming unfit for human habitation Sanitation was inadequate, decay was rife, and the homes were becoming a danger to the health and safety of their inhabitants. After the end of the war, the local council started building new homes to rehouse people from the rundown town centre. However, there are still many late 19th century and early 20th century buildings around
16576-469: The peak direction during rush hour. West Bromwich West Bromwich ( / ˈ b r ɒ m ɪ tʃ / BROM -itch ), commonly known as West Brom , is a market town in the borough of Sandwell , in the county of the West Midlands , England. Historically part of Staffordshire , it is 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Birmingham . West Bromwich is part of the area known as
16724-404: The present structures were added to the stadium in 1979, 1994 and most recently 2001. At an altitude of 551 feet, The Hawthorns is the highest football ground (above sea level) in the country. Engineering and chemicals are important to the town's economy, as it played a crucial part in the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century and still retains many manufacturing jobs to this day, despite
16872-437: The recently opened Central Campus in the town. A large portion of the town centre was procured by Tesco for the development of a Tesco Extra store and shopping centre called New Square, West Bromwich which has been built on top of the old hospital. In the early 2000s the tenants of homes and businesses have slowly moved out of the site to make way for the development. Cronehills Primary School (staff and pupils) relocated to
17020-411: The region's planned High Speed 2 terminus – and terminating at Digbeth is also under construction as of 2024. There are also proposals to expand this branch further towards Chelmsley Wood ( Solihull ) and out to Birmingham Airport . Birmingham once had an extensive tram network run by Birmingham Corporation Tramways . However, as in most British cities, the network was wound down and closed by
17168-556: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
17316-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
17464-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
17612-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
17760-483: The route. This would provide a direct link with the new Merry Hill Shopping Centre , which was built between 1984 and 1989. During August 1995, a 25-year contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of Line 1 was awarded to the Altram consortium; construction commenced three months later. The estimated construction cost in 1995 was £145 million (equivalent to £352,080,000 in 2023) of which loans and grants from central government accounted for £80M,
17908-671: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
18056-495: The section between Bilston and Wolverhampton was last used in 1983. A Bill to give West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive powers to build the line was deposited in Parliament in November 1988, and became an Act of Parliament a year later, with completion expected by the mid-1990s. A three-line network was initially planned, and powers were also obtained to build two further routes. Firstly an extension of Line 1 through
18204-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
18352-575: The surrounding area was developed during the 1960s as the Charlemont Farm housing estate, which is a mix of private and council housing . The population of West Bromwich suffered heavily in the Cholera epidemic of 1831 which spread northwards into the town. A temporary board of health was set up and a hospital opened in the former Revivalist chapel in Spon Lane. The natural gradual slope of
18500-409: The system as National Express Midland Metro . In October 2018, the National Express concession ended and the system was taken over by Transport for West Midlands , the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Operation of Midland Metro was taken over by Midland Metro Ltd, a company wholly owned by WMCA, and the system was rebranded West Midlands Metro . WMCA subsequently set up
18648-489: The system commenced operations on 30 May 1999 were: Light-rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT ) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in
18796-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
18944-495: The town centre further into decline, a notable casualty being the Woolworths store which closed on 30 December 2008 as a result of the retailer going into liquidation; the building was not re-occupied until Home Bargains took it over in 2012. Several more factories have closed in more recent years as manufacturers look to countries where the labour is cheaper, but West Bromwich remains a relatively busy industrial area despite
19092-414: The town grew rapidly as an industrial centre, with industries such as spring, gun and nail making developing. Well before the end of the 19th century, West Bromwich had established itself as a prominent area to match older neighbouring towns including Dudley and Walsall . In 1888, West Bromwich became a county borough , incorporating the village of Great Barr . It was expanded in 1966, acquiring most of
19240-431: The town has attracted retailers including Next, JD Sports, Primark and Bank Fashion , as well as an Odeon cinema , several food and drink outlets, and a Tesco Extra superstore. The mixed success of West Bromwich Albion F.C. has also had a significant impact on the town's economy, particularly during the club's successful era of the 1960s and 1970s when it frequently competed in the top division of English football, won
19388-405: The town in 1971. On 8 December 2011, 40 years after the opening of Queen's Square, Sandwell Council announced that Queen's Square would be refurbished at a cost of £5million. By this stage, the centre was falling into disrepair and only 33 of the 61 available units were occupied. Once again, West Bromwich had been hit hard by another recession , with local unemployment running high again, as well as
19536-503: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
19684-492: The trams. Cash fares were distance-related. The scale was originally intended to be broadly comparable with buses, but this caused the system to run at a significant loss and fares rose. In January 2013, the adult single fare from Birmingham to Wolverhampton was £2 by bus and £3.60 by tram, although the tram journey is much quicker even when the bus routes are congestion-free. By 2016 the tram fare had risen to £4. In November 2013, Birmingham City Council indicated plans to introduce
19832-527: The unemployment problems in West Bromwich, although most parts of the town still have the highest unemployment rates in the West Midlands. West Bromwich was among the many towns and cities in England affected by the widespread rioting in August 2011. On 9 August, shops closed their doors early to combat looting and vandalism; this was followed by widespread acts of vandalism and violence followed. Police closed
19980-460: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
20128-450: The venue was attracting nearly 400,000 visitors a year and was bringing leading national and international artists to the town. Originally beset by problems before opening, in May 2013, it was revealed that Sandwell Council were considering borrowing a substantial amount of money to repurpose the £70 million building and lease it to Sandwell College to provide a new sixth form centre to complement
20276-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
20424-427: Was announced that the first route, Line 1, would be between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, using much of the mothballed trackbed of the former Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line , a route not included in the 1984 recommended network, partly as at that stage the section between Wednesbury and Bilston was still in use, not closing until 1992. The Wednesbury to Birmingham section had closed back in 1972, and
20572-543: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
20720-460: Was elected on 4 July 2024. Betty Boothroyd had previously served as the constituency's MP and she was the first female Speaker of the House of Commons . At the 2021 census, West Bromwich's built-up area population was recorded as having a population of 103,112. Of the findings, the ethnicity and religious composition of the wards separately were: The religious composition of the built-up area at
20868-677: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
21016-407: Was opened on 30 May 1999. Some 25 years later, Line 2 and Line 3 have not been built. In 1997, Centro accepted that they were unable to get funding for the proposed lines, and therefore adopted a strategy of expanding the system in "bite-sized chunks", with the city-centre extension of Line 1 as the first priority. The intention was that the first decade of the 21st century would see the completion of
21164-574: Was originally operated by a fleet of 16 AnsaldoBreda T-69 trams; these were replaced during the 2010s by a newer fleet of 42 CAF Urbos 3 . Construction of a new branch line from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill was approved in March 2019, started in February 2020 and was intended to be completed for the 2022 Commonwealth Games , but has been severely delayed; it is currently scheduled to be completed at least to Dudley by 2025. An additional branch line running to Birmingham's Eastside via Curzon Street –
21312-640: Was spreading into communities in Britain. In 1875, being locked out of a packed Evangelist meeting in Birmingham caused John Blackham of Ebenezer Congregational Church to start the Pleasant Sunday Afternoon Movement. West Bromwich railway station was opened by the Great Western Railway on its route between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton Low Level on 14 November 1854. The trackbed of that line
21460-632: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
21608-507: Was the solitary operating section of the Midland Metro. It runs mostly along the trackbed of the former Great Western Railway line between the two cities which was closed in phases between 1972 and 1992. Originally, the line terminated at Birmingham Snow Hill station , using the space of one of the former rail platforms. However, between 2015 and 2016, the line was extended across Birmingham city centre as far as Grand Central . From December 2019, trams terminated at Library tram stop next to
21756-436: Was to run into the former Wolverhampton Low Station but this was abandoned as it was felt that the terminus would be too remote from the city centre. A loop around the city centre was also planned but this has also not been proceeded with. There are 33 tram stops in use on the route. Mondays to Saturdays, services run at ten-minute intervals during the day. Sunday day service is twelve-minute intervals and all Evening service
21904-527: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
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