The Urbos 3 fleet is the second generation of light rail rolling stock built for the West Midlands Metro from Wolverhampton to Birmingham, replacing the earlier T-69 fleet [1].
#18 heads downhill towards Birmingham New Street on battery mode
Information
Number built:
21 (+21)
Built:
2012-15, 2021-
Builder:
CAF
Motor:
12 traction motors (750v DC OHLE)
Power:
1, 320 hp (960 kW)
The Urbos is a successful type built by CAF used in dozens of light rail systems across the world though the West Midlands Metro fleet is the only Urbos 3 stock used in England (the type is also used in Edinburgh).
The trams were introduced for the extension of the West Midlands Metro from Birmingham Snow Hill to Birmingham New Street railway station. They are slightly wider than the T-69s they replaced (about seventeen centimetres) thus the line had to be closed for a few weeks to allow for platform modifications before the Urbos 3 could enter service. They are also nine metres longer and can carry up to 210 passengers per tram compared to 156 on the T-69 (though the actual number of seats is almost the same). All of the trams were given the pink and white livery of the Midlands Metro as it was originally known though all now carry the blue livery of the re-branded West Midlands Metro.
CAF have developed rechargable batteries to the fleet to allow them to operate on future extensions to the line where there are no overhead wires [2]. The batteries have now been fitted to the fleet. Twenty one extra trams are on order as the West Midlands Metro expands, this new batch of Urbos 3 will have some differences to the legacy fleet.
#26 and 17 at Jewellery Quarter
The previous pink and white livery
#33 outside Birmingham New Street
Aboard #17
#26 at Jewellery Quarter, the battery pack is on the roof
[1] Colin J Marsden, Rail Guide 2016 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 280 [2] Colin J Marsden (ed.), Light Rail (Key Publishing, 2018) p. 63
