West Midlands Metro Tracklaying in Brum

[melmerby]

9 hours ago, richard brown said:

are there any updates to this please 

 

Richard

I haven't been into Birmingham since lockdown.

However the work has continued throughout and from what I can glean is well advanced.

All I can offer is a webcam site which has timelapse of building a tower block on Broad Street

The tram tracks can be seen being built:

https://modaliving.reachtimelapse.co.uk/broadstreet/

 

 

[Northroader]

I asked my son, who lives at Harborne, and he’s kindly took these in the Five Ways area. (Thanks, Wil!)

 

[Northroader]

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Northroader

[melmerby]

Excellent.

Thanks for the update.

Looks well on track (sic) to be finished by the end of the year as planned.

[richard brown]

thank you for the update I look forward till november 2021 when I will get to ride on it when I go to warley model railway show and stay in birmingham 

 

Richard

[melmerby]

I came across this time lapse of the concrete pour between Lee Longlands and Cineworld

It's from June so hardly new!

 

 

 

It seems all the track is down and concreted in as works on re-instatement of paving and road furniture is underway and also installation of the OHLE.

Should be open for testing in the not too distant future.

Edited September 14, 2020 by melmerby

[melmerby]

From this shot from the MODA camera looking towards the ICC, the trackwork looks fairly complete as far as Oozells Street but still looks like much work to do from there to the ICC

I can also make out some OHLE posts in the middle distance.

I'm hoping to get into Brum on 15th and hopefully will be able to get some pictures.

Edited October 5, 2020 by melmerby

[Siberian Snooper]

Strange that they are working towards the existing trackwork, than away from it! Or have I got the wrong end of the stick or should it be track?

 

 

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, Siberian Snooper said:

Strange that they are working towards the existing trackwork, than away from it! Or have I got the wrong end of the stick or should it be track?

 

 

That seems to be generally the way it is being done, although not continuous.

First up was preparing the road but to save completely cutting off parts of Broad Street it was done in sections.

Then the track was layed starting in the totally closed underpass at Five Ways.

Once most tracklaying was completed a start  was made on the two ends from the Underpass to the Hagley Road terminus and to the ICC at the other end.

[coline33]

Interesting comment about installation of OHLE but I was under the impression that catenary-free was the operation on the west side.   With battery/capacitor operation already in being in the centre where westwards would the pantograph have to rise, please? 

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, coline33 said:

Interesting comment about installation of OHLE but I was under the impression that catenary-free was the operation on the west side.   With battery/capacitor operation already in being in the centre where westwards would the pantograph have to rise, please? 

It looks like the OHLE will start again outside the ICC and go to the Terminus

Last three newsletters :

https://metroalliance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/westsideweekly112.pdf.pagespeed.ce.TZaDqxy_nR.pdf

https://metroalliance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/westsideweekly113.pdf

https://metroalliance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/westsideweekly114.pdf

Edited October 13, 2020 by melmerby

[Edwin_m]

I believe the battery range on the Metro trams is very short, so they are just omitting OLE on the most sensitive area past the Town Hall.  However I think this also includes Pinfold Street, which is probably the steepest hill on the current route.  As battery technology is advancing rapidly and these are now a few years old, I guess it's possible they could be upgraded later with more capacity for the same space and weight.  

[coline33]

Thank you both for the update.

[melmerby]

I managed to get into Brum today and walked the whole length of the work from the ICC to 54 Hagley Road, taking pictures along the way.

 

I will be posting the photos later, hopefully starting tonight.

[melmerby]

The current state of the work is that most of the track is laid, much of that is also finished, there is just the short section from by the Crown pub (Reflex) to Oozells Street where little work has been done.

 

Looking from the the current limit of the trams by the ICC entrance towards Five Ways:

 

Here we can see the blockwork being laid:

 

Looking back showing a tram at the current terminus:

 

The blockwork is where it is tram only, where other vehicles can go it is being Tarmac'd:

 

Another view looking back towards the current terminus:

(The Tarmac'd road passes to the sides of the tram stop)

 

A little further on the completed tracks have been covered with a temporary layer of Tarmac:

 

Theres track under there:

 

You can see the ends of the sleepers:

And that's the extent of that section.

 

More to follow.

Edited October 16, 2020 by melmerby

[coline33]

Superb photos, thank you very much.   The finish looks superb and I note the method used in the underpass whereby as the road traffic wheels will be either side of the rails the road wear should not be on the tram rails which look to be in better troughs than ours in Croydon.  Thus the road surface can be restored without disturbing the rails.   I only hope that no one gets a phone call as I did early one Friday morning in 1999 from the depot "If you know anyone with a heart monitor warn them not to go into the town centre today!".   On Monday the central section had been first energised and immediately there were signalling problems at East Croydon station and it took to Thursday to discover that the track drains had not been insulated from the rails on construction!   The Birmingham engineers I expect have learned a lot from others' malfunctions!!!

[melmerby]

45 minutes ago, coline33 said:

Superb photos, thank you very much.   The finish looks superb and I note the method used in the underpass whereby as the road traffic wheels will be either side of the rails the road wear should not be on the tram rails which look to be in better troughs than ours in Croydon.  Thus the road surface can be restored without disturbing the rails. 

Not so sure of that, as barriers are now being installed that reduce the width of the lanes in the underpass to co-incide with the tram tracks.

It's the same in the mid point tram stop in Broad Street where the road width has been reduced to just that needed for two trams to pass at the stop, which have raised kerbs for level entry to the tram.

I assumed that the trams would run kerbside all up Broad Street but the tracks are in the middle, all the way along.

I presume apart from a few dedicated loading bays, no parking will now be the rule as it is elsewhere on the extension from Snow Hill.

Previously Broad Street was effectively 4 lanes wide for much of it's length, which allowed for vehicles to stop almost anywhere to load/unload & busses to pick up passengers. Not any more. The tram will rule the road.

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by melmerby

[melmerby]

A few more photos from yesterday.

Currently the track from the city centre finishes under temporary tarmac outside the Crown/Reflex near the canal bridge and there is a short length of about 100m of original road surface to Oozells Street Where track starts again.

 

At Oozells Street:

 

From where the worker is the track is buried in it's concrete fixing.

You can see how the road narrows at the tram stop to accommodate the raised kerbs.

 

 

 

At the tram stop, you can see the infil starts here:

 

 

Looking across from Granville Street to the Novotel:

 

Looking back towards town from by the Novotel (Library in the distance, towering over the ICC):

 

 

Looking in the other direction towards Five Ways:

 

A little further up towards Five Ways:

 

Looking back to town from the same Spot.

The Moda development (webcam loctation) is on the right

 

More to follow

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by melmerby

[coline33]

Many thanks for more splendid photos.   Good traffic calming using the old adage of the tram being the 'sleeping policeman'!!!

[melmerby]

8 hours ago, coline33 said:

Many thanks for more splendid photos.   Good traffic calming using the old adage of the tram being the 'sleeping policeman'!!!

I'm beginning to wonder whether I read somewhere that general traffic will not be alllowed on Broad Street when it re-opens.

It will have been narrowed somewhat as even between the tram stops, the new kerbs are further out.

 

I'd guess trams and buses only apart from access to unloading bays will be the new norm.

Things are moving against a free for all traffic wise.

[coline33]

Now that we have COVID-19 conditions prevailing for some time aiding a general increase in cycling which may continue to grow, to what extent has provision been made for cyclists?   Maybe they have a priority route parallel.   Had the virus been seen coming or happened in the planning stage then I suspect provision would have been made.   From learning to ride a bike on the cobbled roads of Dunkerque with their tramlines and dock railways, and then later in Dutch and German cities, felt much safer cycling in the presence of trams than I did in a tramless Croydon.   At least cyclists were taken into account when aligning the present Croydon tramlines to road traffic.

 

Another impact of the virus is the reduction in the use of public transport which may never peak as before.   Here I see the advance of the Ultra Light Rail Vehicle with Coventry likely to be the vanguard and in the Birmingham region its manufacture.   From experience of 'circulator lines' as in some US cities and Doha, the concept could well spread in the UK beyond Coventry - especially in university towns.  HMG's £6m. investment in this could make the UK the world's leading manufacturer of ULR if we play our cards right.   With it goes a new concept of track construction and maybe a review of funding methods and legislation.   One US circulator has free travel for three years paid from sponsorship!   The world is changing fast so this just food for thought!!!       

[melmerby]

16 minutes ago, coline33 said:

Now that we have COVID-19 conditions prevailing for some time aiding a general increase in cycling which may continue to grow, to what extent has provision been made for cyclists?   Maybe they have a priority route parallel.   Had the virus been seen coming or happened in the planning stage then I suspect provision would have been made.

 

If you ever consider cycling in Birmingham you will find that apart from a few select corridors, provision is poor, especially in the centre where the cyclists just ride anywhere they want. Two wheelers, powered and unpowered, seem to operate to their own set of rules independently of what the other traffic is doing.

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by melmerby

[Edwin_m]

No specific knowledge of Birmingham but when I was involved in Metrolink Phase 3 and Trafford, a lot of effort was put in to making sure there was a safe route for cyclists including providing an alternative wherever the main traffic lane crossed the rails at a shallow angle that could trap a cycle wheel.  Of course it was up to them whether they used that alternative or not.  

[melmerby]

A few more taking us up to the underpass at Five Ways

 

Towards Five Ways:

 

A bit further on looking back towards the vacuum excavator:

 

From the same place toards the underpass. The OHLE poles are obvious:

 

Almost to the underpass looking back to the City Centre:

 

A portrait view showing the Moda Building where the webcam is situated:

 

Even closer to the underpass:

 

Looking back to the City Centre:

 

The start of the underpass is visible:

 

We are now at the underpass:

 

 

 

 

That's it for the Broad Street works, there's just some shots from Hagley road left.

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by melmerby

[coline33]

Further to my mentioning the ULR and future prospects for the Birmingham area, I read that the world's first biomethane rail/tram car has run at Motorail's Long Marston site and will go to Dudley when the ULR/VLR facility there is ready next year.   I look forward to seeing it on the Stourbridge Town line sometime.   Now how is the work on the Wednesbury - Brierley Hill line going, please?