West Midlands Metro Tracklaying in Brum

[tractionman]

an article here on impact of new tram-route and cycling on Broad Street--and the diversion route...

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/83m-broad-street-tram-route-21328729

[melmerby]

3 hours ago, tractionman said:

an article here on impact of new tram-route and cycling on Broad Street--and the diversion route...

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/83m-broad-street-tram-route-21328729

Some not very informed info there.

Most of Broad Street isn't really wide enough for two way trams and a separate cycleway. The pavements have been widened due to the increased pedestrian footfall, especially at night.

The suggestion that a cycleway should've been built right down the middle strikes me as just crass. The gap between two trams passing is far too little for something like that.

Quotes:

"Cyclists are not stupid, they would not ride in front of a tram". Really? Some would and have done.

"Cyclists will not be able use the underpass where the rails have been installed". Would any have used the underpass before? I wouldn't have done, far too little clearance and fast traffic.

There's already a safe cycleway away from the road to get from Broad Street to Hagley Road, via the wide shared space pedestrian underpasses. Using the traffic underpass is definitely a stupid suggestion.

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by melmerby

[tractionman]

it does seem a shame that trams and bicycles can't be both accommodated somehow on the route, it seems to work in other European cities, mind you last time I was on a bike in Brum was in the mid nineties!

[Edwin_m]

4 hours ago, melmerby said:

What is wrong?

The signs comply with the law and highway code (which all road users should be familiar with)

If they can't understand them they shouldn't be driving/riding.

That's probably true in theory, but having spent a significant part of my life running hazard workshops for Metrolink I think I can safely say it's not true in practice.  Blue "you must do this" signs are pretty rare, one way being the only common one, and the blue "you must be a tram" sign really isn't obvious and is easily confused with the blue signs showing trams that are provided at pedestrian tramway crossings.  Tramways elsewhere tend to provide "no entry" bollards between the tracks or other measures to provide a physical deterrent, although that's more difficult if buses need to use it too.  

 

However, I do agree an enforcement camera would probably work wonders here.  

[Edwin_m]

4 hours ago, melmerby said:

What is wrong?

The signs comply with the law and highway code (which all road users should be familiar with)

If they can't understand them they shouldn't be driving/riding.

That's probably true in theory, but having spent a significant part of my life running hazard workshops for Metrolink I think I can safely say it's not true in practice.  The frequency of violations proves this - even if only 1 in 100 drivers doesn't understand the signage that's enough to cause the tram operator a problem.  Blue "you must do this" signs are pretty rare, "one way" being the only common one, and the blue "you must be a tram" sign really isn't obvious and is easily confused with the blue signs showing trams that are provided at pedestrian tramway crossings.  Tramways elsewhere tend to provide "no entry" bollards between the tracks or other measures to provide a physical deterrent, although that's more difficult if buses need to use it too.  

 

However, I do agree an enforcement camera would probably work wonders here.  

[melmerby]

30 minutes ago, Edwin_m said:

That's probably true in theory, but having spent a significant part of my life running hazard workshops for Metrolink I think I can safely say it's not true in practice.  The frequency of violations proves this - even if only 1 in 100 drivers doesn't understand the signage that's enough to cause the tram operator a problem.  Blue "you must do this" signs are pretty rare, "one way" being the only common one, and the blue "you must be a tram" sign really isn't obvious and is easily confused with the blue signs showing trams that are provided at pedestrian tramway crossings.  Tramways elsewhere tend to provide "no entry" bollards between the tracks or other measures to provide a physical deterrent, although that's more difficult if buses need to use it too.  

 

However, I do agree an enforcement camera would probably work wonders here.  

Actually it is not a route used by everyday traffic anymore.

As most of Broad Street is off limits for anything except trams and buses the only other traffic is that using it for access for some reason and are already working within the new restrictions.

Whilst I was there, very little traffic went that way, you can see in my photos how devoid of traffic it is.

 

[melmerby]

Back to the photos

 

Hagley road alongside the underpass, showing the traffic lights to control road traffic & trams where the trams cross from the underpass to the south side of Hagley Road

Just noticed the red car following the tram out of the underpass. It shouldn't be there!

 

A closer look at the traffic/tram crossover.

 

Looking back the other way.

 

Tram 37 at the terminus. (Edgbaston Village)

 

Tram 37 (first batch) heads back to Wolverhampton while tram 39 (second batch) approaches at Edgbaston Village stop

You may see there are a few slight differences in their appearance.

 

There is a short section of Catenary at the terminus presumably for a battery top up before the tram sets of on it's return trip.

Whilst there I noticed that not all drivers elected to have a top up and the pantograh stayed down, others raised it as soon as they were stationary and only lowered it as they left.

 

That's the last of the Westside extension photos.

Edited August 25, 2022 by melmerby

[melmerby]

A few photos of the Delta Junction installed for the Eastside extension.

The junction outside the Square Peg

(With an odd bit of straight track in the junction.)

 

View back from Lower Bull Street

 

Looking across to Corporation Street:

 

The junction has been installed but now the lower Bull Street bits have been Tarmaced over.

However Lower Bull St. is closed to all traffic now and work should've recommenced on 22/08/2022 folowling the stoppage during the Commonwealth Games

[Edwin_m]

10 hours ago, melmerby said:

There is a short section of Catenary at the terminus presumably for a battery top up before the tram sets of on it's return trip.

Whilst there I noticed that not all drivers elected to have a top up and the pantograh stayed down, others raised it as soon as they were stationary and only lowered it as they left.

My guess would be that it's not necessary in normal operation, but a tram might end up being parked at the terminus and it would be awkward if it then became immobile.  

[Siberian Snooper]

WOW, a huge difference, lower Bull Street was an unsurfaced building site, back at the end of May.

 

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, Siberian Snooper said:

WOW, a huge difference, lower Bull Street was an unsurfaced building site, back at the end of May.

 

It's only temporary, so that the city centre wasn't a building site during the Commonwealth Games🙂

I notice the two shops opposite the bottom end of Lower Bull Street are empty, as I understand it, the tram is going through there to connect with the stub of the old part of Albert Street (Now  part of New Meeting Street.)

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=52.48070&lon=-1.89381&layers=168&b=1

[jim.snowdon]

On 26/08/2022 at 00:00, melmerby said:

A few photos of the Delta Junction installed for the Eastside extension.

The junction outside the Square Peg

(With an odd bit of straight track in the junction.)

 

View back from Lower Bull Street

 

Looking across to Corporation Street:

 

The junction has been installed but now the lower Bull Street bits have been Tarmaced over.

However Lower Bull St. is closed to all traffic now and work should've recommenced on 22/08/2022 folowling the stoppage during the Commonwealth Games

That bit of straight through the diamond crossing has all the feel of a design by a railway engineer rather than a tramway engineer. The latter would have not have thought twice about  designing a curved alignment through the junction. Typical for the UK, though. 

[Ramblin Rich]

19 minutes ago, jim.snowdon said:

That bit of straight through the diamond crossing has all the feel of a design by a railway engineer rather than a tramway engineer. The latter would have not have thought twice about  designing a curved alignment through the junction. Typical for the UK, though. 

I was thinking more like a model railway design! Reminds me of using a Peco diamond crossing.  Most double rail junctions in the past used a curved line through the diamond to give a smooth divergence.

[melmerby]

Just now, Ramblin Rich said:

I was thinking more like a model railway design! Reminds me of using a Peco diamond crossing.  Most double rail junctions in the past used a curved line through the diamond to give a smooth divergence.

As the tramay does in Wolverhampton.

Where the station extension diverges from the original route to turn into Pipers Row there is a smooth curve through the diamond.

I was a little surprised when I saw that bit of track.

 

The delta on the station extension in Blackpool also has smooth curves

[roythebus1]

I'm surprised the car/tram crossing shown above doesn't have a yellow box junction like Manchester has in several places. They are enforced by the tram drivers politely sounding the "Thomas the tank engine" whistle, then aggressively, then the very loud air horn. THAt wakes them up and they move.

 

Looking at the track geometry there's an odd bit of alignment coming out of the depot on the new Luxembourg system.My laptop seems to have lost my photo library so can't show it here. 

[Edwin_m]

1 hour ago, jim.snowdon said:

That bit of straight through the diamond crossing has all the feel of a design by a railway engineer rather than a tramway engineer. The latter would have not have thought twice about  designing a curved alignment through the junction. Typical for the UK, though. 

I don't know the reason for this geometry, but it certainly isn't to get a straight through the diamond, because at least one rail curves through it in the photo.  

[melmerby]

A few more pictures from The East Side extension down at Digbeth

Meriden Street looking towards HS2 (via the GWR arch:

 

The works around Digbeth Coach station:

 

Crossing the carriageway@

 

View in the opposite direction

 

 

Re-arrangement of the carriageways to suit the tram line's presence:

 

 

 

 

 

[melmerby]

Some pictures from the other end of the extension.

Looking down Lower Bull stree from the existing track:

 

And again:

 

Looking the other way:

And again

 

 

Looking down towards Dale End (& King's Parade, which is being - demolished sheeted in white plastic):

 

.

Looking up towards the junction:

 

Meanwhile the here you can see the back of King's Parade which is being demolished to restore the original alignment of Albert Street, down which the tramline will travel:

 

The original Corporation trams travelled down Albert Street.

The current road alignment would been an extremely sharp curve into Dale end before travelling down the "new" Albert Street

Location picture from Google:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by melmerby

[martin_wynne]

Here's a zoomable map:

 

 https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/798860820#map=18/52.48112/-1.89489

 

 

[melmerby]

Not quite on the ball as the track in Bull Street is not that far down, and no track shown at the Meriden Street end.

 

Over at Dudley no track is shown, even though there is double track all the way from Tindle Street, up Castle Hill and turning into Birmingham Street, most is also concreted in and nearly finished.

[martin_wynne]

32 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Not quite on the ball as the track in Bull Street is not that far down, and no track shown at the Meriden Street end.

 

Over at Dudley no track is shown, even though there is double track all the way from Tindle Street, up Castle Hill and turning into Birmingham Street, most is also concreted in and nearly finished.

 

Hi Keith,

 

Anyone can edit OpenStreetMap. If you have up to date knowledge, you could put it on there yourself. How to get started:

 

  https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/new

 

Thanks for the Dudley info. It is currently mapped as "proposed railway" in Castle Hill:

 

 

 

I can see on Google Streetview that even back in July 2022 it was under construction, so I will edit it and improve the line:

 

 https://goo.gl/maps/giX4brTKkzN6ktaP8

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

 

[melmerby]

I posted the state in Oct 2022 when I was in Dudley:

 

[martin_wynne]

26 minutes ago, melmerby said:

I posted the state in Oct 2022 when I was in Dudley:

 

 

Thanks Keith. I have now added the double track up Castle Hill and under construction into the Bus Station:

 

 https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/52.51309/-2.07731

 

Martin.

[melmerby]

2 hours ago, martin_wynne said:

 

Thanks Keith. I have now added the double track up Castle Hill and under construction into the Bus Station:

 

 https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/52.51309/-2.07731

 

Martin.

That looks about right.

[Siberian Snooper]

A view of Bull Street from the top floor of Carr Lane Travelodge.