Metro may not take passengers until next year

The borough’s leader says it could be next year before the Midland Metro tram starts bringing passengers to Dudley.

Cllr Patrick Harley made his prediction about when the long-delayed link from Wednesbury to the town would be operating as he reacted to a report on why the project is more than two years overdue.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) commissioned an audit to look into concerns about how organisations delivering Metro programmes were working and delays including to the opening of Wednesbury to Brierley Hill phase of construction.

Auditors found a major weakness was the relationship between Midland Metro Alliance (MMA), the body responsible for network extensions, and Midland Metro Limited (MML), the company which runs and maintains the network.

Cllr Harley said: “Just what I’ve been saying for months, three organisations set up to speed the process on large projects and yet they work against each other and blame each other. They need to be removed from any other major infrastructure projects.

“I’m glad to say I think the chief executive of the WMCA (West Midlands Combined Authority) has got them working in the right direction at last so service should start at the end of December or early January.

“It’s not ideal and I look forward to the scrutiny process that will look into how this project has been delayed so many times.”

The report from the auditors is on the agenda for a meeting of the WMCA board on November 13 where members will be told the current agreement with MMA comes to an end on July 1 next year while the contract with MML is currently under review.

The report said: “The preliminary review assessed fourteen areas across structure, alignment and process.

“The findings indicated a need for clearer accountability, stronger organisational alignment and more integrated delivery processes.

“This review concluded that the Metro ecosystem is fragmented, with unclear accountabilities across parts of the owner, operator and alliance delivery model.

“There is increasing reliance on TfWM acting as an intermediary between MML and MMA, resulting in blurred responsibilities and duplication of effort.”

By Martyn Smith | Local Democracy Reporting Service