Build on the relative success of Brum to Wolves.
Metro line 1 actually hasn't been particularly successful
It's hard to find figures from the 1990s, but I've certainly seen claims that the Midland Metro was meant to get around
twenty million passengers a year (
http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/midlandfarewell.html) on the proposed route from Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton St Georges, but only gets around five million.
Okay, I know we're only meant to talk about the rail based schemes that
exceeded their expected passenger numbers, but the "missing" passengers from the West Midlands scheme significantly outnumber the "excess" passengers at Alloa, Ebbw Vale etc!
Looking at the title of this thread, may I ask what the difference is between Ultra Light Rail and the more generally accepted term of Light Rail.
The cynic in me wonders if it's a case of a new sounding proposal sounding exciting and therefore interesting - it's not just another tram (like the under performing Midland Metro), it's not just another Parry People Mover scheme (like the underwhelming Stourbridge), it's got a super new exciting sounding name!
We've got a range of technologies/ systems in the UK (low floor tram, high floor tram, light rail that shares tracks with Network Rail, segregated Parry People Movers, Underground, Overground etc etc) - I'd rather we built any new line based on the kind of thing that works swelter in the country...
...but perish the thought that our blue sky visionaries want to use existing compatible units on this new line!
Believe it when I see it, all that reads to me is that they will get funding for the Innovation centre, not to build the thing.
Sounds typically accurate (and cynical) from yourself!
Look, we all like a trier but after getting on for six years operation on the 10 minute duration run at Stourbridge how many other projects have got off the ground and adopted these PPM transit busses on rail ? None
Agreed.
Given that it's not led to similar schemes elsewhere in the UK, in hindsight it seems a very expensive project for the sake of freeing up one 153!
As for others saying a bus is better. The Stourbridge Town route had 99.97% reliabillity which no bus can match
It's a segregated line less than a mile long that takes three minutes (no intermediate stations, only one train required at any time with one spare) - I can't imagine many services over five minutes late... I think that a bus ought to be pretty reliable too on such a service.
TBH it's a nonsense that this service counts towards LM's overall PPM statistics since twelve services per hour (on a route that the Chuckle Brothers ought to be able to run reliable) allows them to get away with being late on various longer distance routes without attracting so many negative headlines - bet Northern wished they had a route like that!
