T-69

The T-69 is a type of tram used only on the Midland Metro light rail system in West Midland, England. The trams have unusually high floors, designed to be accessed from standard UK railway platforms: all tram stops on the city streets have been built to a height of 0.9 m, for compatibility with converted railway stations elsewhere on the network. The trams were built by the Italian company Ansaldobreda.

T-69

The first variant of the T-69 design was introduced to West Milands in 1999. 16 trams entered service altogether and were numbered from 01 to 16. To date several of these vehicles have been refurbished and have repainted in Network West Midlands livery.

Rebuilds

*Trams 09 & 10 had a major collision near to Soho Benson Street in December 2006
**09 was rebuilt out of the undamaged parts of trams 09 and 10, re-entered service during 2007 in the new Network West Midlands Silver and Magenta livery.
**10 The tram was rebuilt of damaged sections of tram 09 and 10, re-entered service during late 2008 in the new Network West Midlands Silver and Magenta livery.

*Tram 07 was used as spares and repairs for other trams in the midland metro fleet for some years.
**07 has now returned to service in the Network West Midlands livery after a major overhaul.

*Tram 05 had a major collision with a Fire Engine near to Wolverhampton in May 2007, and is currently out of service.

*Tram 01 is out of service for a major overhaul, and is currently out of service.

Future

According to British Trams Online the T-69s are to be replaced with a fleet of 40 new vehicles from an as yet unknown supplier.

The T-69s have had reliability problems since introduction and with each vehicle being different from all others maintenance is very difficult.

External Links

* [http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk British Trams Online]
* [http://www.thetrams.co.uk/midlandmetro/ The Trams Midland Metro]