The idiots in charge put the BCIMO Innovation Centre and VLR test track (now in administration) on the site of the former Dudley Railway Station with its continuously welded track and concrete sleepers. It was more recently used as the Dudley Freightliner Depot until the 1990s when it closed.
This principal mainline railway between London and Edinburgh via the road congested Black Country, then was to become the Metro tram extension from the first mainline railway converted to tramway. After nearly 20 years of trying, this first mainline to tramway was finally achieved in 1999 when it opened for trams instead of trains! This then led to more decades of them trying to put a tram extension on the Black Country Mainline Railway through Dudley instead of trains, would you believe!
After many cock ups, work having to be redone and failures, the Dudley Tram is expected to finally arrive at the VLR Innovation Centre and test track in time for Christmas 2025 - but, after all that, this will still be only for the first half of the 10.7 Kms extension! The leader of Dudley Council, Cllr Fred Hunt, had told me in the mid 90s, in all seriousness, that the tram would arrive in Dudley by the year 2000!! He, like all his fellow councillors in 40 years of failure have NEVER wanted trains reinstated, only trams!
What utter and complete idiots. What a shambles. Unbelievable stupidity by professional transport experts and politicians. Taxpayers' money shoved down the drain - never for TRAINS only trams between London and Edinburgh through the Black Country!
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