Ridge is proud to be supporting our long-standing client, Transport for West Midlands, on a visionary project which earned the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award at the 2019 Global Light Rail Awards. We have been acting as the client-side Project Manager overseeing the development and delivery of retro-fitting batteries to the existing West Midlands Metro tram fleet.

Transport systems all around the world are undergoing a period of substantial change, thanks to technological innovation and the increasing importance of sustainability. Removing the need for overhead line equipment can fundamentally change the viability of implementing light rail and can have a transformational effect on the appearance of the towns and cities served.

Ridge has been embedded in the TfWM team since 2010. Supported by technical advisors and the Midland Metro Limited operations team, we have managed the development of the design, design approval, safety assurance, and the retro-fitting of the prototype tram in Spain. The trams will run in battery mode on specific sections of the network where aesthetic or physical constraints exist. Passenger service is due to commence on the new Centenary Square Extension when the line opens in December 2019, and this will be the first time in the UK that a modern tram system will operate without overhead line equipment.