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<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n A state-of-the-art\u00a0Operational Control Centre has\u00a0opened\u00a0at West Midlands Metro\u2019s Wednesbury depot,\u00a0marking another\u00a0key milestone in the\u00a0expansion of the popular\u00a0tram network.\n <\/p>\n
The high-tech\u00a0facility\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0new\u00a0nerve centre for tram operations\u00a0and fully integrated with the region\u2019s wider transport network.<\/p>\n
Bristling with the latest technology\u00a0it can also\u00a0make the most of recent upgrades to CCTV cameras at\u00a0Metro\u00a0stops\u00a0and onboard\u00a0the\u00a0trams, taking safety and security to the next level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0control\u00a0centre\u00a0comes\u00a0ahead of\u00a0the\u00a0opening\u00a0later this\u00a0year of the\u00a0new\u00a0Metro\u00a0extension between Wednesbury and Dudley town centre.\u00a0Passenger services will start\u00a0once\u00a0safety testing on the line\u00a0and driver training\u00a0is\u00a0completed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: \u201cAs we\u00a0prepare\u00a0to open the\u00a0extension to\u00a0Dudley town centre,\u00a0this new world-class control room\u00a0ensures we\u00a0deliver\u00a0a safer, more reliable and more efficient Metro network for the thousands of people who rely on our trams\u00a0every day.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cModernising the depot also\u00a0means\u00a0we are\u00a0fully\u00a0equipped\u00a0to\u00a0expand services\u00a0when the\u00a0next extensions to Digbeth, Merry Hill and the new Birmingham Sports Quarter site\u00a0open\u00a0in the coming years.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new centre, which is part of a wider redevelopment of the\u00a0Wednesbury depot, includes a\u00a0new\u00a0data wall\u00a0offering\u00a0three times\u00a0the coverage of the\u00a0previous\u00a0system,\u00a0providing\u00a0real-time visibility across the network and nearby roads, public\u00a0spaces\u00a0and connecting transport services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It also incorporates heat mapping\u00a0technology\u00a0and\u00a0video analytics\u00a0to detect the build-up of customers, or any suspicious behaviour, enabling resources to be deployed quickly and more effectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophie Allison,\u00a0Metro\u2019s\u00a0managing\u00a0director,\u00a0said:\u00a0\u201cAs well as boosting\u00a0our already\u00a0highly effective\u00a0security\u00a0measures, the new control\u00a0centre\u00a0is essential to the safe and efficient running of a larger, more complex tram system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOperationally, it will help future-proof the network as it continues to grow with more routes\u00a0and junctions, increased\u00a0services\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0greater number of passengers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0upgraded\u00a0facility will also be welcomed by the\u00a0OCC\u00a0team thanks to its ergonomic design, dimmable lighting, air-conditioning and\u00a0enhanced security and access control.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A new track has\u00a0also\u00a0been installed\u00a0at the depot to\u00a0give\u00a0direct access to the Wednesbury to Dudley\u00a0route and\u00a0provide\u00a0greater resilience\u00a0for tram services.<\/p>\n
Other\u00a0upgrades\u00a0include\u00a0a vastly expanded stabling area to accommodate the\u00a0additional\u00a0trams needed to run the\u00a0additional\u00a0routes currently under development,\u00a0as well as improved facilities for drivers and staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Metro depot expansion has been funded by Transport for West Midlands, part of the West Midlands Combined Authority, with work carried out by Midland Metro Alliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A state-of-the-art\u00a0Operational Control Centre has\u00a0opened\u00a0at West Midlands Metro\u2019s Wednesbury depot,\u00a0marking another\u00a0key milestone in the\u00a0expansion of the popular\u00a0tram network.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1173118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7820],"tags":[22440,22441,855,9163,22439,748,9444,1354,393,9453,4884,14987,269,12,3669,9440,93,16823,16,15],"class_list":["post-1173117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-birmingham","tag-102-5","tag-102-5-fm","tag-birmingham","tag-black-country","tag-brierley-hill","tag-britain","tag-dab","tag-dudley","tag-england","tag-fm","tag-great-britain","tag-halesowen","tag-music","tag-news","tag-online","tag-radio","tag-sport","tag-stourbridge","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117169990462263664","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1173118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}