How the delay for the Dudley tram extension is the latest setback for a troubled project
News of delays to the opening of the Dudley tram link will come as little surprise to anyone who has watched the scheme progress.
The gaps in the tracks, the bridge that was only installed last month – not to mention the test procedures required before it can carry passengers – meant it was always going to be a tall order to get it up and running this year.
But news that the delays are again the result of rising costs are another setback for the troubled project, which appeared to be in financial difficulty two years ago.
Anne Shaw, executive director of Transport for West Midlands, says rising inflation, and the continued hangover from the coronavirus pandemic, have once more thrown the calculations off kilter.
"Nobody foresaw what Covid would do for inflation," said Mrs Shaw.
"Inflation has now come down, but construction inflation is still higher than normal inflation."
