Fifth day of disruption on Midland Metro trams leave passengers frustrated

Cables were damaged on Thursday evening as work was carried out near Soho Benson Road stop in Birmingham.

Officials had initially hoped that repairs would be carried out and the line fully reopened by Saturday.

But an emergency timetable remained in place on Monday as engineers continued to work on the damaged line.

A Midland Metro spokesman said repairs should be completed by Monday night with services returning to normal on Tuesday.

Officials tweeted: "Due to the overhead line damage an emergency timetable is in operation."

Trams were running the complete length of the line from Wolverhampton to Birmingham's Grand Central.

Passengers were being forced to change at the Jewellery Quarter stop and re-board a separate shuttle service, which would take them into Birmingham.

Tickets and passes were valid for use on National Express buses and West Midlands Railway from Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street and The Hawthorns to Birmingham Snow Hill.

Passengers had been taking to social media with their frustrations on the delays and disruption.

One person tweeted: "This is absolutely ridiculous. It's not like it's a free service! We are now on day 5 of major delays and disruptions and completely packed out trams - how can it take this long to make the repairs!"

A Midland Metro spokesman said: "We are sorry for any inconvenience the disruption causes in your journey.

"We are doing everything possible to provide a service to every stop with a change at JEQ [Jewllery Quarter] by making announcements to every platform and customers can press the button at the platform to talk to our staff."

Train passengers travelling through Walsall also faced disruption on Monday after damage to overhead electric wires.

West Midlands Railway tweeted to say services may be cancelled or delayed between Bloxwich and Walsall during the day.

Bus transfers were being laid on for passengers between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley.