During 2006, Ansaldo and John Laing Group both withdrew from the consortium, thus day-to-day operation of the Metro was taken over by the remaining partner, National Express.

[7] An additional branch line running to Birmingham's Eastside via Curzon Street – the region's planned High Speed 2 terminus – and terminating at Digbeth is also under construction as of 2024.

[11][12] Proposals for a light-rail or Metro system in Birmingham and the Black Country had been put forward as early as the 1950s and 1960s, paradoxically at a time when some of the region's lines and services were beginning to be cut back.

In summer 1984 they produced a report, "Rapid Transit for the West Midlands", which set out ambitious proposals for a £500 million network of ten light-rail routes that would be predominantly street-running, but would include some underground sections in Birmingham city centre.

[14][15] The scheme suffered from several drawbacks, one being that three of the proposed routes, from Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield, Shirley, and Dorridge, would take over existing railways, and would have included the conversion into a tramway of the Cross-City Line between Aston and Blake Street, ending direct rail services to Lichfield.

The northern section of the North Warwickshire Line was also to be converted as far as Shirley station, leaving a question mark over existing train services to Stratford-upon-Avon.

[14] The most serious drawback, however, which proved fatal to the scheme, was that the first proposed route of the network, between Five Ways and Castle Bromwich via the city centre, would have involved the demolition of 238 properties.

The scheme was spearheaded by Wednesfield Labour councillor Phil Bateman,[14] but was eventually abandoned in late 1985 in the face of public opposition to demolishing hundreds of houses, and the Transport Executive was unable to find a member of parliament willing to sponsor an enabling Bill.

[32] At the northern end of the route trams leave the railway trackbed at Priestfield to run along Bilston Road to Wolverhampton St George's.

[39] In October 2019, WMCA awarded CAF a contract to supply an additional 21 Urbos 3 trams worth £83.5 million for the expanding network, with the option to purchase a further 29.

On the trackbed section Birmingham to Priestfield, signals are at Black Lake level crossing, Wednesbury Parkway, and Metro Centre.

The tram stops are unstaffed raised platforms with two open-fronted cantilever shelters equipped with seats, a 'live' digital display of services, closed-circuit television, and an intercom linked to Metro Centre.

[46] The Metro Centre control room, stabling point and depot is near Wednesbury Great Western Street tram stop, on land once used as railway sidings.

The scale was originally intended to be broadly comparable with buses, but this caused the system to run at a significant loss and fares rose.

[49] In November 2013, Birmingham City Council indicated plans to introduce a smart-card system (similar to Transport for London's Oyster card) to improve access, alongside a range of measures including a new Tube-style map and electric bus networks.

When the Midland Metro system opened in 1999, it was originally operated by Altram, a joint venture of the infrastructure company John Laing, the engineering firm Ansaldo, and the transport group National Express.

[54][3][4] WMCA subsequently set up a consortium of various engineering and consultancy firms, the Midland Metro Alliance, to design and construct future network extensions.

[64] Passenger numbers increased sharply following the opening of the extension into Birmingham city centre in June 2016,[65] with figures for 2016/17 exceeding six million for the first time.

[66] The original Midland Metro branding consisted of a blue, green and red livery on tram vehicles with yellow doors.

[67] Since 2017, West Midlands Metro has adopted shared branding with other transport modes consisting of a common hexagonal logo formed from the letters WM.

Each mode bears a coloured variant of the logo: blue for trams, red for buses, orange for trains, magenta for roads, purple for taxis and green for cycling and walking initiatives.

[68][69] The Midland Metro Alliance was set up in 2017 by WMCA as a long-term framework agreement with transport contractors Colas Rail, Barhale, Thomas Vale, Auctus Management Group, Egis Rail, Tony Gee and Pell Frischman to design and construct future extensions of the West Midlands Metro system.

Interchange between National Rail services and trams is now provided at Bull Street, approximately 320 metres (1,050 ft) from Snow Hill station.

[87] A temporary reversing spur was built in Stephenson Street to allow trams to turn back for the return journey to Wolverhampton.

[107] As of March 2024, the route is planned to continue eastwards by approximately 17 km (11 miles) to serve north Solihull via the B4128 to terminate at the HS2 Birmingham Interchange station, allowing passenger access by West Midlands Metro to the airport, National Exhibition Centre, Resorts World, and Resorts World Arena when open for passenger service.

[108] The proposed route would also pass directly by St Andrew's Stadium, home of Birmingham City FC, intended as an alternative to Bordesley station.

[113] The first phase will see the construction of the eastern section of the Wolverhampton loop, consisting of a line branching off before the existing St George's terminus and running north up Pipers Row to terminate at the station.

Wednesbury–Brierley Hill extension (WBHE) is an 11 km (6.8-mile) line which will run south-west from the existing route, branching off east of Wednesbury Great Western Street.

The route would be constructed on the track bed of the disused South Staffordshire Line, running through Tipton and close to the former Dudley Town station.

In 2012, the estimated cost of the WBHE was £268 million, and a frequency of ten trams per hour was envisaged, alternately serving Wolverhampton and Birmingham.