Trip to Birmingham to sample the few remaining Tridents and Volvo B7TLs left with National Express West Midlands before they finally depart, together with some examples of more recent types.

Previous Visits

Annual trips to the West Midlands have been a staple feature of my bus rides for many years, beginning in the early noughties when Leyland Nationals were the draw, featuring ex LT and LCBS examples on routes operated by the Birmingham Coach Company and Chase Buses. When Metrobuses departed London, the Mark 2 versions with Travel West Midlands (later National Express West Midlands) continued for another 5 years or so and I managed to ride many routes on them before they finished in 2010.

More recently, my focus switched to tracking down and riding the later generations of vehicles in the area which are now on the way out, principally Trident ALX400s and Volvo B7TLs. These seem to be following in the tradition of ending service around 5 years later than their London counterparts.

Current Fleet

National Express West Midlands has been investing in new vehicles in recent years and now has well over 300 electrics in service, in the form of Enviro 400EV City double deckers, based so far at Coventry, Yardley Wood and Perry Barr Garages. There are also 20 hydrogen Wright StreetDeck FCEV deckers at Walsall Garage. Hybrid vehicles comprise a batch of Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini double deckers at Birmingham Central Garage.

After this, the newest double deckers consist of a large fleet of Enviro400MMC vehicles, spread around many garages. In addition, a considerable number of older “classic” Enviro400s remain in service at various locations.

The oldest double deckers left are around 30 Trident ALX400s out of the once huge fleet of the type, with only Yardley Wood and Walsall Garages retaining an allocation, together with about 40 Volvo B7TL Wright Geminis which are split between Acocks Green and West Bromwich Garages.

Single deckers are a smaller proportion of the overall fleet and consist of four principal types: Scania OmniLink, Volvo B7RLE, Enviro200 and Enviro200 MMC types.

Many vehicles of various classes are named and examples are illustrated in this article.

***Trident ALX400 4611 rests between trips on the 76 at Solihull Station at the start of my rides.***

*This bus is allocated to Yardley Wood Garage, one of the two depots remaining to host the type.*

Route 76: Solihull - Northfield

Day 1: I began my rides to the south east of Birmingham at Solihull Station Interchange, as early morning rain began to give way to autumn sunshine. My first target was to ride the some of the remaining Tridents from nearby Yardley Wood Garage, one of their last two homes. A good bet for a Trident is the long 76 route, which runs in an arc west across the outer suburban region of Birmingham from Solihull to Northfield. A 20 min service operates M-S daytimes, 30 min Sun daytimes and Hourly Evenings. On the day of my visit, there were half a dozen Tridents out, the balance of the allocation being composed of Enviro400 MMCs.

I had fleet no 4611 in dark red / maroon livery, which most of the remaining members of the class are in, although there are a handful in the older tomato red and white colour scheme. We departed Solihull Station on time and had just a few takers as we made our way through the leafy suburban landscape that characterises the area to nearby Shirley, exchanging passengers in the High Street.

It was interesting to observe the different generations of fare collection in place on these vehicles - a reader on the dash for credit card payments and passes, with a traditional farebox for cash payments as used to be common with London Country on Town Services in the 1970s and 80s! Tickets issued not out of a machine on the driver’s cab but mounted on the bulkhead behind is an unusual feature of buses here.

Continuing via Warstock, we traversed some areas of older housing on approach to King’s Heath. We had been making reasonable progress to this point, but then encountered gridlock, with a massive queue on the approach to the halfway point at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Despite a Bus Lane over part of the route, it cost us a good 20 minutes - the traffic all seemed to be queuing for the hospital car park - a fact that even surprised the bus driver, who said this was not normal! Eventually we reached the Hospital Bus Station, whereupon our driver turned off the engine and disappeared for a call of nature, which I couldn’t really blame him for!

Our driver returned a few minutes later and we resumed our journey, by now half an hour down on schedule. Nevertheless, we maintained time for the rest of the trip, continuing via Harborne and California (just a housing area, not a US state!) before traversing the vast Weoley Castle estate - at the time it was built in the 1930s, the largest council estate in Britain. We reached the terminus at Northfield, adjacent to the shopping centre, after a lengthy run of 2h 10m, compared with the scheduled 1h 40m. The driver confided that the run had been a nightmare but that traffic problems were part and parcel of the job.

***The front of Trident 4623 pokes out on route 18 outside its home garage at Yardley Wood after my run on it.***

*Low winter sunshine prevented a normal frontal photo so this was the alternative, neatly showing the current and original owners of the garage!*

Route 18: Northfield - Bartley Green - Yardley Wood

After a stretch of the legs and stocking up on supplies at the local supermarket, my next route was another Yardley Wood stalwart to still feature Tridents, the 18. A bit of a mixture this one, with a couple of Tridents out plus a few Enviro400 MMCs and Scania OmniLink single deckers. I saw from bustimes.org that Trident 4623, also in maroon livery like my previous bus, was the second departure. The 18 is essentially a local route linking Bartley Green with Yardley Wood Garage, running every 12-15 mins M-S daytimes and every 30 mins Eves & Suns.

I boarded in Bristol Road at Northfield with a crowd of returning shoppers, to travel the short distance up to the terminus at Bartley Green War Memorial, traversing various housing estates, a 15 min saunter. Layover times and indeed running times seem quite tight on many Nat Exp West Mids services and due to late running, we departed almost immediately on the return run back to the garage. Back to Northfield with a good load, before continuing on via Cotteridge, Kings Norton Station and then via Druids Heath to Yardley Wood, with some pleasant country greenery on the latter section. Arrival back at base was after a 50 min run and I was able to admire the old “Birmingham City Transport” legend above the garage entrance, beneath the much smaller sign denoting the current ownership!

***Yardley Wood Garage Trident 4617 at Rubery Great Park terminus on the 49 before returning to Solihull.***

*Most of the Tridents still in service are in this maroon livery.*

Part Route 2: Yardley Wood - Maypole

Opposite the garage, I had only a few minutes to await my next bus, Scania OmniLink single decker 1789 on Route 2 to Maypole, a short 15 min positioning journey. This route used to host Tridents and indeed I had ridden one to and from Birmingham City Centre on my previous trip in Summer 2023 (see later). However, the service is now mainly single deck with one or two Enviro400 MMCs in support. It has also been rerouted between Yardley Wood and Maypole, approaching via a different direction and terminating on another side of the roundabout.

Route 49: Maypole - Rubery - Solihull

At Maypole, I transferred to the other principal Yardley Wood Garage service to host Tridents, the 49. This also runs west from Solihull to Shirley, but then diverges via Maypole, Hawkesley, Kings Norton and Longbridge, to terminate at Rubery Great Park, a large retail park, outside the Hollywood Bowl. It runs every 20 mins M-S daytimes, 30 mins Sun daytimes and Hourly Evenings. I joined Trident 4617 at Maypole Roundabout, the approximate mid-point of the route, to proceed westwards to the Rubery terminus, a 40 min trip. The 49 is another mix of Tridents and Enviro 400MMCs.

We dropped most of the other passengers at previous stops on the retail park, with only a couple of us staying on to the terminal point. After a 10 min or so layover, we departed on time on the return run and, after serving the retail park, picked up a large load in Longbridge. This was once the home of “Red Robbo” and the West Midlands mass-production car industry, but these days has been redeveloped with much new housing, offices and small business units. We then continued via the slightly more countrified area around West Heath to Cotteridge, performing a double run to serve Kings Norton Station. Back via Hawkesley and more suburban sprawl to Maypole again, before continuing to Shirley, meeting up with the 76 which I had ridden earlier in the opposite direction. However, the 49 and 76 take slightly different intermediate routeings into Solihull and we encountered a bit of congestion on the last stretch into the town centre, as the local schools were chucking out for the day. Arrival back at Solihull Station was after a run of 1h 20m, about 10 mins late.

Nevertheless, nice to hear the sound and experience the gentle whine of a few Tridents again, which of course we were used to in London for many years until not too long ago! I then repaired to my hotel in Central Birmingham for the evening.

***Enviro400 4975 “Demi Leigh” of West Bromwich Garage on route 74 at Dudley Coronation Gardens, a temporary terminus whilst the Bus Station is closed for construction of a new interchange.***

*This vehicle is one of a batch in the old red and white livery with signwriting for Route 74 highlighting the frequent service between Birmingham and West Bromwich.*

Route 74: Birmingham City Centre - Dudley - West Bromwich

Day 2: A bright but chilly day as I walked through the on-going work in the City Centre around Moor Street in connection with the building of the Curzon Street terminus of HS2 and the extension of the Midlands Metro Tram line. This time, I was bound north of the city to the West Bromwich area, where many of the remaining Volvo B7TLs reside.

Last year, I had managed to ride one of these vehicles on the 80 (Birmingham - West Bromwich via Smethwick), but this route is now mainly single deck with a few Enviro400 MMC double deckers. This time, I opted for the trunk route 74, which runs via the direct Soho Road route to West Bromwich and on to Dudley. The through service operates every 10 mins M-S daytimes, 15 mins Sun daytimes, 30 mins Evenings, but with additional shorts over the City Centre - West Bromwich section to provide at least a 5 min service M-S daytimes, 7-8 mins Sun daytimes, 15 mins Evenings. A rare (for Birmingham) Night Service operates on Fri/Sat Nights on an Hourly basis between the City Centre and West Bromwich.

The route is operated mainly by a fleet of older Enviro400s, many in red and white livery with signwriting extolling the frequent service on offer. When I travelled, these were supported by a few Enviro400 MMCs and a couple of Volvo B7TLs, which I saw en route as I travelled. The route is very busy in terms of traffic and passengers, particularly at the inner end and bunching seemed endemic, with convoys of 2, 3 and even 4 buses running together. I let the crowd board the first departure and took the second one, formed of Enviro400 4970 of West Bromwich Garage. As it was the end of the morning peak, traffic was bad coming into town but much less so in the opposite direction and we made good progress out of the centre and along the Soho Road towards West Bromwich. This is very much home to a large segment of the Asian Community in the West Midlands with appropriate shops and restaurants lining the route. Further on, we passed beside West Bromwich Albion Football Stadium.

At West Bromwich Bus Station, a driver change and we continued more sedately on the well-used but slightly less busy outer section through the main intermediate town of Great Bridge, through industrial areas and past retail outlets. Some faster running on the dual carriageway section approaching Dudley, a surprisingly pleasant traditional town centre with the Castle on top of the hill dominating the area. The Bus Station is currently closed during works to extend the Tram route there and for conversion into a new interchange. Buses currently terminate at various points around the town centre, the 74 at Coronation Gardens. 65 mins for the trip, arriving about 5 mins down on schedule.

I returned part of the way on the next working aboard sister Enviro 4975, also in the old livery with signwriting. A straightforward 30 min run back to West Bromwich, where I alighted at the Bus Station.

***Volvo B7TL 4486 at Wednesbury Bus Station on local service 47 to West Bromwich, where the bus is based.***

*As with the Tridents, most of the remaining Volvo B7TLs are in the maroon livery, although there are a few exceptions (see later).*

Route 47: West Bromwich - Wednesbury (& back)

Next, I tracked down some Volvo B7TLs, with 4 (of the 5) buses on the 47 being operated by the type, the other bus being a single decker. This is a short local route between West Bromwich and Wednesbury, which operates via main roads at each end and through estate roads in the middle, some of the latter being very narrow with it being difficult for buses to pass due to parked cars and the width of the streets involved. Buses run every 12-15 mins M-S daytimes and every 30 mins Eves and Suns.

Volvo B7TL 4486 was the vehicle for my outward journey and we had reasonable usage throughout. The main intermediate point is Hateley Heath and we paused for around 3 mins here to adjust our time, whilst our driver read her newspaper. A brief 25 min run end to end.

Wednesbury has a small Bus Station and waited here for the next bus in the sequence for the return run, another Volvo B7TL, 4487. Slightly longer on the return due to large numbers of passengers picked up on the last section in West Bromwich into the town centre, 30 mins on this occasion.

***Enviro400 4749 “Lexi” on route 49 to Bearwood at West Bromwich Bus Station, an example in the maroon livery style.***

Note that this route number duplicates that at Solihull pictured earlier - following the abolition of most of the unique service numbers in the 200-500 series in the West Midlands, there are several examples like this, which is most confusing!

Route 48A: West Bromwich - Bearwood

I then switched to a couple of other local routes, taking the 48A to Bearwood. Volvo B7TLs sometimes appear, but on the day I visited, it was mainly Enviro400s in charge. The 48 and 48A operate in tandem out of West Bromwich, before taking different intermediate routeings to Bearwood, where the 48A terminates but the 48 continues on to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. A joint 15 min service M-S daytimes over the common section, 30 min on each route, whereas Sunday daytimes is 30 mins on the 48 only. An Hourly evening service runs daily on the 48 variant.

Enviro400 4950 in maroon livery was my bus for the 35 min run, which operates via Londonderry (West Midlands, not Northern Ireland!) and Warley. Quite hilly in parts, mostly via typical suburbia. We terminated in the small Bus Station at Bearwood adjacent to the High Street.

Route 49: Bearwood - West Bromwich

For the return, I switched to sister route 49, which starts from the main Hagley Road beside the Bus Station. This runs every 30 mins Daily, Hourly Sunday evenings. Another Enviro400 for this trip, 4749, also in maroon. Naturally, yet another intermediate routeing traversed, via Brandhall and Rood End. Mostly estate roads, but a couple of more countrified sections enlivened the journey. Around 10 mins out from West Bromwich, we joined up with the 48 & 48A routes for the final stretch into town. 40 mins for this slightly longer route.

Astute readers will have noticed that this is the second route 49 I travelled on. Some time ago, West Midlands services were easier to navigate, with the lower numbers up to 199 being used in Birmingham / Solihull, 200s in Stourbridge, 300s in West Bromwich, 400s in Walsall and 500s in Wolverhampton. Only Coventry, with its mainly isolated network, had a separate low numbered set of routes. Now, most of the high numbers have been abolished, with low numbers used throughout most of the West Midlands, unfortunately resulting in 2 or even 3 routes bearing the same number, although not overlapping but causing some confusion to the unitiated!

***Volvo B7TL 4479 “Ruby Rose” on the 80 to Birmingham City Centre in West Bromwich Bus Station, taken on my previous visit in July 2023.***

*This illustrates the nearside view of the class, on a route which now rarely sees the type, being operated in the main by Enviro400 MMC double deckers and Scania OmniLink single deckers.*

Part Route 74: West Bromwich - Birmingham City Centre

Back at West Bromwich Bus Station, I completed my rounder on the 74 to return to the City Centre. Another gap in service resulted in a massive queue boarding two buses, which departed in tandem. I sensibly awaited the next one, Enviro400 4976 on a short working which started there, only three of us boarding and leaving 5 mins later. We soon caught up one of the buses in front and ran together for a while down the Soho Road, before overtaking and arriving in the City Centre first. A 35min trip.

***BYD Enviro400EV City fleet no E173 of Perry Barr Garage takes on a crowd on Route 7 to Perry Common in Birmingham City Centre.***

*These vehicles are now up to well over 300 units and feature an “E” prefix to the fleet number for “Electric”. The latest plain grey livery is relieved slightly by the red and black sections.*

Route 7: Birmingham City Centre - Perry Common (and back)

There was just time to squeeze in one more short route before darkness fell, so I plumped for the 7 to Perry Common, a route recently electrified with new Enviro400EV City double deckers out of Perry Barr Garage, one of three depots currently having the type. Unlike the older vehicles, “Next Stop” screens and announcements are in evidence and the new buses have high backed seating with leather edging to the moquette. As expected on such buses, a smooth ride and fast acceleration. Frequency is every 10-12 mins M-S daytimes, 15-20 mins Sun daytimes, 30 Evenings. Services run from around 0500 (0700 Suns) to 0100 Daily.

These buses have an “E” prefix to the fleet number to indicate an “Electric” vehicle and I got on E173 together with a large crowd, the city centre being busy with shoppers from the sales and visitors to the Christmas Market. Traffic was sticky on departure from the City Centre and we took a while to navigate the narrow streets out to Witton, where we passed near to the Aston Villa Football Ground. After calling at Witton Station, the route became more suburban as we approached the outer terminus at Perry Common, pulling in behind a sister electric vehicle after a journey of 35 mins.

As a result, I was able to step up a working and board E325 in front for the return run. Much quieter in terms of passengers in this direction as we were running “against the flow”. However, a super glue traffic jam in the city centre caused a frustrating delay of around 10 mins to cover the final 2 or 3 stops, meaning an overall trip time of 45 mins resulted. By now, it was almost completely dark, so I arrived back in time to sample a wonderful Indian Curry for my evening meal from one of the renowned local restaurants!

***Volvo B7RLE 2171 “Linda” of Acocks Green Garage on arrival at Solihull Station on Route 4 from Birmingham City Centre.***

*The 4 is operated by a mix of this type and Enviro 200 MMCs with one or two Enviro400 MMC double decks in support, one of which creeps in out of service behind.*

Route 4: Birmingham City Centre - Solihull

Day 3: My final day in Birmingham began once again in the city centre. I proceeded to Moor Street for a ride on Route 4, one of a number to link the centre with Solihull. This runs every 6-12 mins M-S daytimes, 15 mins Sun daytimes and every 30 mins evenings, like many services even on busy corridors the frequency drops significantly in the evening, lagging behind London and other cities which have seen increases at such times in recent years in response to the growth in the night-time economy.

Perhaps surprisingly, the 4 is mostly single deck with a mix of Volvo B7RLE and Enviro 200 MMCs performing, although a handful of double deckers turn out, usually Enviro 400 MMCs. I picked up Volvo B7RLE 2171 which, despite heading out of town at the end of the morning peak, was quite full. A decent run at this time off day as we followed the direct route to Solihull via the busy inner suburbs of Bordesley and Sparkbrook. At first we ran in tandem with the other services to Solihull, the 5 and the 6, which soon diverge and run via longer intermediate routeings.

After parting company with the latter, we continued via Tyseley, passing its famous Railway Museum and home of steam engine operations. At Acocks Green, a driver change at the nearest point to the garage in the town centre, where there was a scheduled “pause” of about 5 mins. Then on via Olton and the more leafy approaches to Solihull, looping around the town centre shopping area before continuing to the station interchange, where our journey terminated after a 45 min run.

***Volvo B7TL 4672 of Acocks Green Garage arrives at the Chelmsley Wood terminus of Route 72 from Solihull in crisp winter sunshine.***

*Very few of the type remain in the old red and white livery.*

Route 72: Solihull - Chelmsley Wood (& back)

Next up, I switched to the 72, which links Solihull with Chelmsley Wood to the south east of Birmingham and a good punt for one of the remaining Acocks Green based Volvo B7TLs. 4 of the 8 buses out were of the type, the balance comprising 3 Enviro400 MMCs and 1 Volvo B7RLE. For the outward trip, I had maroon liveried 4489, which seemed to have a mechanical issue although the driver managed to fix it to ensure a timely departure.

A small number of takers as we progressed out of town via Solihull Hospital through the suburbs to Sheldon, Lea Hall and Marston Green, where we double ran via the station interchange. On to leafy Chelmsley Wood, where we deposited most passengers at the out of town shopping centre. The final stretch was over estate roads to Yorkminster Drive, ending on the edge of countryside. A decent 45 min run.

The 72 runs every 10 mins M-S daytimes, 30 mins eves and Suns and I had noted another Volvo B7TL two workings behind us, 4672, in the old red and white livery, so I awaited its arrival 20 mins later. A good run at first in this direction, but roadworks closing the direct route at Sheldon caused a diversion via the A45 and other local roads to line of route. Unfortunately, two lanes into one on the dual carriageway section of the diversion caused a delay of about 10 mins, but our driver managed to make up some time on Lode Lane and we arrived back at Solihull Station after a 50 min trip, only 5 late. A good effort on a superannuated vehicle.

**Volvo B7RLE on the 4A in Solihull Town Centre before departing for Birmingham via Gospel Oak.**

*The route shares the same mix of types from Acocks Green Garage as the parent route 4.*

Route 4A: Solihull - Birmingham City Centre

My final route, back to Birmingham, was on the 4A. Unlike the parent route 4, this departs from Solihull Town Centre, serving the station next, rather than the other way round. In addition, it deviates from the 4 by looping around via Shirley and Gospel Oak, a large housing estate. Through buses run every 30 mins Daily, although additional shorts provide 4 buses per hour M-S daytimes over the Gospel Oak to Birmingham section, oddly running at 12-18 min intervals rather than the expected 15. A large roundabout in the centre of the Gospel Oak estate provides a turning circle for the short workings. Evening services run only over the Shirley - Birmingham section. The same mix of types was evident as on the main 4 service.

I had Volvo B7RLE 2173 for my journey, which was relatively well used. After circling through Shirley and Gospel Oak, we rejoined the 4 just south of Acocks Green for the remainder of the run back up to the city centre. Superglue jams again for the last few stops due to large numbers of vehicles queuing for the central car parks, resulting in an overall trip time of 65 mins, more than 10 mins of this covering the last few stops.

In Summary, an enjoyable series of rides in the main, although like many towns and cities these days, Birmingham seems to have a serious traffic problem at times, although this was probably exacerbated by the Black Friday Sales and the Christmas Market. Narrow roads in parts and seemingly endless roadworks and temporary lights make bus operation difficult. However, I feel that Nat Ex West Midlands are a bit “old fashioned” in their approach to timetabling, with tight schedules and short layovers at terminals. Evening and some Sunday services, often operating at 30 and 60 min intervals, together with very few 24 hour routes, are a bit “retro” for modern city usage.

Also, the network is quite complex and, despite stop specific timetables at stops and “where to board your bus” maps at Bus Stations and key terminals, there is a lack of maps. The excellent series of pocket maps covering the West Midlands are no longer available, so I used an old 2018 edition, which although out of date at least enabled me to understand the geography a little better.

However, there is evidence of investment in new vehicles and the older types seem to be on the wane, so there is some positive news in terms of the experience offered to customers. The proliferation of under cover Bus Stations around the network is good for interchange, although there are obvious omissions in the city centre and elsewhere. I’m sure I shall return in future to observe further developments in this area!

Watton

Nearly Done in Brum

Living the Liffey

Going Ahead with Fastrack