Sydney’s light rail nightmare, which has seen services suspended for up to 18 months, appears to have gone global with another tram system abruptly shutting down for repairs this week.

Transport bosses in the British city of Birmingham have announced the suspension of all tram services “until further notice” after similar cracks to those found in Sydney were discovered on its carriages.

Sydney and Birmingham use the same Spanish made trams from manufacturer CAF. Similar vehicles also run on the Canberra and Newcastle tram systems.

It’s emerged that Birmingham and Sydney are two of four cities that have now had issues with the same tram fleets. That poses a problem for Sydney because it could mean there are not just its units to fix, but hundreds globally.

A public transport watcher said the CAF Urbos 3 trams used on the networks suffered from a “particularly poor design”....

...Compromises were made with the designs of the vehicle, Mr Galloway said, so the trams could be made with flat floors and so be fully accessible.

A lower floor meant the wheel sets, called bogies, were housed in boxes with a restricted space that didn’t leave room for them to swivel. In turn, that may have led to more stress on the wheels which was increased when the trams travelled around several tight corners on the L1 line.

That’s unlike Melbourne’s more modern – and more expensive – E-class trams based on a design from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. Built in Melbourne, these trams have four sets of wheels per unit, not three as on the Urbos carriages, and they can swivel leading to less stress on the body.

Just weeks after services on a large chunk of Sydney’s light rail network were suspended due to cracks found on trams, Newcastle’s network – which uses the same Spanish built vehicles – has also been shut down.

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has said all services on the Newcastle Light Rail network had been “temporarily suspended” until at least Monday.

Transport bosses said it was an unspecified “mechanical issue” but was unrelated to the cracking found on the wheel arches of the trams found in Sydney and other cities around the world including Birmingham.

“The fleet has been suspended temporarily as a precaution until inspections are completed.

“This issue is unrelated to the cracking issues identified in the inner west light rail fleet,” a TfNSW spokeswoman said.

“The six CAF Urbos 100 vehicles which are operated in Newcastle are the same baseline tram as those operated in the inner west L1 line, however these are newer and have some differing components and systems,” the spokeswoman said.

“Keolis Downer is working to urgently investigate and repair the fleet to restore passenger service as soon possible and at this stage the aim is to have some trams back in services by Monday,” the statement said....

The history of a train line is being celebrated on its 175th anniversary.

The Lancaster to Carlisle route opened on 15 December 1846 and formed a key part of the West Coast Mainline.

Photographic displays are being held at stations on the line organised by Cumbrian Railways Association, Avanti West Coast, Network Rail and the Cumbria Community Rail Partnership.

Historians said the 69-mile line was a notable achievement, being built in 30 months.

As well as photo displays at Penrith and Carlisle stations, commemorative plaques celebrating the anniversary are also being unveiled.