Ozzy Osbourne back in Birmingham to name new tram

He famously sang “I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train” but on Thursday heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne will be hoping he’s on the right track.

The 67-year-old Brummie rocker is coming back to Birmingham to have a Metro tram named after him.

Now the race is on to ensure that work on the much-delayed track is ready in time for its Black Sabbath baptism.

Ozzy will be waiting at the new Corporation Street stop at 11am on Thursday, hoping that the tram turns up on time.

But the GBP128 million project has already been dogged by so many delays that work has progressed at a snail’s pace.

Last week the it was revealed that the tram extension had been developed at a rate of 32 inches a day.

A snail moving at full pace could travel from Snow Hill station to New Street in little more than a day – making it more than 1,400 times faster than the scheme, which has already taken more than 1,450 days.

The work, which was originally expected to be completed last September, has angered retailers on Corporation Street who complain of lost trade.

Now, workers have been busy ‘shaving’ the city centre’s tram tracks to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

Engineers from contractor Balfour Beatty have been using specialist, ear-splitting, grinding equipment to ensure that the tracks are level and were yesterday working hard to get the Midland Metro Extension ready for passengers.

The latest stretch of track, from Bull Street to New Street Station, was due to open last weekend but late-night testing of the trams revealed that parts of the track were uneven and needed further work.

It was the third time that the 0.9 mile extension, first due to open in September 2015, had been delayed.

So far only a small section of the track as far as Bull Street is fully operational, although the Department for Transport has given approval for a further extension from New Street to Centenary Square via Victoria Square, scheduled to open in 2019.

Driver training started this week on the remaining part of the tram line which is yet to open but is scheduled to take seven days.

Passenger services will begin once this is successfully completed.

Aston-born Ozzy said: “It’s a great honour to have a new tram named after me. I’m proud to be a Brummie, and this means so much.”

The wild man of rock is said to have patched up his marriage with wife Sharon after claims that he had a fling.

And Ozzy is expected to be back with his Black Sabbath bandmates when their farewell world tour, headlined ‘The End’, resumes.