26.06.17
WMCA submits £200m Midland Metro expansion plans to DfT
Ambitious £200m plans to expand the Midland Metro network have been presented to the DfT.
Following Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) taking over the running for the service from National Express in March, mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Andy Street and managing director of TfWM Laura Shoaf have formally given the plans to the transport secretary, Chris Grayling.
The business case proposes a new seven-mile extension of the tram network to the new DY5 Enterprise Zone at Brierley Hill.
Trams would run through Great Bridge, Horseley Heath, Dudley Port, Dudley town centre, the Waterfront and Merry Hill, before terminating at Brierley Hill town centre.
It makes up the first of a series of proposed extensions to the route which currently goes between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
This will include extensions to Wolverhampton terminal as well as the new Curzon Street station, which will house HS2 when it starts running.
WMCA say they have ambitions to eventually link the Black Country to HS2 and make Dudley town centre a 40-minute journey from HS2 by tram.
“I said in my manifesto that starting work on this project during my first three years in office was a priority and securing the funding is the first step, which is why I wanted to see the Secretary of State so quickly,” said Street, the West Midlands mayor.
“It is hard to understate just how important this project is to the Black Country,” he added. “The business case shows that for every pound invested in this project, it will return £2.50 for the local economy.”
Street stated that the plans will be important to passengers by more than halving journey times from some of the stops along the route into central Birmingham.
“This is the start of the conversation about how as a region we can look at new ways of working with government to use new mechanisms of funding and finance to deliver transformational projects like this,” he concluded.
Cllr Roger Lawrence, lead member for transport for WMCA, said: “This is a major milestone for the Wednesbury-Brierley Hill extension and fantastic news for the people of Dudley, Sandwell and the wider West Midlands.
“Once this link is open it will connect key locations such as Merry Hill and Dudley town centre to the wider transport network for accessing the national rail network and HS2 and, eventually, Birmingham Airport.
“The Midland Metro is key to the WMCA’s plans to grow our economy, and this extension will help bring more jobs and greater prosperity not just to the Black Country but across the region as a whole.”
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