Transport for West Midlands has confirmed that £61 billion of funding is bringing a transport revolution in the region, with this bring employment, environment, and leisure opportunities.
Funding is being injected until 2032, with a number of communities across the region set to benefit from the connections that new transport projects can bring. Projects will involve the delivery of five new rapid transit routes, with improvements to rail and metro services and how they connect to other transport services.
A new Metro tramway is set to open in Dudley within the next year, with this bringing opportunities for residents and businesses in the local area, as it offers rapid, direct connections to Wolverhampton, Birmingham, West Bromwich, and Birmingham. Alongside this, a new state-of-the-art interchange will ensure that passengers can seamlessly transition between Metro and bus services.
Dudley is also benefitting from the work being done to extend the Metro, as rapid transit services carry passengers into the town centre, whilst serving communities including Tipton and Great Bridge. Commenting on the project, Leader of Dudley Council Paul Bradley said:
“There is a transport revolution underway in Dudley with key projects taking shape. The new transport interchange is absolutely central to the gathering momentum to create world-class transport facilities in Dudley borough, and I am delighted to see the start of this transport project.”
Business cases are also being developed for the next two rapid transit routes, with work potentially beginning as early as 2028. These will route will work alongside further routes that will link up communities in Walsall, Birmingham, Longbridge, Solihull, and Dudley.
Eight rapid transit corridors are being prioritised, with this being:
- Birmingham – Sutton Coldfield
- Birmingham – Heartlands Hospital – East Birmingham – Solihull – Birmingham Airport
- Birmingham – Bearwood -Hagley Road – Halesowen
- Walsall – Brierley Hill – Stourbridge
- Birmingham – Longbridge – Rubery
- Coventry – Foleshill Corridor
- Hall Green – Solihull – UK Central Hub
- Coventry – Gigafactory Corridor
These routes have the potential to benefit from Very Light Rail technology, which can bring cheaper trams that are built in half the time that it would take to deliver traditional light rail. This technology is being developed within the West Midlands region and will use a demonstrator track within Coventry city centre.
Castle Bromwich, Coventry East, and Tettenhall have been earmarked for new railway stations, with the planning process already underway.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands also spoke about the ‘revolution’:
“It’s no secret that our transport infrastructure was woefully underfunded for decades. But since the formation of the WMCA and with the region pulling in the same direction, we have started to redress that underinvestment and increased our funding more than tenfold to deliver a green transport revolution.”
Image credit: iStock | Transport for West Midlands
