£15 billion plans for West Midlands rail and tram routes

Mayor proposes building lines and stations over the next two decades.

A 20-year, £15 billion programme to expand the heavy and light-rail networks in the West Midlands has been launched by Mayor Andy Street, who is seeking re-election in May. This follows a period of strong growth in the conurbation, with 48 million passengers using Birmingham New Street in 2018/9, an increase of 7.9% over the previous year.

The plan includes 26 new national network stations as a result of reopening the Camp Hill and

Sutton Park routes, with passenger services also being restored between Wolverhampton and Walsall. Additional stations serving Coventry are also planned at Coundon Road, Foleshill, Binley, and Coventry South. The bulk of the investment is focused on building eight new light-rail lines, which would serve up to 380 stopping points.

There is relief in the region that the franchised operator West Midlands Trains (WMT) recorded a public performance Measure (PPM) of 88% in January, an improvement of 10 percentage points since December, with cancellations also reduced from 1351 to 203. As a result, the mayor has dropped demands that Abellio should be removed from the contract.

WMT has also submitted plans for the construction of a new depot at Bescot, which would replace the intended development of Duddeston as a servicing point for the new Class 730 ‘Aventra’ EMUs. There are 36 of these three-car units on order from Bombardier for use on local services. A further 45 five-car sets are to be provided for inter-urban services, including those operated on the West Coast Main Line.