Midland Metro
The Midland Metro Alliance is taking a new approach to the Birmingham conurbation’s tram network, and setting some laudable long-term goals, writes RICHARD CLINNICK
RAIL turns the spotlight on the innovative workings of the Midland Metro Alliance.
While Manchester grabs all the headlines for tram expansions, Midland Metro is quietly growing under the media’s radar which, perhaps, explains why many people are unaware of it. Surprisingly, some of those ‘unaware’ people live in the very areas it serves.
But much like Manchester, the Midland Metro is soon to have its own ‘Big Bang’ expansion, including playing a crucial role in the development of Birmingham, Solihull and Dudley. It will also connect to HS2 when the £ 55.7 billion railway arrives in the city, in 2026.
Growth and expansion, says Transport for West Midlands Midland Metro Programme Director Phil Hewitt, has already started. And it will continue for the next seven years as the network undergoes massive growth.
“The city centre extension to Edgbaston was approved in 2005. We opened part of it in May last year, and it links from Snow Hill.
“We have planned a series of extensions to be delivered over time. There are also some small but complicated improvements to be made.”
The size of the contracts, coupled with the complex nature of the work required, is the reason for the creation of the Midland Metro Alliance, which brings all the contractors and the owner of the Midland Metro line into a single team. Under this approach, the system will expand using one standardised set of processes led by the same managers.
Says Hewitt: “Every major project spends time and resources trying to reinvent the wheel. This approach changes all that. We want to develop and maintain a consistent system of project management. And with a consistent approach, people get used to it and can develop their skills. So while the costs associated with projects may be high in the early days, as the team practises and refines standardised practices, so the cost can be reduced.”
There are several projects planned, including new routes, fleet expansion and the introduction of the UK’s first catenaryfree tram routes. Hewitt explains how these schemes will work.
Starting at the north of the network, in Wolverhampton, the plans are to extend from the existing St Georges stop to serve Wolverhampton’s national network station. Hewitt says: “We’ll introduce the tram from right outside the station entrance. Accessibility will be hugely improved.”
In charge of delivering this project is Alejandro Moreno. Previously Managing Director in Scandinavia for Colas Rail, he will head up the Alliance. His previous roles also include MD for Central Europe for
We want to build a Midland Metro academy. We want to improve training by bringing people in and nurturing local skills. Alejandro Moreno, Director, Midland Metro Alliance
Colas Rail and General Manager of Tranvia de Zaragoza in Spain; there he gained experience in delivering a tram network free from overhead catenary, something that will be introduced on two sections of the Midland Metro system.
The Alliance changed the plans at Wolverhampton, says Hewitt. Moreno explains: “The idea is the Alliance brings international experience. All nine companies in the Alliance have experience from France, Singapore and Malaysia. They have LRT market understanding and know what is needed.”
The partners making up the Midland Metro Alliance are: the West Midlands Combined Authority, the design consortium of Egis, Tony Gee and Pell Frischmann and contractor Colas Rail, (supported by their sub-alliance partners Colas Limited, Barhale, Bouygues UK and Auctus Management Group).
Hewitt says: “The original plan was a for a single-track line and stop - basically a headshunt. The Alliance respecified that. It is now more robust and features improvements to the location. Passengers will not have to go hunting for the stop. And the new plan saves money.”
The first major project for the Alliance is actually a renewal scheme further south, at Bilston Road. The track there is 20 years old and is on an ‘A’ road. Replacement is needed as the track is life-expired. Explains Hewitt: “This is big. The original design is also hard to replace due to the way it was built. We’re putting in a lot of effort to ensure that one lane of road traffic can still use the road.”
Moreno chips in: “The whole plan is to keep the road open. It is an industrial area and it needs good access.”
The Alliance studied various construction solutions, and settled on a plan which will allow for three or four basic track renewals before the slab that supports the track will need replacing again. “It’s a sound life cycle prediction as it’s based on what Alliance partners have observed in numerous other
tramways abroad,” says Hewitt. “The design we have currently is a result of the UK rediscovering how to build tramways, and it uses principles from that early knowledge. Experience and knowhow acquired in other countries means we know a lot more now.”
He says that this particular project is essential. “We will bring in catenary-less trams for the new section at Wolverhampton so this has to be ready. Wolverhampton might be the first to get catenary-free running, but it’s a toss-up between there and Centenary Square.”
The Centenary Square work involves building an 840-metre section of twin-track tramway from Birmingham Grand Central at Stephensen Street, up Pinfold Street and ending up at Centenary Square. An intermediate stop is being built outside the Town Hall in Victoria Square, where it will meet the Navigation Street link.
There will be no overhead wires, but a charging point will be required. Says Hewitt: “The reality is the tram is a selling point. It does attract people and business.” He says of the wire-free plans: “Battery technology has moved on. CAF [Construcciones de Auxilliar Ferrocarriles - the builder of Midland Metro’s new trams, and which is converting the first tram in Zaragoza right now] is more than confident it will work.”
Centenary Square is not planned to be the final stop on this route. “The next bit is the extension to Edgbaston. The final business case is going through and we will submit it to the combined board on March 17. It will go forward to the Department for Transport for their contribution. We then submit an application for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO). The majority of the powers are still there.”
This work is over around 1.35km (just over 0.8 miles), and runs from the Centenary Square stop on Broad Street before running through Five Ways, before terminating outside 54 Hagley Road. It will be an entirely on-street section. Two tram stops are planned at Brindleyplace and Five Ways. Catenary-free running is planned from Centenary Square and Brindleyplace, and between Five Ways and Hagley Road.
But if, as Hewitt says, the powers are still in place, why go through this process? “As with so many tram schemes, the money dried up in 2005-2007,” he says. But there has been a new wave of projects, and Hewitt advises: “You cannot underestimate the impact of HS2 and devolution on schemes.
“When you look at rising congestion and deteriorating air quality, light rail may be a good business to be in.”
Passenger figures suggest people are making use of the system more, now that it serves key areas like Grand Central. Hewitt says that since the extension opened, patronage has risen by 40% in the first calendar year “...and 25-30% year-on-year on top of the growth we had last year already. We opened the new section and introduced the new CAF trams. That makes a better service. We run ten trams per hour - it’s a better offering that maximises use of what we have now.”
Another planned extension with huge potential is the 1.7km twin-track section from the current line at Bull Street/ Corporation Street to a new terminus at High Street Deritend. This will serve the planned Curzon Street HS2 station, the Eastside regeneration area and the major railway stations.
A TWAO was submitted in October 2016.
All nine companies in the Alliance have experience from France, Singapore and Malaysia. They have LRT market understanding and know what is needed. Alejandro Moreno, Director, Midland Metro Alliance
Says Hewitt: “We are negotiating with objectors and an inquiry into the TWAO will take place this summer. We have an application for powers and the funding for the scheme is in place.
“The scheme is relatively short but it’s a game-changer. It will allow cross-city links. We will have created a delta junction.
“If all goes well, we’ll get approval in the next year. Building will begin in 2019 and it will open in 2023.”
The Alliance has begun route clearance for the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension, which will use a disused railway. The twin-track 11km route will access Dudley town centre and branches off the existing Midland Metro line east of the current depot at Wednesbury. Again, a TWAO exists, but money curtailed the original plans. “It is included in the devolution deal, so we are refreshing the business case,” explains Hewitt.
Moreno explains: “It’s really an abandoned railway and it has been so for 20 years. We are doing clearance of the whole area. There’s a lot of knotweed in there! Also, we are talking to Network Rail about removal of some infrastructure. Surveying starts soon and that is a key task, particularly in areas such as Parkway Viaduct.”
Hewitt says the bottom line is “putting transport where the people need it.” It will cost £ 300 million, and the plan is for it to be operational in 2023. He chuckles: “We have certainly given Alejandro a challenge.”
Moreno accepts the challenge and talks of the bigger picture: “It is going to make a huge change. It will transform the economy.” Hewitt agrees: “It is a game-changer for the West Midlands, it opens up the Black Country. I have no doubt this will be a success story. It will create job opportunities and it will be more attractive. There are lots of buses now, but they are on increasingly busy roads. Trams have real potential.”
The final big project is the 17km airport line. “This is very much about the regeneration and growth of Solihull, and improving access to job opportunities,” says Hewitt. “It is providing the link to the rest of the UK, central Birmingham and interchanges with the airport.
“There are already good train links, but this is about local transport. This is about the tram scheme, not rapid links.
“2026 is the planned opening. It’s subject to obtaining a TWAO, and business cases being successful, but it is part of the devolution deal. We are working on the TWAO application and we aim to submit it in 2020.”
The Alliance uses a standardised methodology to predict and meet future targets. Hewitt explains: “To deliver on all these plans, we have tasked Alejandro’s team with predicting what will be needed for success in 2030. We need to think ahead to that. Do we increase the number of trams, and by how much? Will we need new depots? We think it will result in some interesting proposals.”
Moreno is ready for the task, and aims to use experience gained elsewhere. “The key point is that if we don’t have set new targets then we won’t deliver. We want to work out what the ideal scenario will be in 2030. Those were the plans.
“We have a roadmap of the project on the wall. We know where we’ll need to be in ten years’ time, and we are hitting our targets along the way.”
Finally, Moreno insists the Alliance is not just creating infrastructure, but improving the skillsets in the area. “We want to build a Midland Metro academy. We want to improve training by bringing people in and nurturing local skills. This move is about demonstrating our loyalty to the project and the area, and about giving people professional skills as a result.”
Hewitt agrees: “Our ten-year programme means that if we train now they will be working on the Metro in ten years’ time. We aim to give people a long-term plan and a future.”
The Alliance is building the West Midlands’ future in more ways than one.