£200m Metro extension plan handed to Grayling Mayor pushing government to back major transport project
DETAILED plans for a further £200 million extension of the Midlands Metro tram network have been handed to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling for his approval.
West Midlands mayor Andy Street handed the full business case for a new line between Wednesbury to Brierley Hill to the Cabinet minister at House of Commons meeting.
The new line will run from the existing tram depot at Wednesbury through Great Bridge, Horseley Heath, Dudley Port, Dudley Town Centre, the Waterfront and Merry Hill before arriving at Brierley Hill town centre.
The line will mean commuters in Dudley will be just 40 minutes from the new HS2 station at Curzon Street, in Birmingham city centre.
Mr Street said: “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.”
He said that the region’s council leaders, working together as the West Midlands Combined Authority had done a ‘first class job’ developing the project and now it was one of his priorities to get the funding secured.
He added: “It is hard to understate just how important this project is to the Black Country. The business case shows that for every pound invested in this project, it will return £2.50 for the local economy.
“It will align employment, education, health and tourism along the corridor, stimulating investment in the Black Country and enabling the building of 50,000 homes and bringing 170 hectares of brownfield land.
“It will also be important for passengers. It will more than halve journey times from some of the stops along the route into central Birmingham.”
Work is currently under way on Metro extensions in Birmingham and Wolverhampton city centres. A further line from Bull Street, through Digbeth and Small Heath to Birmingham Airport is also under development.
Transport for West Midlands chief Cllr Roger Lawrence 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.”