£6.1 billion investment as part of West Midlands transport revolution
Posted on 18th March 2024 at 12:05
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is due to invest a total of GBP 6.1bn (EUR 7.1bn) to expand upon its current Metro, bus , rail , cycling and walking networks to better connect people to services and facilities in the area.
The funding has been secured since TfWM was formed as part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and will be invested over 15 years.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA said, 'It's no secret that our transport infrastructure was woefully underfunded for decades. But since the formation of the WMCA , we have started to redress that underinvestment nd increased our funding more than ten fold.'
Since 2017, the region's transport network has been four extensions to the Metro system, six new railway stations, a rapid bus route, an electric bus fleet in Coventry and cycle hire schemes across eight cities. Plans are afoot to extend both the Metro and tram services further and, subject to business case, construction work could start as early as 2028.
Very Light Rail technology, which could mean that a tramway could be constructed for half the cost and in half the time of traditional lightrail, is being developed in the region and a demonstrator track in Coventry City Centre is planned for later in the year.
TfWM is investing a total of £6.1 bn to deliver a transport revolution across the region (TfWM)
Cllr Mike Bird, WMCA portfolio lead for transport and leader of Walsall council said, 'Over the last seven years we have developed and delivered dozens of schemes to improve our road, rail, cycling and walking, tram and bus infrastructure across the West Midlands. This unprecedented investment in public transport will make people's journeys easier, more comfortable, imporve on our air quality and help reduce traffic congestion on our streets.'
Tramways & Urban Transport produced a systems factfile on the West Midland Metro in our No.1027 edition. You can explore this here...
Tagged as: Transport for West Midlands, WMCA
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