Eastside Midlands Metro extension to open with £18M temporary terminus
Posted on 17th November 2023 at 08:59
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has bought forward plans to open a section of the Eastside Midlands Metro extension by building a temporary terminus.
The new plans will see a further £18M added to the £227M budget to complete the terminus, bringing total costs to £245M for the eastside extension.
Originally planned to open in 2026, the Curzon Street extension would not open till 2026 at the earliest as the HS2 station is still under construction.
Instead, a temporary Metro terminus will instead be installed next to Moor Street Queensway to accelerate delivery of tram services to the east of Birmingham city centre.
The new plans will allow easier links between the tram and train and bus services at Moor Street Station and the Bus Mall, as well as offer stops for Birmingham City University and Millennium Point.
In September the WCMA opened a £50M West Midlands Metro extension to Wolverhampton, which included two new tram stops at Pipers Row and Wolverhampton Railway Station. However, the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension has faced inflationary cost pressures.
Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA Andy Street said: “Despite ongoing HS2 works at Curzon Street hampering our ability to finish the full Eastside extension until Metro is able to get on-site at Curzon Street, I tasked transport officials with finding a way to get trams running sooner.
West Midlands Tram in action (WMCA)
“That’s why I’m delighted we’ve found an innovative solution to part-opening the Eastside metro extension – with this stop at the Clayton Hotel enabling local people and businesses to start benefiting sooner. This approach means trams will be running here in 2025/2026.
“Having recently opened the Wolverhampton city centre extension, we know just how popular these schemes are with the public - offering seamless connections to rail and bus services just as this extension will provide at Moor Street.
“As frustrating as the short-term hurdles can be, it’s important to remember over the longer term what the final prize is - a vastly improved public transport system which will serve local people and businesses for many years ahead.”
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