The weather might have been a bit grim but the past week has seen significant progress made on Midland Metro’s Birmingham City Centre extension with the major news to report that the old and new lines are now connected up just beyond St Paul’s. Meanwhile progress continues to be made on the overhead throughout the city centre including towards New Street station; although oddly the section closer to St Paul’s – which is due to open before that at New Street – has yet to have even the poles erected.
Progress is also being made on the stop at Bull Street – which is due to be the new temporary terminus from early December – with landscaping also being undertaken in this vicinity. No date has been announced for an opening to Bull Street but the six weeks closure takes us through to early December and it is also planned that the line to New Street will open by the end of the year so the next couple of months should be busy in Birmingham.
A view on 6th November showing the old and new Midland Metro lines meeting at Snow Hill.
Another look at Snow Hill as work continues on the new line.
Poles at Snow Hill awaiting installation.
The new stop at Bull Street under construction on 4th November. (All Photographs by Andy Walters)
It is good to see that the connection into the City centre line is now in place and that we should see trams running to the stop on Bull Street soon. One question. The plans for the extension show a stop for Snow Hill but these are not clear as to its actual location. The section alongside Snow Hill station has already been grassed so I would assume that it will be on the recently constructed bridge across Great Charles Street. If so Will tram passengers have go down steps under the bridge and then up a newly built access to Snow Hill Station?
Hope this helps
A new stop will be built at Snow Hill station by the Livery Street entrance.
Then Midland Metro will travel over a new bridge over Great Charles Street, past the new developments at Snow Hill onto Bull Street where the next stop will be located.
Then turning right onto Corporation Street another stop will be built at just by the junction of Corporation Street and Cherry Street. The route will then continue onto Stephenson Place and turn onto Stephenson Street with the last stop just outside New Street Station.
The track will continue on to the junction of Stephenson Street and Pinfold Street to provide a turn back facility and is also a stepping stone to continuing the route to Centenary Square in the future.
Interesting that the reservation is grassed.