The Birmingham Eastside extension, one of four new lines currently being built on the West Midlands Metro, has recently seen more good progress with a derelict college building in Digbeth being demolished. The building has been removed to allow trams to turn from Meriden Street to Digbeth High Street and is a key part of the preparation works ahead of the start of tracklaying later this year.
The work to demolish the building took place between April and June and will be followed later this year by the Kings Parade building on Dales End.
Construction work on the extension will continue throughout the summer with some localised and discreet works during the Commonwealth Games. Further work will then follow after the Games, with the first tram tracks due to be laid by the end of the year.
Peter Cushing, Director of the Midland Metro Alliance, said: “With a summer of sport almost upon us, it is great to be able to share an update on progress on the Metro scheme. It’s great to see the “Creative Quarter’s” new look beginning to take shape with attractive street scene improvements. I look forward to providing further progress on the project after the Games.”
The 1.7km route will run from Bull Street to Digbeth and will add four new stops to the West Midlands Metro network. Over half of the route will be bult without overhead wires.