The Birmingham Eastside extension – which will see West Midlands Metro services run between Bull Street and High Street Deritend – is set to take another step forward with an empty city centre building which stands in its way set to be demolished in the coming weeks.
The Kings Parade site in Dale End (which housed a McDonalds until 2021) will see hoardings erected around it at the start of week commencing 10th October and demolition work will then start soon afterwards. The complete demolition is scheduled to be finished in spring 2023. Advance utility diversions and upgrades will take place at the same time ahead of track laying due to commence later in 2023.
Michael Anderson, Metro Programme Director at Transport for West Midlands, said: “It is fantastic to see construction for the Birmingham Eastside extension progressing to this new phase. The upcoming demolition of Kings Parade will bring us one step closer to completion of this highly-anticipated scheme; not only that but the removal of the building will also pave the way for the regeneration of this area of the city centre. The Kings Parade building is well-known, but since the units have become empty we have had many questions from local businesses and residents about when it will be demolished to allow Metro progress to continue and we are delighted to be able to confirm that these works will be starting this month.”
Maria Ion, Project Director, added: “We have made major strides on the scheme in recent months and the upcoming demolition of Kings Parade signals the significant construction progress that has been delivered by the team. Site clearance and preparation for track laying will follow next year after the building is removed which will bring us ever closer to connecting the route.”
The Birmingham Eastside extension will add four new stops to the network when it opens (at a date to be confirmed). It will run for 1.7km and will provide connections to the Curzon Street HS2 station and Birmingham Coach Station. It will be built without overhead wires. Work started back in 2021 with major milestones achieved so far including the installation of the delta junction at Bull Street/Corporation Street last year and more recently the first track laid in Digbeth.
The extension will serve the HS2 station at Curzon Street. This large worksite is where that will be located. The line into Birmingham New Street from Birmingham International is on the right and the original Curzon Street station building is still on situ on the other side of this photo. The tram will cross the site somewhere near Curzon Street before going underneath the railway.
In Digbeth where work is continuing. Traffic is now diverted on Bradford Street and it appears a tram trackbed is being installed exiting Meriden Street to turn towards Deritend. (Both Photographs by Ken Jones, 11th October 2022)