With good continued progress in track laying having been seen on the West Midlands Metro extension to Dudley (phase one of the Brierley Hill line) Friday 27th October saw the Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt MP, join local politicians on a visit to the site of the future terminus of the line.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, invited Penny Mordaunt to see some of the tram tracks being laid in Flood Street by the Midland Metro Alliance as part of the extension, which is due to open in 2024. Local MP, Nicola Richards, and Leader of Dudley Council, Cllr Patrick Harley joined the visit too.
The visit also came after Transport for West Midlands welcomed the planned £2.7 billion investment into the region’s transport infrastructure which enable a wide range of improvements to be implemented. This includes an immediate £100 million investment which will enable TfWM to complete the second phase of the extension in full. This will see trams running from Dudley Town Centre to Brierley Hill High Street.
Andy Street commented: ““It’s great to see such tremendous progress being made on this much anticipated route – with funding now confirmed from Government to enable us to extend the metro route all the way through to Brierley Hill High Street. Large-scale public transport projects like this play a pivotal role in boosting our regional economy – creating highly skilled jobs and training opportunities for local people. I cannot wait to see residents benefitting from this fantastic new infrastructure in the months and years ahead.”
Cllr Patrick Harley added: “The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension is just one of the major projects being developed across the borough to improve the life and prospects of those living, working and visiting Dudley. It was exciting to see the terminus for phase one of the route really taking shape ready for passengers to experience it late next year.”
Phase one of the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill West Midlands Metro extension is due to open in late 2024. The Midland Metro Alliance have been working in Dudley in different phases since 2020 and most track is now laid with Flood Street – which will be the location of the line’s temporary terminus – expected to be finished in the coming months. Then next year 860 tonnes of British made track will be laid in the former railway corridor which makes up the majority of phase one of the route.
Metro Programme Sponsor for TfWM, Marilyn Grazette, said: ““It is an exciting time in the delivery of this scheme with phase one delivery continuing to move at pace. Those in Dudley will start to see how the new route will look when in operation with the finishing touches added over the coming months.”
In this view we are looking towards the Tipton Road Bridge towards Dudley Port and Wednesbury with excellent progress being made on the tracklaying.
Then we look up the incline from the site of the original Dudley Station, with the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre on the left. This is towards the bottom of Castle Hill and The Station Hotel. Again, more good progress is being made on putting the rails down. (Both Photographs by Andy Rutter, 28th October 2023)