Next phase of West Midlands Metro expansion set to be given go-ahead

During the recent budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves called out the Brierley Hill West Midlands Metro as one of the schemes which would benefit from the confirmation of funding and whilst, at the time, there was no specific word from the region that this would definitely be happening that has now come with the decision to be green lit at a meeting later this month. However, its not quite the full originally proposed line that is funded with the final section to Brierley Hill still requiring a further business case.

The original Brierley Hill extension was due to run for 11km from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill with a mixture of the conversion of an old railway line and on street running. As with so many major UK infrastructure projects funding became an issue (war in Ukraine, Covid etc. and the increased costs that has caused) and so the project ended up being rephased. Currently construction of phase one is well underway which will see the route go from Wednesbury into Dudley Town Centre with a terminus at Flood Street. Phase two is then due to run through to Merry Hill and then there is the chance that there will still be a phase three which will take the line all the way to Brierley Hill.

With phase one planned to open in late 2025, it is now more or less confirmed that construction work on phase two will be able to commence in January. There is a meeting of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board on Friday 15^th November where they are expected to green-light the plans.

Funding for the £261 million project will be coming through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRTS) and the work is possible after the government approved the business case presented by the WMCA following a recent reappraisal of the scheme.

In announcing the news, the WMCA have also confirmed that the extension will actually now be known as the Black Country line, which will avoid all those awkward comments when someone says the Brierley Hill extension has been given the go-ahead when at the moment that section is not funded!

Phase two will see the line extended from Flood Street to Merry Hill Shopping Centre and will provide new stops at Cinder Bank, Pedmore Road and Waterfront Business Park. No date of when trams may start running on this section have not been announced.

Richard Parker, Mayor of West Midlands and WMCA Chair, said: “Extending the Black Country Metro line further will make a huge difference to more people in Dudley giving them access to reliable and affordable transport while also delivering a major boost to businesses at Merry Hill.

“That’s why the Government has given its support, showing confidence in our region, and means we will have spades in the ground within weeks, allowing people to experience the benefits of Metro sooner.

“And we will work closely with Dudley Council on their growth plans to help build the funding package and business case for the next phase of this exciting project.”

Cllr Patrick Harley, Leader of Dudley Council and WMCA Board Member, said: “This is great news for Brierley Hill, Dudley and the West Midlands region. We’ve continued to push for the funding to deliver this project and I’m glad to see that we have Government approval for this next stage which will bring the Metro to Merry Hill. We will continue to work with TfWM to develop a business case to secure funding to further connect the line to Brierley Hill High Street.”

There remains hope that the extension may eventually reach Brierley Hill with Transport for West Midlands working closely alongside Dudley Council on developing a business case which would secure the funding for that section. Its said that the business case will be underpinned on the council’s growth plans for the area, which includes new housing development.