First trams run on Birmingham Eastside extension

Testing has commenced on the Birmingham Eastside extension of the West Midlands Metro. The first trams ran onto the extension as far as Millennium Point in the early hours of Wednesday 6^th August as the testing and commissioning period gets underway ahead of the planned opening of the first phase of the line in late 2025.

The Birmingham Eastside extension is eventually due to run as far as High Street Deritend – as well as providing the starting point for a further extension to Birmingham City FC’s new planned stadium which is part of the Mayor’s vision for transport in the region – but as has been mentioned many a time the construction of HS2 at Curzon Street means that it will have to open in a couple of extensions.

This first section will run from the delta junction at Bull Street/Corporation Street and onto Lower Bull Street, Albert Street and across Moor Street Queensway. Here they will come to a halt at a temporary terminus. Up until now this has always been described as by the Clayton Hotel but now for the first time official literature is calling this Millennium Point, and the trams which ran on test even carried this as the destination on their screens.

Official photos from the Midland Metro Alliance show that Urbos3s 35 and 36 ran along the line along with Urbos100 55 as the first tests took place to make sure that everything is as expected with the construction of this section of line.

Phase one will include two new stops added to the network – Albert Street and Millennium Point. This will give access to key destinations including Moor Street Station, Millennium Point and Birmingham City University campus. It also provides a direct tram link for almost 400,000 bus passengers a week who use services at the busy Moor Street bus interchange.

At some point in the future – date still unknown because of uncertainty when HS2 will hand the area over to Midland Metro Alliance contractors – it will then continue to stops at Curzon Street, Meriden Street and Digbeth High Street. Track laying has already been completed in Digbeth and work is due to get underway on Meriden Street shortly.

Beyond the already underway extension and it will also be the starting point for the planned future extension to the new Birmingham City FC stadium and surrounding Sports Quarter regeneration scheme, with plans also being looked at to go even further to Birmingham Airport and the HS2 Interchange. £400 million has been earmarked towards the first stages of these plans.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Our plan to extend the Metro network to East Birmingham and Solihull is crucial to unlocking the £3 billion private sector investment in our new Sports Quarter, which in turn will create huge opportunities for communities that have been held back for too long.

“These successful tests show how close we are to opening up new reliable tram links to this part of Birmingham City Centre. Soon it will be easier for everyone to get around – whether they are commuting to work, heading to class or travelling further afield by connecting to rail and bus services.

“Expanding the tram network is a crucial enabler for my Growth Plan. It’s about more than just transport; it’s about connecting people to the businesses and education opportunities that will drive our region forward.”

Cllr Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport on Birmingham City Council, said: “This is an exciting milestone in the expansion of the Metro to East Birmingham.

“I am determined to work hand-in-hand with the Mayor to deliver better transport links across our city, and the Metro is at the very heart of this. The £400m investment that the Mayor secured will unlock economic growth in East Birmingham, helping to connect our communities with jobs and opportunities for generations to come.”

With the news of testing having broken, West Midlands Metro have highlighted that they are recruiting for a number of new roles to help cover for the extra services which will be running.

Sophie Allison, Managing Director at West Midlands Metro, said: “These are exciting times for our organisation as we continue to grow, as with all our recruitment campaigns, we are keen to hear from people who live locally with the skills and experience needed to help us take our services to the next level.”

Roles available will include driver/customer service representatives, maintenance technicians, infrastructure engineers, rail expansion project leaders, and senior rail technicians. All the details can be found at https://careers.westmidlandsmetro.com/jobs.

Overnight tram tests will now continue over the next few weeks. This will be done by the Midland Metro Alliance who will hand it over to West Midlands Metro following that for all important driver training and timetable testing, ahead of the opening of the line. Autumn is given as the date but that does take us all the way until mid-December so don’t get too excited just yet!