West Midlands Metro services to Dudley (Flood Street) could be running by the end of August, if an update at a Dudley Council committee meeting is to be believed. During the meeting, Cllr Patrick Harley (Leader of the Council) have the date of “28th August” as when the service would start running, although there has been no official word from Transport for West Midlands that this will be the case.
The extension – now officially known as the Black Country Line – is another of those long-running sagas we have seen countless times over the years of funding issues and delays for new tram lines. It has been long-delayed and whilst its hard to keep up, this opening would be over two years after the line should have opened.
As a reminder this is just the first phase of the line with it due to continue beyond Dudley to Merry Hill (or short of the shopping centre as the case actually is) as part of a second phase, of which construction has at least started.
The first phase will see trams able to run from both Birmingham and Wolverhampton onto the extension by way of a new Tipton Junction located just to the Birmingham side of Wednesbury Great Western Street. It will be a mixture of running on a former railway alignment and on-street. It will provide access to Dudley Town Centre as well as attractions such as Dudley Zoo and the Black Country Living Museum.
The topic of the extension was raised during the meeting with requests for compensation for businesses who have been impacted by the lengthy construction works. In response Cllr Harley said: “The constant delays are unacceptable, we now have a definitive date for when the Metro will be up and running, 28 August.”
It is expected that construction will be finished in the spring before a period of testing, commissioning and training follows.