Earlier this month we brought you the news that the leader of Dudley Council had announced the first phase of the Black Country line as far as Flood Street, Dudley would be open on 28th August 2026. The extension has been much delayed and the official word from the Midland Metro Alliance still remains “as early as possible in 2026” (which lets be honest could still be 31st December!) with some work still required to complete construction, including joining the line up at Tipton Junction with the current Birmingham-Wolverhampton line. In this pictorial update, Andy Walters has provided permission for this set of photos to be published showing how things were on 24th January 2026.
The first stop (from Wednesbury) will be Great Bridge, which like most stops on this stretch is below road level and as such needs lift and stair access. With the lift/stairs on the left there will then be a short walk to the platforms as seen here. Track, overhead and the platforms are more or less complete here.
A close-up view of the installed lift shaft and stairs.
The second stop on the line will be at Horseley Road. This stop is down below the road surface and includes lifts and stairs for access. This view shows that the track is down and much work has been completed on the platforms. Further finishing work is required.
Then its Dudley Port. A bit more work needed here on the platforms as well as with some of the infrastructure.
Further along the line and this is Tipton Road. Track is down again here, platforms are under construction and there is overhead also in place. There is a crossover located here.
Into Dudley and the nature of the line changes with it coming down to street level with on street running.
Castle Hill where the tracks have been down for some time.
An almost complete tramstop at Dudley Interchange, including ticket machines covered over. The posts with stop details and maps etc. are to be wired up.
The initial terminus will be at Flood Street. That is at least until phase two on the way to Merry Hill is completed at some point in the future. This last shot shows the stop at Flood Street which seems fairly complete. The Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre is behind. (All Photographs by Andy Walters, 24th January 2026)