The proposed Midland Metro stop at the Birmingham Curzon HS2 railway station has moved a step forward with the news that a £27.5 million funding package has been secured. This stop will integrate the proposed HS2 station into the city centre and improve connectivity to Digbeth.
The Birmingham Curzon stop will be on the route of the Eastside Midland Metro extension which will leave the current line at Bull Street/Corporation Street travelling to a new terminus at High Street Deritend. As well as the terminus and the stop at Birmingham Curzon it is planned that stops will be constructed at Albert Street and Meriden Street. The route will run for 1.7km. An application for a Transport and Works Act Order was submitted in October 2016.
The £27.5 million has been secured from the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and is specifically to deliver the new Metro stop, which will be part of a much larger project to seamlessly integrate the new railway station into the heart of the city.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This announcement is just one more step in what is the biggest investment in public transport infrastructure since the Victorians. HS2 is the catalyst for Metro extensions, railway lines being reopened and cycling and walking investment. This funding from the WMCA will be vital in linking the Metro to HS2 as well as continuing the transformation of this part of the city centre.”