Midland Metro changes announced as tram extension enters key phase

PASSENGERS on the Midland Metro are being advised of major changes later this month when work to connect the existing tram system to the new Birmingham city centre extension gets underway.

From Sunday October 25 tram services will no longer use Snow Hill Station but will instead start and finish at St Paul’s.

Passengers will use a replacement shuttle bus service between St Paul’s and Snow Hill Queensway which is being laid on by the Metro’s owner – public transport co-ordinator Centro – and the system’s operator National Express.

The arrangement is expected to last for up to six weeks while engineers install a new junction on the track between Snow Hill and St Paul’s, along with new signalling equipment and overhead electrification to tie the line in to the new extension.

Once work is complete services will run to the new Bull Street stop in the city centre. The rest of the extension down Corporation Street to New Street Station is scheduled to open by the end of the year.

Cllr Roger Horton, lead member for rail and Metro on the region’s transport delivery committee, said: “Despite the short term inconvenience it’s worth remembering that this work paves the way for passengers to be able to travel by tram right into the heart of the city centre.

“That’s good for passengers, good for retailers and good for our regional economy.”

The city centre extension, a joint project between Centro, Birmingham City Council and the Black Country councils, will bring more than three million people directly into the heart of the city’s shopping district each year.

It will also provide a convenient link between Birmingham’s two major rail stations, the emerging business district at Snow Hill, the Jewellery Quarter and out into the Black Country using the existing Metro line.

The extension will serve as a springboard for future Metro routes such as to the city’s forthcoming high speed rail station in Eastside, and Centenary Square.

The £128m project, which includes a £50m fleet of new trams which started going into service last year, is expected to boost the regional economy by around £50m a year and create more than 1,300 sustainable new jobs.

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