Metro extension to go ahead after £60m funding agreement

The metro will be extended to Edgbaston after the Department for Transport approved £59.8m funding for the scheme.

Another £84m had already been committed by the West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham City Council, Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and others.

The route will offer a direct metro link from the city centre and Birmingham New Street to the International Convention Centre, Symphony Hall and Brindleyplace.

Deputy West Midlands Mayor Cllr Bob Sleigh said: “The metro is a real success story for this region and that will continue as new routes are rolled out over the next few years across Birmingham and the Black Country.

“It is not just these areas that will benefit though as the Metro is key to the WMCA’s vision for strategic growth and regeneration across the West Midlands, bringing huge benefits to everyone who lives and works here.”

The extension will see new stops at the Town Hall, Centenary Square, Brindley Place, and at two sites either side of the Five Ways roundabout in Edgbaston.

It will be served by up to 10 trams an hour at peak when the two-kilometre extension of the Midland Metro, from Grand Central, outside Birmingham New Street station, to Edgbaston opens in March 2021.

Transport Minister Paul Maynard, who visited Birmingham to see the route for himself, described the extension as “a vital project” for the city.

He said: “This new extension will be a further boost to Birmingham businesses, and make travelling to work easier for commuters.

“But just as importantly, it will help ease the pressure on the roads as it will provide an alternative for getting in and out of the city centre.”

Preliminary groundworks started in the summer but now final funding for the scheme has been secured, major project works could be set to get underway within weeks.