Spring opening for next leg of city centre tram extension…
The go-ahead for a series of crucial safety checks has been secured, paving the way for a spring opening of the next leg of the Birmingham city centre tram extension.
Centro, the region’s transport delivery body, has been given the green light by Network Rail to run essential overnight testing of the electrical systems along the new Midland Metro route on April 23.
The granting of the ‘possession’ will ensure that the Metro’s electronic systems do not interfere with those controlling trains using New Street Station. The work will also check that Network Rail’s systems do not interfere with the Metro.
Centro’s Metro programme director, Phil Hewitt, said: “The only way we can carry out this work is by getting a possession, when no trains are running, from Network Rail and we are grateful to them for speeding up the process and cutting the length of time you usually have to wait.
“This is a crucial piece of work because once done it clears the way for us to carry out the final testing, commissioning of, and staff training for the new extension. Once that process is completed we can start running trams down to New Street Station.”
Trams returned to the streets of Birmingham for the first time in more than 60 years in December when the Midland Metro started running to a new stop in Bull Street.
But work to complete the remainder of the route along Corporation Street and Stephenson Street to New Street Station was suspended for eight weeks in the run up to Christmas to provide a more attractive environment for shoppers. Work restarted in the New Year.
Jonathan Cheetham of Retail Birmingham, the Business Improvement District for Birmingham city centre’s retail area, welcomed the announcement.
He said: “We are delighted that this next phase has been achieved and we look forward to seeing trams arriving at Grand Central. This development is good news for the city and traders.”
The industry standard timescale for possession is a minimum of 13 weeks but Network Rail was able to confirm the Metro date sooner, speeding up the potential opening of the new extension.
The £128m project, which includes a fleet of 21 new trams and a new maintenance depot at Wednesbury, is expected to boost the West Midlands economy by more than £50 million a year and create 1,300 new jobs.
The Midland Metro system, which runs between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, serving locations such as the Jewellery Quarter, West Bromwich, Wednesbury and Bilston, will deliver more than three million people a year directly into the heart of Birmingham’s main shopping district.
Meanwhile work has already begun on extending the route on from New Street Station to Centenary Square with services expected to start running in 2019.
Funding has also been earmarked to take trams further along Broad Street, past Five Ways and on to Edgbaston.
The route of another extension through Digbeth has also been finalised, running from Bull Street via Albert Street and on to the forthcoming HS2 high speed rail station at Curzon Street.
From there it would go along New Canal Street and Meriden Street into High Street Deritend, stopping at Digbeth Coach Station and the Custard Factory. It is anticipated the line could be open by 2023.
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