Thousands of extra visitors are set to come to Westside on the region’s Metro tram network – but only after substantial new works are completed.
This means the trams are to stop running along Broad Street for three weeks across the Easter holidays thanks to work to build a junction for a major extension in the Black Country.
Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, said: “There is going to be some short-term pain on the Metro trams locally, but this will hopefully lead to long-term gain with the promise that the Wolverhampton to Birmingham line will also offer a direct link to Dudley by the end of the year.
“While it’s not ideal for the works to be carried out over Easter, it’s inevitable that they would cause disruption at any time of the year and, to be fair to West Midlands Metro, we all have to bite the bullet knowing that better times lie ahead.
“For instance, the extension will put up to another 300,000 people living in Dudley within easy travelling distance of Westside’s multiple night-time economy attractions. Meanwhile, Broad Street’s bus and taxi routes will remain open throughout Easter to help keep visitors flowing for our major Westside destinations.”
Completing the new Dudley extension junction will mean trams from Wolverhampton that would normally turn back at Edgbaston Village won’t be able to run beyond Wednesbury for 18 days from 23 March to 9 April.
Additional bridge work associated with the extension will then see Broad Street services curtailed after 8pm on 26 days until mid-May.
Most Birmingham schools break up for Easter on Friday 22 March, with pupils returning to school on Monday 8 April. This is what the disruption to tram services will mean and when.
Saturday 23 March to Monday 25 March: trams will operate up to every 10 minutes between Wolverhampton Station and Wednesbury Parkway only. There will be no services between Wednesbury Parkway and Edgbaston Village.
Tuesday 26 March to Tuesday 9 April: trams will run up to every 10 minutes from Wolverhampton Station to Wednesbury Great Western Street. Again, there will be no services between there and Edgbaston Village.
Wednesday 10 April to Thursday 16 May: after the 18-day shutdown, additional bridge works associated with the new Dudley extension will curtail services between Black Lake and Edgbaston Village from 8pm on the following dates:
- Wednesday 10 April to Thursday 11 April
- Sunday 14 April to Thursday 18 April
- Sunday 21 April to Thursday 25 April
- Sunday 28 April to Thursday 2 May
- Monday 6 May to Thursday 9 May and
- Sunday 12 May to Thursday 16 May
Sophie Allison, West Midlands Metro’s managing director, said: “We understand the impact that these essential works will have on our customers and appreciate their patience during this period of disruption.
“The temporary adjustments to services, which will begin at Easter, will take us a step closer to connecting more communities across the region with our enhanced network.”
For further service details visit https://www.westmidlandsmetro.com/.
Future Metro extensions
A future phase two link, extending the new line still further from Dudley to Brierley Hill, has also been given the go ahead to bring even more potential customers towards Westside.
Meanwhile, in Birmingham, work to build the Eastside extension from Corporation Street to High Street Deritend is ongoing at both ends – but the mid-section is dependent on work to build the new HS2 Station.
Once the mile-long Eastside track is complete from its mid-2027 target date onwards, Digbeth will then come within easy reach of Westside.
This will see trams turning from Lower Bull Street into Corporation Street via a complex ‘delta junction’ built in the summer of 2021 next to the Wetherspoon pub The Square Peg.
All pictures by Graham Young.
ENDS
