Work to extend the Midland Metro tramway in Birmingham officially began on Tuesday. Councillor Roger Horton, the lead member for rail for Centro, and representatives from Birmingham City Council and contractor Balfour Beatty tightened the bolts on the first section of tramway to be laid.  The contract is worth £42.4M.

Running from Snow Hill station (the present terminus) and a rebuilt New Street station the extension will mean the return of street running trams to Birmingham after a gap of 60 years. The extension is planned to open in 2015. At present the tramway runs only on former railway corridor.

Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council said: “Work is already under way on the city centre extension, but we are now planning to take the Metro on further to Centenary Square as well as extending it through Wolverhampton city centre to the railway station.”

New trams have been ordered from CAF in Saragossa in Spain at a cost of £40M. The first one was delivered during October with another 19 to follow over the next few months. They are larger than the 16 existing trams, carrying 200 rather than 156 passengers, and have required an extension to the tram depot at Wednesbury costing £14M and built by Morgan Sindall.

The new trams will enter service on the existing Metro route between Birmingham and Wolverhampton next year after testing and driver training. The new trams will allow a frequency of 10 trams an hour increasing capacity by 40%.

(Photo: Centro)

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