Metro extension funding pledge from Chancellor

A tram extension which is set to be built after the chancellor committed to funding it in her Budget will "change lives", the West Midlands' mayor says.

The link from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, one of three extensions planned for the network, had been beset by issues including rising costs in the past.

But Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday the government would spend £1.3bn on city transport schemes including the Brierley Hill expansion.

The decision showed "great confidence" in the region, the mayor, Richard Parker, said.

“It’s a very important announcement. There’s been no money to complete that line in the past despite all the announcements," he added.

"[Wednesday] was the first time the government, any government, has committed to completing this really important extension to that tramline through the heart of the Black Country.”

The expansion would "change lives and improve opportunities for everyone that lives in the Black Country", he added.

Currently, the West Midlands Metro runs from Edgbaston in Birmingham to Wolverhampton.

Despite the pledge of £1.3bn to transport projects in cities across the UK, the chancellor did not say exactly how much would go on the Metro expansion.

The project had been deemed likely to be delayed or even scrapped as costs rose, before the former mayor, Andy Street, said cash was secured following the cancellation of the second phase of HS2 in October 2023.

However, a report in April set out the "enormous cost" of expanding the Metro service and no concrete plans for the project have been released.

On Tuesday, Anne Shaw, executive director of Transport for West Midlands said work on the next section of the Metro in Dudley could get underway in January.

The development, which is phase two of the overall project, will link Dudley to the Waterfront at the Merry Hill shopping centre.

Phase one, which connects Dudley to Wednesbury, is expected to be completed by autumn 2025.

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