Green light for Metro trams through the city centre

The government has given its approval for the Midland Metro to be extended through Birmingham city centre to New Street station, clearing the way for trams to return to the city's streets.

The approval, confirmed in February, means work on the £128 million extension can begin later this year. The transport authority Centro has also announced plans for a £44.2 million new fleet of trams to replace the ones that have served the line since it opened.

The route

The extension will take the Metro off its current terminus at Snow Hill station and on to the streets of the city centre, running along Bull Street, Corporation Street and Stephenson Street to New Street station. The legal powers for the route were granted in 2005, but the scheme has been waiting for funding approval.

From New Street, passengers will be able to change to trains to destinations across the country, and the line will be much more convenient for shoppers and workers in the heart of the city.

New trams

The current fleet of 16 trams, built by the Italian company AnsaldoBreda, has served the line since it opened in 1999, but has become increasingly unreliable. The new, larger trams will carry more passengers and are needed for the extension.

A long wait

The Metro line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton opened in 1999, running mostly along the route of the old Great Western Railway line between the two cities. It was intended to be the first line of a much larger network, with further lines to places such as Birmingham Airport and Dudley.

Those lines have never been built because the money could not be found, and the transport authority has instead focused on extending the existing line step by step, with the city centre extension as the first priority.

Trams on the streets again

When the extension opens, trams will run on Birmingham's streets for the first time since 1953, when the last of the city's original tram routes closed. Birmingham once had one of the largest tram networks in Britain.

New Street rebuild

The extension is being planned alongside the rebuilding of New Street station, which is under way. The redevelopment will give the station a new concourse and a new entrance on Stephenson Street, where the tram stop will be.

Disruption ahead

Businesses and shoppers have been warned that building the extension will mean disruption in the city centre, with roadworks along the route as water pipes and cables are moved and track is laid. Work is expected to start in the summer.

For supporters of the scheme, the approval is the end of a long campaign. They argue that trams through the city centre will make the Metro far more useful and attract many more passengers, and that further extensions, towards Broad Street and Edgbaston and to the east of the city centre, could follow.