New West Midlands railway stations receive £15m funding boost
Grant from Department for Transport will help build the trio of stations in south Birmingham in time for 2022 Commonwealth Games
Tamlyn JonesBusiness Reporter
CGI of plans for a new railway station in Hazelwell
Sign up to FREE email alerts from BusinessLive - West Midlands - articles, insight and analysis straight to your inbox every morningInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later.
A plan to construct three new railway stations in the West Midlands has been handed a boost after the Government granted £15 million to the project.
The Department for Transport has handed the money to the West Midlands Combined Authority to proceed with the development of stations in Kings Heath, Moseley and Hazelwell, south of Birmingham city centre.
The region's transport chiefs are hoping to have the additional passenger services, which will run on the Camp Hill line into New Street station, in operation ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the city.
It is hoped they will massively ease congestion on local roads, including the heavily used A435, through what are densely populated suburbs although the service will initially only run twice an hour.
The planned Bordesley Chords project will take the trains into Moor Street station instead, enabling more frequent services but it is several years before this will be ready.
WSP to design testbed for driverless vehicles
The stations closed during in the 1940s since when the line has been used only by freight and non-stop through services for passengers.
Transport for West Midlands and the West Midlands Rail Executive are working with rail industry partners including Network Rail and West Midlands Trains on the development.
The new funding comes as planning applications are set to be submitted for the Kings Heath and Hazelwell stations after a public consultation and design period.
HS2 News
Cut HS2's speed to cut cash
Network Rail says no alternative
HS2's boost for steel
Wales put at 'competitive disadvantage'
The application for Moseley will follow later in the year following further design work and construction is due to start in 2020.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: "Thanks to this government funding we can now get on with planning and building the Camp Hill Line stations in the next two years.
"This will see passenger services calling at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell for the first time in 80 years.
"It will provide residents with easier and faster connections to get to the places they need to go and will offer people a real alternative to the car - helping to ease congestion and improving the air we breathe."
Regeneration plans for University of Birmingham station
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Council cabinet member for transport and environment, said: "This is great news for the people of south Birmingham who have long campaigned to get these stations reopened.
"This, along with the huge investment in trams, buses and cycling, is going to transform the way we travel as we move to more sustainable forms of transport."
Birmingham New Street Station
Moor Street Station
AutomotiveHow did Wales lose the Britishvolt gigafactory investment creating 3,000 jobs to the north east of EnglandFormer Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the Welsh Government failed to give the right support to ensure Britishvolt went through with initial plans to locate it in South Wales
Key contractor appointed for Humber Zero carbon capture project to clean up Immingham's industrial might
EngineeringVPI Immingham selects Worley for front end engineering and design work on multi-billion pound investment
Premier Inn to open three hotels in Wales by summer and names where it wants next sites
Economic DevelopmentThe hotel giant wants to continue to expand its footprint in Wales and will open in Llandudno, St David's and Porthmadog this year
EconomyThe story of inflation and what it means for businesses in WalesThe latest ONS statistics show the rate of inflation is at a 30-year high in the UK, but what do these headline figures mean for Welsh businesses on the ground?
Liverpool set for £15m boost as 100 cruises scheduled for 2022
North WestCouncillors have spoken of their "optimism" for the cruise sector
Sweet scent of success at the seaside as The Business Day returns in the flesh for 2022
EventsBridlington Spa fixture back in-person with Jo Malone topping the bill
People in Wales to leave Covid self isolation earlier under rule change welcomed by business group
Federation of Small BusinessesThe isolation period in Wales is being reduced by Welsh Government from Friday with the Conservatives saying they should have done it sooner
Forest Holidays investing in new venue in the Brecon Beacons in multi-million pound investment
Leisure & TouismIt is estimated that the new tourist location will provide a boost of £1.5m per year to the regional economy