• The existing Line 1 running between Snow Hill and Wolverhampton
• The planned Line 1 extension leading through the city centre to New Street Station then heading along Broad Street to end at Edgbaston and later at Junction 3 of the M5.
• A route to Birmingham International Airport extension running along Digbeth High Street

Key (Popup full image)

Centro has got hold of a Transport Works Act Order, which allows them to carry on with the extension of Line 1 along Bull Street, Corporation Street, through Victoria Square to Broad Street. This option would need us to remove the buses from Corporation Street in favour of the tram, but would not allow us to fully pedestrianise it. Centro thinks that doing this would mean that a lot more people would use Line1 because it creates a direct Metro link to the New Street Gateway. To pick up further routes, they suggest a one-way city centre loop to serve Southside, Eastside and Westside. (See Figure 4.1 for alternative metro routes)

Figure 4.1 shows the suggested future metro network developed by Centro in partnership with Birmingham City Council. As well as the Line1 extension mentioned above, a one-way city core loop is suggested serving the Eastside, Southside and Westside districts. The route, which runs around the south of the Bull Ring and immediately north of the international markets, will mean a lot more people can use the trams and will improve public transport in these areas. This loop would be needed to have the airport extension from Digbeth High Street. A further extension is planned out to Great Barr via New Town Row. The image also shows a route along Sherlock Street which would infill a route to the south.

Proposed Metro Routes (Popup full image)

For some routes, we could have ‘Bus Rapid Transit’ (BRT) instead of the Metro. Many modern cities have seen the benefits of trams in terms of transport and regeneration, setting them up is expensive and there are other practical issues. They can also affect other modes of transport (such as pedestrians in crowded streets). Bus Rapid Transport is halfway between buses and trams, with optional features such as better vehicles, priority through guideways, and not as many stops as normal buses. BRT may be a cheaper alternative to trams in some places and along some routes. Centro have suggested routes to Bartley Green, Chelmsley Wood and (as a pre-metro) to Perry Barr.