Rising costs will see a consortium led by Bouygues scale back work to extend the West Midlands metro line.
The £450m funding approved in 2019 aimed to see the line extend from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill, linking Dudley with Birmingham, Wolverhampton and the national rail network.
Midland Metro Alliance, a joint venture of Egis, Tony Gee, Pell Frischmann and Colas Rail with partners Colas Ltd, Barhale, Bouygues UK and Auctus Management Group, together with client West Midlands Combined Authority, began delivering the 11 km metro extension three years ago. .
However, in a report to be presented to the West Midlands Combined Authority council on Friday (June 9), members will be told that despite an extra injection of £60m from the Department for Levelling, Housing and Communities, the planned 11 km extension is “not considered affordable”.
Instead, it has been proposed that the line stop at Merry Hill, one station short of its original destination, in order to reduce costs, with passengers completing their journey on foot or by other means of transport.
The report will say: “Connectivity from this interim terminus to connect to Brierley Hill High Street can be provided through a combination of demand-responsive pedestrian, cycle and bus solutions.”
Completion of the extension as originally planned would depend on securing further funding from other “yet to be identified” local funding sources or government grants, the report added.
Last summer, the board learned that the cost of the plan had increased as a result of supply chain disruption and inflationary pressure following the pandemic and international unrest.
The report warns that the plan’s business case should be updated in the face of these cost increases and also take into account the reduced demand for metro travel post-Covid.
The revised business case is likely to come under government scrutiny and could face a “robust challenge”, he adds.
The specific financial details of the proposal were released separately in a private document for commercial confidentiality reasons.
