Shuttle extension could provide a cut-price alternative to delayed Metro tram line
An extension to Stourbridge's light railcar service could be considered as a cut-price alternative to the under-threat tram extension between Dudley and Brierley Hill.
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It was revealed in July that the proposed Wednesbury-Brierley Hill extension to the West Midlands Metro may now not be completed in full.
The first-phase of the line, from Wednesbury to Dudley town centre, is due to open next year, but the final stretch between the Merry Hill centre and Brierley Hill has been shelved, while funding for the link between Dudley and Merry Hill is on a knife edge amid mounting costs.
Sandeep Shingadia, director of strategic partnerships and integration with Transport for West Midlands, said extending the Stourbridge shuttle, which runs between Stourbridge Town and Stourbridge Junction railway stations, was one of the alternatives that the authority was now considering.
Sandeep said: “We are undertaking feasibility studies into five potential mass transit routes, including the Brierley Hill to Stourbridge corridor."
Steve Jasper, of Stourbridge shuttle operator Pre Metro, said his company could provide a service connecting Dudley, Brierley Hill and Stourbridge for less than a quarter of the cost of linking Dudley to the Waterfront under the existing proposals.
