Midland Metro News – Stop and Go

Our splendid local transport system , the Metro Tram, is making progress….but slowly! Here is the latest news I have.

A   is being built just outside Snow Hill Station. Curiously, there is not  yet an access being built to this from the Jewellery Quarter Livery Street entrance to Snow Hill Station, even though the stop is adjacent to the entrance and passenger shelters.
A contractor I talked to maintained that eventually such an entrance would be built. But for now, he said, you would have to walk down from the station.

I wandered about and found that you cannot gain access to the stop from the station, only by walking passed the office buildings 1 and 2 Snow Hill, a distance of 250yds from the exit of Snow Hill Station, or a similar distance to the new  Bull Street stop, not far and probably due to the Metro line being outside the station.

According to the Contractor, it is planned to open the new stop just after Easter and they will be working 24 hours a day over the holiday weekend to achieve this. On the other hand only one of the three stops en route to New Street Station has been completed and work on the others is progressing at a snail’s pace.

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Approoaching Nos 1 and 2 Snow Hill from the Jewellery Quarter

What a dimension!

Passing Nos 1 and 2 Snowhill from the city centre

Tram heading to the new stop in the middle distance

Tram nearing the new stop.

The Livery Street Entrance to Snow Hill Station platforms

A  -ahead has at last been given by Network Rail for Centro to run overnight testing of the electrical systems along the new Midland Metro route starting on April 23.

The tests are to ensure that the Metro’s electronic systems do not interfere with those employed in controlling trains in New Street Station. Conversely, it is necessary to check that the train systems do not interfere with the Metro’s.

When these tests are completed with the required results, progress can be made in testing the remainder of the route and lead to getting the service extended to Stephenson Street, outside the station entrances, soon after.

This is the initial extension’s raison d’etre and so hopefully  it will  now be completed without much further delay. The prolonged history of this extension starts in the public domain on March 2010 when the Department for Transport announced official approval for funding the Metro Extension between Snow Hill  and New Street stations.

Since then see the history of articles on this extension to the Metro – Click here then click on a post title.

Article by Geoff Caine