The Wednesbury Brierley Hill Extension (WBHE) Final Business Case (FBC) was approved by WMCA Board in 2017 and WBHE Phase 2 was approved by WMCA Board in March 2019.
12.2 WBHE is part of the Metro Expansion Programme commenced in 2016 and includes the following light rail extension within the WM Region.
• Wolverhampton Station (opened in 2023)
• Edgbaston Village (opened in 2022)
• New Street/Grand Central (opened in 2015)
• Birmingham Eastside Extension (under construction) and
• Wednesbury to Brierley Hill (Phase 1 under construction)
12.3 In June 2022, it was first reported to WMCA Board that the projected costs of the WBHE had increased as a consequence of inflationary pressures within the supply chain triggered by the COVID pandemic and war in Ukraine along with additional scope pressures. Work was commissioned to pursue value engineering and reviewing finance and engineering assumptions.
12.4 WMCA Board in June 2023 concluded the delivery of the full extension was deemed to be unaffordable at that time, and the WBHE project was partitioned into phases.
• Phase 1: Wednesbury to Flood St., Dudley
• Phase 2a: Flood St, Dudley to Waterfront Business Park
• Phase 2b: Waterfront to Merry Hill Shopping Centre
• Phase 2c: Merry Hill Shopping Centre to Brierley Hill Town Centre
12.5 Phase 1 of the scheme from Wednesbury to Dudley has been fully funded and is in the final stages of construction and is scheduled to complete in Autumn 2025.
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