£30m Midland Metro extension plan revived

A £30 million proposal to extend the Midland Metro tram line in Wolverhampton has been revived, transport bosses revealed today.

A first phase of the extension will join up the existing St George's tram stop in Bilston street with Wolverhampton rail station and is expected to take place before 2015.

The creation of a Metro loop around Market Street and Lichfield Street would not be carried out until a later date.

Wolverhampton City Council and transport authority Centro will also bid for funding for a £154m revamp of Wolverhampton rail station. Developers Neptune, which built the city's new £22.5m bus station and have plans for the rail station, are also involved in the Metro project.

Transport chiefs will try to persuade the Government that funding for the extension and the railway station revamp will create jobs.

The expansion plans were originally unveiled in 2009 but were shelved the next year after the coalition government announced £693m in cuts.

It is thought that by breaking up the long-awaited extension and leaving the loop element until a later date, the project will be cheaper and more likely to attract Government backing from its Regional Growth Fund.

The Government has so far refused to commit money to the rail station project, which includes plans for a hotel and canalside bars.

Centro spokesman Mark Langford said: "Centro, Wolverhampton City Council and Neptune are working closely together to develop a fully integrated strategic transport hub at Wolverhampton Interchange, where a state of the art bus station opened in 2011."