Work on £3m car park extension at Rowley Regis railway station to start
Building work on a £3 million extension to a busy railway station's park and ride creating an extra 360 spaces is set to start within the coming months.
The expansion of Rowley Regis' car park was due to begin before Christmas but was delayed as engineers sought to ensure the scheme would get the necessary approvals. Sandwell Council's planning committee approved the scheme, from transport authority Centro, in June last year. It will see an increase in the Station Road car park to a total of 708 spaces.
The extra parking space will be constructed on disused land adjoining the current car park, following the huge success of the park and ride system at the site.
But work was delayed several months while Centro firmed up its plans.
A spokesman for the transport authority said: "Construction work on Rowley Regis Park and Ride is due to start in spring this year.
"We have been working closely with partner organisations to come up with a design that benefits the highest possible number of passengers using the facility and making sure this gets through the necessary approval stages.
"The improved facility will provide a further 360 free parking spaces for rail users and help reduce the congestion on our roads which currently costs our region more than £2 billion each year.
"Park and ride has already proved hugely successful in persuading motorists to make the bulk of their daily commute by rail or tram and these free spaces are calculated to take more than 53,000 journeys off the road each week, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 6,200 tonnes a year."
Councillor Roger Horton, who oversees rail for Centro, said the scheme is necessary to ease the burden on the site.
He said: "The scheme will still be carried out within the time period we originally set.
"It will take a bit longer than some of the other projects we have as it will be an extensive expansion, but it is being well supported by Dudley Council and Sandwell Council, as well as local people.
"Since October 2012 the morning journey into Birmingham by train has overtaken those by bus – bus used to be the number two mode of transport behind the car, but now it is train.
"Park and ride is in demand, and people are using it to its full extent."
