Business and councillors have hit out at work on Birmingham’s tram extension – which has been developed at a rate of 32 INCHES a day – after it was delayed again .
The Midland Metro link to New Street, expected to be completed this Sunday, has been halted for a third time for last-minute safety work.
The Balfour Beatty work has come in for criticism for its slow pace – it has taken nearly four years to build a 1,300-yard Birmingham city centre extension.
A snail moving at full pace could travel from Snow Hill station to New Street in little more than a day – making it more than 1,400 times faster than this scheme, which has already taken more than 1,450 days.
The work, which was originally expected to be complete last September, has angered retailers on Corporation Street.
First trial run to New Street
Councillor Victoria Quinn, chair of the council’s transport scrutiny committee, says she plans to look into Midland Metro delays if she remains on the committee past the present reshuffle.
“This development has taken too long and has been killing businesses and retailers along Corporation Street,” she said. “It has caused bottlenecking and hit commerce in such a key area of the city centre.”
The Metro was expected to open on Sunday but has been delayed due to further track alignment works. A Midland Metro family fun day at Martineau Place, near the new stop in Corporation Street, which was also due to take place on May 22, has been cancelled.
It is thought that the trams will still be operational within a matter of days, although a week of driver training would have to take place after work on the track finishes.
Councillor Quinn said transport group Centro and the West Midlands Combined Authority should look at what went wrong and make sure that the next tram lines do not suffer from similar delays.
The Queen checks out the Metro
David Johnson, owner of Corporation Street retailer Rex Johnson and Sons, said he had complained directly to the leader of Birmingham City Council twice about the pace of the work.
“I am appalled by it,” he said. “This has been the most disgraceful, disgusting, operation that I have ever seen. The project has been so badly mismanaged for nearly four years now.
“Corporation Street has been decimated by it. You get large holes dug and then left for weeks on end. The pavements have been a mess for years, which obviously impacts on footfall.”
Centro’s Midland Metro programme director Phil Hewitt said: “It is bitterly disappointing as everything else is in place and ready to go but, as we have said right from the start, safety is paramount.
“A stringent testing programme has identified minor anomalies in some of the track alignment which need to be addressed.”
A Balfour Beatty spokesperson said: “The safety of passengers is our absolute priority and we are working in collaboration with Centro and other agencies to rapidly address these minor anomalies.
"The timescales for such projects are always subject to testing and commissioning, which is designed to ensure certification and handover of a safe operational system for the residents and businesses of Birmingham.”
