West Mids £5m Light Rail Network

[Badger]

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/01/09/first-glimpse-at-5m-light-rail-network/

These pictures are the first glimpse of how a multi-million pound light rail network between Brierley Hill and Stourbridge could look under new plans.

Three new metro-style stations would be built as part of the £5 million project to run passenger railcars on a four-mile section of an existing freight line. Passengers would be able to catch the railcars from The Waterfront, in Brierley Hill.

Railcars would then stop at a newly reopened Brierley Hill town railway station, off Station Road, which has been shut for more than 60 years.

It looks like the new tram-trains are to be based on Parry People Mover as they're made by the same company.

 

[fgwrich]

Interesting, But they might want to make the things slightly more reliable first* (aka the prototype PPM50 which gave up on the Mid Hants GO-CO trials)...And as usual with the media, the Express and Star might want to get one thing straight - Well, LM Might want to!

Cradley Heath based-firm Parry People Movers has attracted £1m in principle from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund to kick-start the project.

The firm already runs the branch line between Stourbridge Town and Junction stations.

Read more: http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/01/09/first-glimpse-at-5m-light-rail-network/#ixzz1j49HPGuK

But, although id hoped it had been more of a interchangealbe Tram Train type service which could connect with the Midland Metro, at least there's finnaly some slightly more pro-active talk about reinstating this route at last...

*I don't also know about the reliability figures of the LM139s - Anyone got any to hand?

 

[Badger]

This seems like something that could be done very quickly, and cheaply (well £5m is a long way off £100m), given the only thing really to wait for is the rolling stock (the tracks are down, the statons easy to place by the looks of it).

Who knows, maybe if this hits off and performs well the whole line will be reinstated.

 

[WatcherZero]

Its not a tram-train, its another Parry Ultra light Rail scheme (putting a basic and cheap rail vehicle on disused passenger or freight line) to build on the Stourbridge town service.