THE West Midlands has been handed £1bn to expand the tram, train, bus and cycle networks and drive a green transport revolution.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) secured the money from the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) fund.
Hundreds of millions of pounds will be used for projects including a Metro tram extensions to more electric vehicle charging points in a move to decarbonise the region’s transport system and supporting the roll out of the Very Light Rail network in Coventry.
An ambitious bid document, developed in partnership across the region and submitted by the WMCA to the Department for Transport (DfT) last month, set out priorities for transport investment which would help drive a green and inclusive economic recovery and support the region’s target to be net zero by 2041.
These included moves towards a zero-carbon transport network would also be accelerated with the installation of 1,000 electric vehicle charging points, as well as ultra-fast charging facilities for electric heavy goods vehicles, vans and buses.
A raft of new safe cycling routes would also be developed to encourage people to be more active on their commute.
The funding will cover five years from April 2022 and over the next few weeks Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the WMCA, will work with the DfT, local councils and transport industry partners to develop a detailed plan for investment.
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “I am absolutely delighted that our ambition has paid off and we’ve secured more than £1billion of Government investment to continue our transport revolution here in the West Midlands.
“It is the largest single transport sum we have ever received, and I know the team cannot wait to press on and start getting diggers in the ground on some truly game-changing schemes.”
