Plans to fund an expansion of the Midland Metro through the Black Country have been buried in a list of the region’s priorities compiled by development agency Advantage West Midlands and the West Midlands Regional Assembly.

It sets out a wish list of nine plans to modernise the area’s transport system.

The 26-page document mentions the Midland Metro, which was the subject of a failed bid for £388 million of funding from the Government earlier this year, just once.

It is included among hopes to improve the “strategic transport spine” of the Black Country with buses, trains and the £179 million Wolverhampton interchange to link a new bus and rail station.

Top of the list are plans to rebuild Birmingham New Street station and to extend the runway at Birmingham International Airport.

A scheme to allow cars to run on the hard shoulder during rush hour on the M6 and M5 also appears. The bid for funding for the Metro failed because councils refused to sign up to a trial congestion charging scheme.