Date announced for Dudley bus station closure with services moving to temporary location

Bus passengers will have to check where their services will be stopping as the new bus station is built.

The current bus station will be demolished.

National Express West Midlands announced the bus station would be closed for around 18 months from January 14.

Whilst the redevelopment takes place, services using the bus station will need to use temporary stops on Tower Street, Ednam Road, Priory Road, New Street, Castle Street and The Broadway.

There will be timetable changes due to the stop changes.

The "out-of-date" bus station will be replaced with a new interchange offering a "modern, accessible environment" and "seamless connections" between bus and Metro services.

A spokesman for National Express West Midlands said: "From Sunday, January 14, 2024, Dudley Bus Station will be closed for approximately 18 months while construction of the new interchange takes place.

"The redevelopment of the bus station aims to create a modern, efficient, and sustainable transport hub for the community, including a new Metro stop, better facilities and increased safety.

"Whilst the redevelopment takes place, services using the bus station will need to use temporary stops on Tower Street, Ednam Road, Priory Road, New Street, Castle Street & The Broadway, and will have timetable changes due to the stop changes."

It comes after Dudley Council dropped a public inquiry into the compulsory purchase of land on Fisher Street in the town centre which would enable the local authority to bulldoze a branch of Farmfoods in order to build the new Interchange.

However, the council confirmed the inquiry was dropped after every objection to the scheme was removed through negotiation.

As part of the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension, Transport for West Midlands hopes the Interchange will better connect the people of Dudley to leisure and job opportunities across the region, as well as providing a modern gateway to the town for visitors.

Set to open in 2025, the interchange is one in a series of major regeneration projects which are transforming Dudley town centre, including the Portersfield development.

This also follows recent developments at the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre, Black Country Living Museum, and the Black Country and Marches Institute of Technology.

The project is being led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), in partnership with Dudley Council.

Funding for the interchange was awarded to the WMCA by the Department for Transport via the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.

The work is being carried out alongside the development of phase one of the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension which is being delivered for TfWM by Midland Metro Alliance.