Light rail crucial to future, says shadow minister in visit to region
Deep in the bowels of the Black Country, shadow rail minister Stephen Morgan takes a ride on a railway that few even know exists.
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In its heyday, the line which runs beneath Dudley town centre, would have taken thousands of day-trippers to the zoo. Today, it is the test track for a light rail system which some believe could be the future of public transport. This is the Dudley Underground.
And taking controls of the small tram, about the size of a bus, is Richard Parker, Labour's candidate to be elected mayor for the West Midlands.
The tram has been developed at the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre, a research facility which has been built on the site of the former Dudley railway station.
Mr Morgan believes it could one day form a crucial part of transport policy.
"Very light rail has huge potential to change how people travel around the country," he says.
“We know how vital our rail infrastructure and projects like these are for economic growth, for connectivity, and to attract investment."
The pair are accompanied by Neil Fulton, chief executive of the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation, which runs the centre.
Mr Morgan says a future Labour government wilk work with local leaders, businesses, unions and industry experts to develop a transport programme.
The centre, at the bottom of Castle Hill, receives £1.8 million a year from West Midlands Combined Authority.
The two-mile test track runs along part of the former Dudley railway link which goes through a tunnel beneath the town, through to Blowers Green. The main station, between the Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Zoo, also includes two split-level platforms.
