£27m rail centre is no spoiler say Dudley council bosses

Councillor Paul Brothwood, the leader of UKIP in Dudley, said he feared the creation of the very light rail innovation centre could hinder Dudley’s chances of having improved rail services in the future and claimed the scheme was ‘untested, unproven and costly’ and that he would not be prepared to support it if concerns about future rail services turn out to be correct.

The £27.8 million innovation centre, which would be used for the construction of lightweight rail vehicles, was given the green light last year.

However, crucial funding for the project is still needed and the change in leadership at Dudley Council has now brought the scheme back into focus, with Councillor Brothwood insisting he would be holding discussions with new council leader Patrick Harley about his concerns.

The Conservatives took power at Dudley Council in May due to support from UKIP.

The very light rail site is bounded by Tipton Road to the east, and the Castle Hill railway bridge to the south. The site was last used as British Rail freightliner depot but was closed during the late 1980s.

Before that it was the site of Dudley railway station which closed in the mid 1960s.

Councillor Brothwood said he was eager for the track to be left alone in the event of new rail services being launched from Dudley in the future.

He said: “My concern is part of the track it is using could affect National Rail coming back to Dudley.

“It seems silly to use all that just for 3km of test track.

“While it is good to have innovation and skills I don’t want it to be at the expense of National Rail returning to Dudley.

“We are gridlocked and rail is the easiest way to travel.

“National Rail does want to come back to the Dudley borough. They have said a timescale of 2040 which is far too distant. We need to be campaigning for that.

“Unless National Rail can guarantee that won’t be affected I’m not interested.

“It is untested, unproven and costly and private money is still needed to fund it.”

However, the council’s planning chief Councillor Ian Kettle said: “We’re really excited about the prospects of developing a world-class research and development centre to create and develop very light rail in Dudley.

“It will be unique to the borough and the UK and through the centre and our partnership with Warwickshire Manufacturing Group (MMG) we will lead the development of these vehicles and the future of public transport solutions around the world. “It will also provide new jobs and training opportunities.

“This is something to be proud of and champion as the project moves forward.

“We have also received assurances that the test track will not prevent the provision of future heavy rail passenger services on the line, although Transport for West Midlands have no plans to bring passenger services back to the area in the foreseeable future.”

Research and development laboratories, as well as facilities for general manufacturing, conferences, teaching and training would also be built as part of the scheme.

The centre is expected to create 225 jobs, 331 apprenticeships and 33 new businesses by 2021.