Calls made for much-needed transport links to Birmingham Airport from West Midlands town centre
Calls have been made for a transport link from the airport to Solihull town centre as a major new bus service reached a significant milestone.
Members of the West Midlands Combined Authority Board approved the full business case for the purchase of 24 tram-like electric buses for the Sprint project.
The aim of the Sprint scheme is to make it quicker and easier to travel between Walsall, Birmingham and Solihull by bus via a continuous bus priority route along the A34 and A45.
But Solihull Council leader Karen Grinsell said while Sprint gets people to Birmingham International, they were lacking a fast public transport service for their town centre.
She said: “We’d very much like Sprint to come to the town centre because, whilst it does go out to the airport/NEC area, it really needs to connect to the town centre.
“Last night, somebody commented there is no way to get from the airport to the town centre.
“There’s no train line that connects it to and there’s no fast bus service. That’s one for the future we need to highlight.”
At the meeting on Friday, March 13, Sandeep Shingadia, Executive Director of Transport for West Midlands, said work is ongoing on developing such a connection.
A total of £26 million will be spent on the new fleet and charging infrastructure along with an additional £5.5 million for ticketing equipment.
Councillors on the Combined Authority’s Investment Board have already backed the project and wanted to see work finally progress on it.
When the scheme was first announced in 2018, it was expected to be completed and open by the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
But the project has been hit with a series of delays due to factors including the Covid-19 pandemic and huge rises in costs.
Work on building the infrastructure such as new bus stops and implementing measures such as extending bus priority lanes and signalling have been carried out in the first phases.
Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, Majid Mahmood welcomed the purchasing of the buses, adding it was the final step in the Sprint vision.
He said: “Buses are the backbone of Birmingham’s transport system. They connect people to jobs, education and opportunities.
“We want a cleaner and better connected Birmingham and investment in modern public transport is not an option, it’s essential.”
