New tram stops at Albert Street and Millennium Point will serve hundreds of thousands of passengers weekly

Passenger tram services will begin running to Millennium Point from today as the Birmingham Eastside Metro extension opens its first two stops.

The new Albert Street and Millennium Point stops give passengers direct access to Moor Street Station, Birmingham City University, the Clayton Hotel and the Thinktank attraction, in time for Easter visits to the popular science museum.

The Albert Street stop also provides a direct tram link for the 400,000 bus passengers who use the Moor Street bus interchange each week, connecting bus, tram and rail for the first time in this part of the city.

Services on the new stretch will every 15 minutes, with some existing Bull Street-to-Grand Central services rerouted to serve the new stops.

Gateway to a wider network

The extension is the first branch off the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton Metro line, with a second branch between Wednesbury and Dudley due to open later this year.

Work is already under way to extend the line further to Digbeth Coach Station, with plans in development for a further extension to Birmingham City FC’s proposed 60,000-seat Powerhouse stadium. Longer term, the route is expected to reach Birmingham Airport via East Birmingham and North Solihull.

Sandeep Shingadia, executive director of Transport for West Midlands, said: “This new extension will bring people close to the places where they work, study and visit. 

“It is just the beginning of a much wider transformation of our Metro network to connect more communities and make travel easier and more accessible for everyone.”

The extension was delivered by Transport for West Midlands, part of the West Midlands Combined Authority, with construction carried out by the Midland Metro Alliance.