WMCA agrees priorities for £1.3 billion investment in region’s transport networks

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More than 50 projects to improve road, rail, tram, bus, cycling and walking routes across the region have been agreed by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board. The plans include more than 100km of new segregated cycle routes, 50km of bus lanes and priority measures, a new railway station at Aldridge and the UK’s first ‘very light rail’ line in Coventry.

The schemes, to be developed over the next five years, will be funded from the £1.05 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which was awarded to the region by the Department for Transport (DfT) last year, topped up with local funding. Schemes which promote the decarbonisation of transport, target investment into areas of poor connectivity and support inclusive growth have been prioritised, in line with policies outlined in the region’s draft Local Transport Plan which was also approved by the WMCA Board.

The list of preferred schemes will now be submitted to the DfT for final approval, after which the full list will be published.

Led by the Mayor of the West Midlands, the WMCA brings together 18 local councils and three Local Enterprise Partnerships to oversee the transfer of powers and funding from Whitehall to the West Midlands. WMCA