The Government has announced it will no longer fund the proposed light rail schemes for Merseyside and South Hampshire.

The West Midlands nevertheless remains confident that it has a robust scheme and will present a business case to the Department for Transport early next year.

The West Midlands Midland Metro phase 1 expansion has:

• Provisional funding approval from Government
• Transport and Works Act Order (planning permission) following public inquiries
• Local funding earmarked - the lion's share from developer contributions and an agreement from West Midlands council leaders than any remaining balance can be financed through prudential borrowing
• A benefit to cost ratio of at least 1.5 and probably approaching 2.0
• A revised approach to procurement, which has been discussed with DfT, is modeled on the Docklands Light Railway and has received a positive reaction from the construction industry
• More design and preparation work upfront, to minimise the cost of risk being added to the project

Links to Government announcements:
Merseytram
South Hampshire