Chancellor visits Birmingham as plans unveiled to improve transport links across West Midlands
Part of £2.4 billion pounds of funding will be used to build a metro extension to Birmingham's sports quarter
Last updated 4th Jun 2025
The Chancellor has today unveiled major investment into local transport in a number of areas including the West Midlands.
The £2.4 billion pounds of funding for the area will mean the Mayor of the West Midlands can make a start on his ambitions to deliver mass transit from East Birmingham to North Solihull.
There are also promises the money will boost jobs and housing too.
On a visit to Birmingham Rachel Reeves said:
"A big chunk of that money will go on the tram to connect the centre of Birmingham with east Birmingham and the sports quarter, and then onto north Solihull. Unlocking thousands of jobs of new homes and of investment and we are really excited about that.
"There will also be investment to the train station in Witton ahead of the Euro 2028.
"There will be investment in light rail around the gigapark in Coventry and there will be investment in bus improvements in Dudley and Walsall and right across the Black Country".
Ms Reeves confirmed plans earlier to tear up Treasury Green Book rules to help fund billions of pounds of investment in cities across England.
For areas outside London a £15.6 billion package for mayoral authorities included funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, along with a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit systems in West Yorkshire.
Green Book rules have been criticised in some quarters for favouring investment in London and the South East.
The move means more money for areas of the North and Midlands, including the so-called Red Wall, where Labour MPs face an electoral challenge from Reform UK.
Neil Rami, Chief Executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, said:
“This £2.4billion transport funding package from government marks a defining next step in transforming Birmingham and the wider West Midlands into an investment and sporting powerhouse.
“We’ve known for a while that the Birmingham Sports Quarter will be a trailblazing development for the region, driving opportunities for growth and wider regeneration, but this funding green light from the Chancellor will now turn our bold ambitions into a game-changing reality.
“This funding will serve as a catalyst to connect the region like never before, unlocking huge potential for private development partners to collaborate on one of the UK’s most exciting projects of recent times.”