The possibility of an underground railway system for Birmingham has been dismissed as "pie in the sky" by the politician in charge of the city's transportation network.
John Tyrrell said he did not believe a Conservative pledge to deliver London-style tube routes could ever be delivered for the estimated £200 million price tag. The Tory proposal, the centrepiece of the party's city council election manifesto, would mean shelving plans to extend the Midland Metro tram system through the city centre from Snow Hill to Five Ways. Coun Tyrrell (Lab Sandwell) warned: "The idea that £200 million would even start an underground system makes no sense to me."
He believes Birmingham would make a serious mistake by dropping the metro extension, which would be easier to use and have far more stops than an underground. Coun Tyrrell said: "Why is it necessary to stop a development which is promising considerable benefits sooner rather than later? There are attractions for a tram going through the city centre, with the ability to have stops at frequent intervals where it is easy to hop on and off. Underground stations would not be very frequent - if you use the London Tube you will know you can walk almost as far as you travel."
He accepted the case for future metro lines, planned to be built after the Five Ways extension, to be taken underground in congested parts of the city centre.
"What we don't want to happen is for future tram lines to add to congestion, so there will be a case for going under," he added.
Birmingham would stand a better chance of attracting government support for improved public transport if the city was portrayed as lying at the heart of the country's road and rail network, he believed. Coun Tyrrell added: "We have had, in the past few years, a considerable increase in funding for the transport infrastructure. But we only seem to argue as a regional entity. We need to make a case for Birmingham being the hub of the national transport system.
"At the moment intercity, freight and local trains compete, which is why the railway can't replace the tram locally. Four-tracking between Coventry and Wolverhampton is essential, whatever the Strategic Rail Authority thinks, as, of course, are high quality stations and interchanges." His remarks were rejected by Mike Whitby, leader of the Conservative group, who said the prospect of an underground railway had huge public support.
Coun Whitby (Harborne) added: "We know there are no technical reasons why we can't have it. We also know there is a major challenge to the city centre that would arise from a metro running through the streets."
