The following article was guest authored by Beverley Nielsen

A high-level team from Pre Metro, the highly successful operators of the Stourbridge Shuttle for the past 15 years, met with Cat Eccles, MP for Stourbridge, to discuss their ambition to extend their shuttle service from Stourbridge up to Brierley Hill.

Pre Metro have operated the Stourbridge Shuttle for 17 years, consistently providing industry leading service levels of over 99% reliability, carrying over 8 million passengers.  As first movers and the only operators of Very Light Rail, (VLR) in Europe, they offer a viable, sustainable and affordable option for the future for interurban connectivity, helping to deliver much needed ‘modal shift’, getting people out of their cars and onto public transport.

Cat Eccles MP, speaking about Pre Metro’s ambition to open up the Stourbridge to Brierley Hill line, stated:

“I’m a huge fan of the Stourbridge Shuttle. I think it’s a really key feature of Stourbridge. Lots of people are big fans of it. People come from all over the country to see the Stourbridge Shuttle! 

“I think one of the really important ways we can move forward with the success of the Stourbridge Shuttle is by creating that link between Stourbridge and Brierley Hill, and in particular now we’ve got the Midland Metro confirmed into Brierley Hill, I think that it’s absolutely the right time to make that link and get a train on that line between Stourbridge and Brierley Hill and ensure we’ve got the mobility for the future public transport along that route as well. 

“And I think that Pre Metro could be the ones to do this.”

Steve Jasper, Chairman of Pre Metro, thanked Cat Eccles MP for her continuing and enthusiastic support for Pre Metro’s plans to reintroduce a passenger service from Stourbridge to Brierley Hill. He said:

“We’re so pleased to have a warm and productive working relationship with our local MP, who’s clearly recognised the importance of our shuttle service to the people of Stourbridge. Given levels of congestion in the Black Country, putting on more buses is simply not an option. 

“At Pre Metro, we’re very proud to have innovated the public transport offer, being the first to bring VLR to the UK and having such a successful track record in offering a sustainable and very affordable public transport solution.

“We estimate that by using the existing freight line between Stourbridge and Brierley Hill, a dual track and little-used freight line, we can make this option open to the public for around a £30m investment, a great value-for-money option in these challenging times. There will be numerous benefits, including economic regeneration, new commuter and leisure journey choices and reduced congestion on busy Black Country roads.

Beverley Nielsen, advisor to Pre Metro, in facilitating the meeting, stated:

“Pre Metro have quietly got on and transformed the public transport offer in Stourbridge by providing a hugely popular and reliable link between the mainline station and bus station that people have flocked to use as a turn-up-and-go service they’re able to count on.

“Pre Metro’s Very Light Rail service will increasingly offer flexible, sustainable, affordable transport alternatives for the West Midlands and beyond,  building on the Black Country’s proud history of innovation and change.”