The Department for Transport confirmed on 1 September that it is to provide GBP59.8m (EUR65m) towards the Edgbaston extension of the Midland Metro; the GBP149m (EUR162.7m) project is now fully-funded.
Preliminary work started in the summer on the 2km (1.2-mile), five-stop western extension from Grand Central to Edgbaston, sections of which will be catenary-free. Opening is due in March 2021, with up to ten trams per hour in peak periods.
The Iron Man statue in Victoria Square is to be removed to storage for more than a year, alongside the Boulton, Watt and Murdoch statue in Broad Street; both are on or close to the alignment of the Midland Metro extension to Centenary Square. The statues are to be replaced in alternative locations.