Tram Stops in Birmingham City Centre
A look at the Tram Stops in Birmingham City Centre, from Jewellery Quarter to Grand Central. Originally the old terminus from 1999 until 2015 was at Snow Hill on the former platform 4 of the railway station, before the first extension opened to Birmingham New Street Station by 2016.
The tram stop opened on the 31st May 1999 and is between Soho Benson Road and St Paul's. Jewellery Quarter Station itself opened in 1995. The station is near the mouth of the Hockley No 2 Tunnel. Interchange between trams and trains is quite easy here as there is a gate you can walk through.
dndimg alt="Jewellery Quarter Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/TheMetro14.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
Tram seen from the train at Jewellery Quarter Station.
dndimg alt="Jewellery Quarter Tram Stop from the train" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/JQ Tram Stop from the train.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
The tram stop opened on the 31st May 1999 between Jewellery Quarter and Snow Hill. Pedestrians can access the tram stop from Constitution Hill. From the bridge above you have views of Birmingham Snow Hill Station plus the Snowhill development. Photo below was when Two Snowhill was just a pair of cores (was a delay of several years before it got going again). These days you can watch Three Snowhill being built!
dndimg alt="St Paul's Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/T69 Midland Metro Trams.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
The platforms were altered on all stations from St Paul's to Wolverhampton St George's to allow room for the new Urbos 3 trams.
dndimg alt="St Paul's Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/St Pauls Tram Stop.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
This tram stop opened on the 2nd June 2016 replacing the old Snow Hill Tram Stop. Originally named Snow Hill, but the stop is a bit far from the entrances of Birmingham Snow Hill, so it was renamed to St Chad's in January 2017. Took a while before the new lift and stairs around it opened to the public. Interchange between tram and train is best done at Jewellery Quarter or The Hawthorns. Here you would have to get the lift down or walk down the stairs. Then walk past the Queensway and turn onto Livery Street to get into the Livery Street entrance of Birmingham Snow Hill Station.
The former tram stop terminus was open from 1999 to 2015 at what was platform 4 of Birmingham Snow Hill Station, just finishing close to the Snow Hill Tunnel. It opened on 31st May 1999 and closed on 24th October 2015. The approach line was disconnected.
dndimg alt="St Chad's Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Midland Metro tram.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
Snow Hill Tram Stop - the former terminus used from 1999 until 2015.
dndimg alt="Snow Hill Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Tram05 SnowHill(1).jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
The tram stop was the first to open on the first city centre extension on 6th December 2015. And was initially the new terminus due to the delay of opening Corporation Street and Grand Central. There was a visit of the Queen to officially open the line where she named tram 35 "Angus Adams".
dndimg alt="Bull Street Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Blue 31 WMM BullSt (4).jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
Pair of trams seen in 2016 around the time that the terminus moved from Bull Street to Grand Central (or was about to).
dndimg alt="Bull Street Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Bull Street Tram Stop.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
The tram stop opened on the 30th May 2016 after being delayed from December 2015. There is only a shelter on the side towards Wolverhampton. Currently no shelter on the platform towards Grand Central, although that could change once the second extension to Centenary Square opens in the future. Ozzy Osbourne came to name a tram after himself, no 37 at this stop in late May 2016.
dndimg alt="Corporation Street Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Corporation Street Tram Stop.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
Tram 37 Ozzy Osbourne departs from Corporation Street Tram Stop bound for Wolverhampton.
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The last tram stop on the first city centre extension opened on the 30th May 2016 next to Birmingham New Street Station. It is on Stephenson Street. Trams normally go beyond the stop to the top of Stephenson Street, before heading onto a spur to get to the other side. But this will change from late September 2018 to allow the extension to Westside to be added to the existing tracks. The next stop will be Town Hall (for Victoria Square) followed by Centenary Square. Eventually the line will go as far as the bottom of Hagley Road at Five Ways.
dndimg alt="Grand Central Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Grand Central Tram Stop.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
Pair of trams seen at Grand Central Tram Stop.
dndimg alt="Pair of trams at Grand Central Tram Stop" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Stephenson St trams.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />
Photos by Elliott Brown.