The brand new, much delayed, Midland Metropolitan University Hospital is set to open its doors for patients from Sunday 6th October 2024.
In anticipation of its opening, and to provide new bus links to this hospital, I have been informed that some changes to services in the Smethwick area will take place from Sunday 29th September 2024.
From the same date, following the completion of Midland Metro works on Moor Street Queensway, buses will return to their normal lines of route and previous stopping places in Birmingham city centre.
Moor Street Queensway
2, 3, 4, 4A, 5, 6, 16, 16A, 23, 24, 33, 45, 47, 51, 61, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 82, 87, 97, 822, 907, 907A, 934, 935, 936, 937, 937A, 997, 997S, X21, X22, X51, X64 & FD
The above services will revert back to previous routing and stopping locations in Birmingham city centre.
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
Now confirmed by TfWM, the NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham website advises the following services are being modified to serve the new hospital on Grove Lane, Smethwick, from Sunday 29th September.
54 / 54A – West Bromwich to Worlds End (Quinton)
These services are combined into one new half-hourly 54 service, which will be amended in Cape Hill to directly serve the new hospital.
Windmill Lane will no longer be served, as buses will be rerouted along Grove Lane to directly serve stops MA and MB at the new hospital, and then along Cape Hill to resume normal route from Waterloo Road.
Europa Village in West Bromwich, and Queens Head in Londonderry will no longer be served.
82 – Birmingham to Bearwood
87 – Birmingham to Dudley
Journeys from Birmingham towards Cape Hill will utilise a new bus gate on the Grove Lane service road, where new bus stops have been installed for easy access to the new hospital via a short walk.
Journeys from Cape Hill towards Birmingham city centre are unchanged, and passengers should use the existing Dugdale Street stop on Dudley Road which is a short walk away from the hospital.
89 – West Bromwich to Midland Met Hospital
Route is revised from Cape Hill to terminate at the new hospital, Bearwood will no longer be served. Buses will continue along Cape Hill before turning into Grove Lane to terminate at new stop MB in the hospital grounds.
I went and had a look around the area for myself today. Access to the hospital site is restricted, with fencing up all around, and bored-looking security guards wandering around. There’s access to the car park from Grove Lane, and it appears that buses will be able to access the main hospital entrance directly, though I couldn’t get a closer look, I did see some covered-up signs with “Except Buses” underneath, which I presume will show No Entry or No Vehicles.
A little further down Grove Lane is a service road, accessed from Dudley Road. It’s currently used for access to the McDonalds car park, beyond which is now a ‘bus gate’. There are two marked out bus stop bays, though there are currently no stop poles or shelters. It probably wouldn’t have hurt to resurface this road, looking at the condition it’s in! I’m assuming that this is where the 82 and 87 services will stop, before turning left onto Grove Lane and then right at the island onto Cape Hill.
Grove Lane itself is not currently served by any buses, however I noted an old shelter on the southbound carriageway near the Soho Way / Cranford Street island, which could be brought back into use. On the northbound carriageway, I noted a bus stop bay marked on the road, with what looked like recent paving upgrade, near the junction with Woodlands Street, though there was no pole installed.
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