Construction firm VolkerFitzpatrick has been appointed by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to build three railway stations on the Camp Hill line in south Birmingham. 

 It is part of the £61 million scheme to reintroduce passenger train services to Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell for the first time in 80 years. 

Design work is due to start later this Spring on the project which will offer the residents of south Birmingham an environmentally friendly alternative to using the car and experiencing traffic jams on the Alcester Road during their city centre commute. 

Work on site is scheduled to begin in November, with the stations expected to be completed later next year after which passenger rail services can start. This will give commuters from Hazelwell station in Stirchley a 14-minute journey into the city centre by rail compared to a peak time journey by car of up to 45 minutes. 

The project is being led by TfWM, which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE).

The WMCA is providing £36 million towards the cost, with £20 million from the Department for Transport (DfT) and the remaining £5 million from Birmingham City Council’s clean air zone fund. 

Malcolm Holmes, who is both executive director of WMRE and director of rail with TfWM, said: “This is a major milestone towards seeing passenger trains restored on the Camp Hill line, with the contractor in place and construction crews gearing up to get on site. 

 “This means, that after several years of planning and development, we are now entering the final phase and it will not be too long before these stations are complete and open to the travelling public.”