Sprint: accelerating public transport across the West Midlands 

In the West Midlands, a landmark public transport scheme is transforming how people move across the region.  

Sprint – a 20-kilometre bus priority corridor – connects Walsall to Solihull via Birmingham city centre, making everyday journeys quicker, more reliable and better for the environment. Led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), it forms a key part of its ambition to create a fully integrated network of rail, metro and fast, reliable bus services. 

By enhancing connectivity to destinations like the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham Airport and Birmingham Curzon Street station, Sprint supports regional regeneration and modal shift – helping to cut congestion, improve air quality and expand access to jobs and services. 

The scheme includes new bus lanes, reallocated road space, extensive signal upgrades and more than 100 accessible stops. These improvements are already reducing journey times and improving reliability for the tens of thousands of bus passengers who use these corridors daily.  

Sprint is being delivered in two phases. Phase 1, which was completed in 2022 ahead of the Commonwealth Games, focused on upgrades along the A34 and A45 corridors. Phase 2 is now underway, extending the network and building on the benefits of the initial works. 

Appointed by TfWM, our team has been involved since 2018, delivering multidisciplinary services across both phases of the programme – from early planning and detailed design through to arboriculture, environmental assessments, digital delivery and stakeholder engagement.  

Delivering at pace for the Commonwealth Games 

While initially developed as part of TfWM’s long-term transport strategy, Sprint was accelerated following the announcement that Birmingham would host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. This meant Phase 1 had to be delivered at pace, ensuring key routes were operational in time to support the Games.  

Working as part of an integrated team, including delivery partner Morgan Sindall, we helped TfWM meet this challenge. AECOM’s role included data collection, highway and pavement design, environmental impact assessments – including noise and air quality modelling – cost estimating, technology design and construction support. 

Our detailed design work covered the full 20-kilometre corridor across four local authority areas, requiring careful coordination under Section 278 agreements (the legal process that allowed TfWM to deliver works on local roads).  

We led the detailed design for 9.3 kilometres of new bus lanes, along with upgrades to over 50 signalised junctions, 40 pedestrian crossings and more than 100 accessible bus stops. 

In addition, we developed a bus priority system in collaboration with TfWM, National Express and local authorities. This included a smart vehicle detection setup that uses loop detectors and existing traffic management infrastructure to give Sprint buses priority at key junctions – helping cut journey times by 22 per cent during peak hours. 

We also supported value engineering workshops, identifying £56 million in potential savings to bring the programme in line with the £88 million budget. 

Thanks to the excellent collaboration across all parties, Phase 1 was successfully delivered on time, on budget and ready for the Games – a major milestone given the scale and complexity of the challenge. 

Working as one team to shape Sprint’s success 

The Sprint programme has brought together more than 250 specialists across disciplines, authorities and consultancies. From drainage design and traffic modelling to stakeholder engagement and environmental assessment, every aspect was coordinated through a shared digital ecosystem. 

We helped establish a common data environment using ProjectWise – a platform that allowed documents, models and data to be securely shared across the programme. This digital-first approach enabled remote working through the pandemic and helped maintain delivery momentum at a time of unprecedented disruption. 

Before the pandemic, our team was co-located with TfWM in Birmingham, laying the groundwork for a fully integrated approach to delivery. That collaborative model proved key to the success of Phase 1 and is now being applied to Phase 2. 

Mitigating environmental impacts with nature-positive design 

As parts of the corridor required road widening and reallocation of space, some tree loss was inevitable. Mitigating these impacts was therefore a key consideration.  

Our arboriculture team conducted extensive highway tree surveys and a canopy cover assessments to quantify the area of tree canopy lost due to the development. Working with local authority tree officers, we developed a planting strategy that improved species diversity and resilience as part of a long-term canopy recovery plan. 

Over 1,000 new trees were planted ahead of construction, ensuring a net gain in canopy cover within 10 years. Planting locations were mapped using GIS to account for future tree growth, nearby buildings, underground utilities and streetscapes. Our contributions played a vital role in securing approvals and funding for the wider scheme, which has since been recognised as an example of best practice for large-scale highway projects in the region.  

Sustainability was also built directly into the scheme’s infrastructure. To improve drainage and manage heavy rainfall, we designed the corridor to handle 1-in-100-year storm events with an additional 40 per cent allowance for climate change. This was achieved by installing oversized kerb drainage systems that provided extra water storage without causing major disruption during construction. 

A long-term legacy for the West Midlands 

With Phase 1 complete and Phase 2 well underway, Sprint is already making a tangible impact. Beyond supporting quicker, more reliable journeys, it is encouraging a shift away from car use – helping to cut congestion, improve air quality and support the West Midlands’ 2030 net zero goals. 

Furthermore, the scheme is designed to act as a catalyst for regeneration and inclusive growth, connecting people to jobs, education and services, and improving access to key economic hubs across the region. 

In addition, Sprint is creating a wider social and skills legacy. Working with TfWM and partners, we’ve supported the use of digital tools, knowledge sharing and training – helping upskill the next generation of transport professionals across disciplines.  

The project has already received industry recognition and won the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) & Stantec Infrastructure Award in 2023. It was also Highly Commended at the 2022 CIHT West Midlands Awards for Environment and Sustainability and named the Project of the Year (£3m+) in the 2022 Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) (Midlands) Awards.