Tuesday 8 Dec 2009
ANOTHER CHANCE TO SEE NEW STREET MODEL
- Region & Route:
The partners behind the Birmingham Gateway project are giving people another chance to take a look at the scale model of New Street station in the Pallasades from Monday 7 December 2009.
Thousands of people came to look at the model when it was put on display in New Street Station in October and now people have the opportunity to see an even more developed version.
Extensive consultation has helped refine the design since Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Advantage West Midlands and Centro first joined forces to find the best solution for New Street. Now the public has the opportunity to find out more about the scheme and see how the station will look.
Preparatory work on the Gateway project started in September 2009 to prepare a site next to the station for the creation of a new concourse. The new concourse is expected to open to the public in 2012 when the old concourse will then be redeveloped, delivering a world-class station upon completion in 2015.
Jo Kaye, Network Rail's route director, said: "People came in their thousands to see the model of how New Street will look in 2015. Due to popular demand we have placed the model in the Palisades shopping centre so more people can come and see our vision for a bigger, better, brighter New Street.”
Notes to editors
1. The £600m Gateway project will see 1960s-built New Street station transformed into a bright, modern, 21st century focal point for Birmingham. It will double passenger capacity and deliver:
- a concourse that is three-and-a-half times bigger than at present, enclosed by a giant, light-filled atrium
- more accessible, brighter and clearer platforms, reached by new escalators and new lifts
- a stunning new station façade, adding to Birmingham’s growing reputation for good design
- better links to and through the station for pedestrians, with eight entrances
- a major stimulus for the physical regeneration of the areas surrounding the station
Phase 1 of the Gateway project will see a brand new concourse built in a former car park next to the station. This concourse is expected to open in 2012 and preparatory work to clear the site started in September 2009. Phase 2 will then see the existing concourse closed for redevelopment. The project is expected to complete in 2015.
2. The Gateway project is backed by Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Advantage West Midlands, Centro and the Department for Transport. It will be delivered by Network Rail.
3. New Street in numbers:
- 40m – people who use New Street every year
- 140,000 – passengers using the station every day
- 60,000 – the amount of passengers per day New Street was designed to cater for when it was rebuilt in 1967
- £2.3bn – the economic benefits of New Street station redevelopment
- £350m – the amount Network Rail is investing in renewing the signalling systems through New Street and the West Midlands over the next ten years
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