Friday 15 Oct 2010
BIRMINGHAM GATEWAY STARTS TO SHAPE UP
- Region & Route:
While passengers rush to catch their train at New Street, next door the first half of the Birmingham Gateway project is starting to take shape.
The Gateway project will transform New Street station into an iconic gateway to Birmingham with more space, better facilities and improved accessibility for passengers. Behind the scenes, engineers have been working to create a huge new space which will form a new station concourse due to open as Phase 1 completes in 2012.
To create the space, the Gateway project team has been carefully removing an entire floor of the car park adjacent to the station: this equates to 7,500 tonnes or over 1000 lorry loads of concrete.
Andrew Skidmore, principal commercial scheme sponsor for Birmingham Gateway said: “Birmingham relies on New Street station to keep it moving so we’ve planned our work carefully to minimise disruption. By doing the work behind the scenes, we’re allowing Birmingham to go about its business while we create a station the city can be proud of.”
The project to remove the concrete will complete in December, after which the process to transform the space into a new station concourse will commence. The project team is also undertaking work on Platform 1; all other platforms at the station remain open to passengers.
The Birmingham Gateway project is funded by Network Rail, Birmingham City Council (with funding from the Department for Transport), Advantage West Midlands and Centro. An integrated project team is managing delivery. This comprises Network Rail and its delivery partner, Mace, along with Atkins and Foreign Office Architects.
Notes to editors
- To minimise disruption, the Gateway Project is being constructed in two phases. Phase 1 will complete in 2012 with the opening of the new station concourse. The existing concourse will then close for refurbishment with the project due for completion in 2015. Inside the station, only one platform at a time will close allowing passengers to catch their train as normal throughout the project.
- The work to deconstruct the car park is being carried out by Birmingham based demolition specialists Coleman & Company. 85% of the material taken out of the car park will be recycled.
- Gateway will transform New Street into a bright, modern, 21st century focal point for Birmingham. The project will double passenger capacity and deliver:
- a concourse that is three-and-a-half times bigger than at present and enclosed by a giant, light-filled atrium
- more accessible, brighter and clearer platforms, serviced by over 30 new escalators and over 15 new public lifts
- a stunning new station façade
- better links to and through the station for pedestrians, with new entrances improving connections across the city
- the stimulus for the physical regeneration of the areas surrounding the station
Further details on the project can be found at: www.newstreetnewstart.co.uk
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