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Wednesday 17 Nov 2021

Birmingham New Street sees busiest day since December 2019

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

The return of the Frankfurt Christmas markets made last Saturday the busiest day at Birmingham New Street station since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

206,682 people passed through Britain’s biggest interchange station on Saturday 13 November 2021 – 2% more than the same Saturday in 2019.

It’s the first time daily passenger numbers have topped 200,000 since 20 December 2019.

Steven Ireland, head of stations and security for Network Rail’s Central route, said: “It’s great to see passenger numbers bouncing back and to see Birmingham New Street thriving once again. We’ve loved welcoming passengers back to the station over the last few months and the fact the Christmas market is back is a huge boost for the city.

“While this is great news we’re urging passengers to follow our three golden rules to make travelling in and out of Birmingham New Street as easy as possible. There will be extra staff in place across the station to provide advice and information and help keep passengers safe throughout the festive season.”

Network Rail’s three golden rules for travel are:

• Plan your journey and check before you travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk  
• Take an earlier train home – later services will be extremely busy
• Remember Network Rail's motto of ‘Be safe, be patient, be kind’ when travelling

Millions of people are expected to visit Birmingham for the market until 23 December, which last year had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the stalls and attractions are a great addition to the city, it can mean trains and platforms are much busier at the station.

As with previous years, queuing systems may be used to safely allow people to board their trains home.

To plan journeys in advance and find out train times home passengers should check www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Meanwhile, enhanced cleaning procedures will remain in place to stop the spread of Covid-19, with hand sanitiser on the station concourse.

To find out more about what Network Rail is doing to stop the spread of Covid-19 visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/coronavirus/.

Passengers who can are expected to wear a face covering in busy stations and on trains so everyone can travel in confidence. For the latest Government advice visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus. 

For more information on the Frankfurt Christmas market visit www.thebfcm.co.uk.