Media centre

Tuesday 2 Dec 2014

‘Let there be light’ at Birmingham New Street – daylight reaches station concourse for the first time

Region & Route:

Natural light hit the floor of the new concourse at Birmingham New Street station today (2 December) as the final layer of concrete was broken through as part of the development’s new atrium.

Over 4,000 tonnes of concrete, which made up much of the roof of the old shopping centre, has already been removed and demolition experts are preparing to demolish the final 2,000-tonne layer which made up the roof of the old concourse.

When completely demolished the stunning new atrium, which will be the centrepiece of the new station and Grand Central Birmingham building, will be visible for the first time.

Chris Montgomery, Network Rail’s project director for the Birmingham New Street redevelopment said: “As our work to transform New Street station continues, excitement among our 1,000-strong workforce is really starting to build. Piece by piece, the design and concept for the station is being brought to life and it’s great to see natural light reaching the concourse for the first time.

“Once we have demolished this next level completely the new concourse will be flooded with natural light from above, transforming the experience of millions of passengers who will use this fantastic new station when it opens in September 2015.”

Transport minister Baroness Kramer said: “When complete, the transformation of Birmingham New Street will provide a truly dazzling gateway to the city, and I congratulate everyone involved.

“Over the next five years, more than £38 billion will be spent on improving and running the rail network. This project is a shining example of how our investment is helping to deliver better journeys and a stronger economy across the UK.”

Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council said: “This is a really momentous occasion in this project. One of the main drivers for redeveloping the station was to create a lighter, brighter first impression when people come to our city and this breakthrough is the first sign of how this will happen.”

Demolition engineers from specialist contractor Coleman & Company have worked round-the-clock over the past two months to remove the thousands of tonnes of concrete.

Mark Coleman, managing director at Coleman & Company, said: “To demolish 6,000 tonnes of cast reinforced concrete from the centre of a busy city centre construction site, above a live operational rail station, without noise, dust and disruption is a huge engineering challenge.

“Some of the beams we have removed weigh more than the equivalent of 30 Range Rovers. Our engineers have been working closely with Network Rail and Mace, assessing the structure and crunching the numbers, to ensure that all works are completed to the highest standards.”

To keep noise levels down during night time work, a special machine has been designed, known as the Mega Muncher, that ‘eats’ the concrete. This method is significantly quieter and less disruptive than traditional jackhammer-type methods.

Richard Brown, development director of Grand Central Birmingham, the premium retail and dining destination which will sit above the transformed New Street station, said: ”This next phase of the project is incredibly exciting for Grand Central Birmingham. As the natural light breaks through onto the concourse it will reveal an insight into a unique shopping and station experience with shops and restaurants surrounding a stunning atrium-roofed concourse for the railway station, created out of the former Pallasades shopping area.”

Martyn Woodhouse, Mace’s director of project delivery said: “This is a major milestone for the project as we work towards next September’s station opening. Demolition by its very nature can be noisy work so we have worked closely with Coleman’s to minimise disruption to passengers using the station and local residents. Once the demolition is fully completed by February 2015 we will have full access to continue our work on the new passenger concourse and to develop Grand Central Birmingham.”

The redeveloped Birmingham New Street station and Grand Central Birmingham development are due to open in 2015.