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Friday 9 Feb 2024

Passengers thanked after Birmingham New Street platform work

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

All of Birmingham New Street platforms are open to passengers after rail engineers completed a 12-month project to upgrade the station’s concrete roof.

Platforms 5 and 6 reopened to passengers this week as one of the final parts of a £7.8m investment to upgrade and strengthen the original 1960s concrete deck which supports the station concourse.

The project which began in early 2023 saw all 12 platforms closed in pairs, for four weeks at a time, while engineers accessed the concrete structure above the platforms to carry out key repairs to supporting beams. The vital improvements will ensure that Birmingham New Street is fit for the future.

Over 500 repairs were made to the concrete, which involved the installation of over 5,000 steel bolts into the concrete beams, followed by fixing nearly 900 steel plates.

Network Rail worked closely with train operators to minimise disruption to passengers as much as possible. Closing the platforms in phases has allowed trains to continue running safely and reliably for passengers throughout the project.

Federica Labanca, Principal Route Engineer for Network Rail, said “We are delighted to have reopened all of the platforms at Birmingham New Street after this major improvement work. This project is part of a wider programme to keep the iconic station running safely and reliably.

We appreciate that the temporary platform closures meant changes to train services for some passengers and I’d like to thank station users for their patience while this important work took place”.

Some final finishing touches are being made over the coming weeks but this is not expected to impact train services running through the station.

Upgrades to the platforms are part of a wider package of upgrades at Birmingham New Street which will help to improve the overall passenger experience.

Passengers are also being advised about changes to train services over the next four weekends while major HS2 work takes place in Birmingham. Buses will replace CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street - Coleshill Parkway and passengers are advised to check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk