Media centre

Thursday 22 Apr 2010

TRANSFORMATION OF NEW STREET BEGINS

Region & Route:

The next important phase of work to transform New Street will start on Monday. Network Rail will begin to upgrade platform one, signalling the start of the main work on the station. Platforms will be taken out of use one-by-one but all train services will run as planned throughout the work. 

Phase one of the redevelopment will see the creation of a brand new station concourse. The majority of construction will take place off-site meaning the impact on passengers will be limited to platform changes.  The Pallasades shopping centre will also remain open for business throughout the project.

Jo Kaye, Network Rail route director, commented: “This is a very important moment in the project and means we are on course to give New Street’s passengers the station they deserve.  Network Rail has planned work to have minimal impact on passengers and train services will run as normal. 

“We are also reducing the impact on the local community by transporting construction material in and out of the station by train, keeping lorries off the road.” 

Network Rail will transform New Street into a bright, modern, 21^st 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 eight new entrances

-         the stimulus for the physical regeneration of the areas surrounding the station

The new station concourse is expected to open for use in 2012, and then phase two of the project will see the old concourse redeveloped. The project is due to be fully completed in 2015.