Phase Two of Birmingham New Street’s radical facelift is now underway and passengers are beginning to see the results of the work that has been going on behind the scenes for the last three years.
The first halve of Birmingham’s new station opened on Sunday (April 28) amid a frantic switchover.
Opening up the new concourse signals a shift in focus for New Street’s redevelopment. With Phase 1 complete, attention now turns to the existing 1960s station and construction of the 250,000 sq ft John Lewis department store.
The £750 million Gateway Project has been described by project partners Mace and Network Rail as ‘the biggest refurbishment project in Europe’.
On Wednesday (May 1), Chris Montgomery, Network Rail project director at New Street will speak at Railtex about the regeneration programme.
The new concourse, which will be three-and-a-half-times bigger, is designed to bring some natural light into New Street for the first time in over 40 years.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “The opening of the western concourse is a key milestone for the New Street project and gives the public a real view of how the redevelopment is progressing.
“When I visited the works at the end of February I was very impressed – the transformation of the site is giving the West Midlands the fantastic travel hub it deserves as well as opening up this part of the city centre to pedestrians.
“The regeneration potential of this £600m development is plain to see and I am pleased that Government funding is being put to good use.”
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This should more honestly just be called the “More Shops” project as it will add nothing to the operational capacity of New Street, which is what is actually required.
`New` Access in Hill Street impassable for `high` disability vehicles, i.e., carrying seated wheelchair passengers. Peter is right….