Pictures: Race to open Birmingham New Street

Aaron Morby 10 years ago
Share

Birmingham New Street is set to open to the public on Sunday when the results of the five-year, £750m redevelopment project will be revealed.

The station will boast brighter, airier platforms, and a concourse five-times bigger than London Euston’s, underneath a spectacular new atrium roof which floods natural daylight onto the concourse for the first time.

An army of workers have been putting the finishing touches to the huge all this week project.

The biggest logistical problem they now face is opening the station between the last rail service leaving on Saturday night and the first arrival on Sunday morning.

During those early hours over 450 staff will be dismantling hoardings and barriers and removing hundreds of tonnes of waste material ready for the first passengers.

More than 10,000 people have been employed in the redevelopment project, at the station and its retail offering: Grand Central shopping centre including a new John Lewis – the largest outside of London.

Birmingham New Street

 

Birmingham Grand Central

Birmingham New Street Central

Birmingham New Street Central

Birmingham New Street Central

Birmingham New Street Central

The old 1960s structure was built to accommodate up to 60,000 people per day.

With passenger numbers growing across the rail network there are now over 170,000 people using Birmingham New Street.

The transformed station allows capacity to reach 300,000 people per day, making it fit for purpose for decades to come.

New pedestrian routes through the building have already opened up the station to the surrounding areas of the city centre, encouraging regeneration of the Southside of the city.

There has also been a pioneering focus on limiting the environmental impact of the project. A combined heat and electricity plant supplies the station and John Lewis, reducing carbon emissions and pumping excess heat into the city centre district heating system to prevent wastage.

Natural ventilation, LED lighting and energy-efficient designs for lifts and escalators all help to minimise the station’s energy consumption, and all its toilets are flushed using rainwater from the building’s façade.

Latest news

Breakthrough for HS2 as first Birmingham tunnel section dug

Balfour Beatty VINCI completes 3.5km TBM drive in 652 days drive
2 days ago

HS2 Curzon Street station redesign approved as timber roof axed

Change to meet stricter fire safety rules and cut maintenance costs
2 days ago

Care home fire trial collapses

Prosecution withdrawn against four firms including Morgan Sindall Property Services
3 days ago

Leicester rebids £22m station revamp after failed tender race

Council opts for ECI route after receiving one bid for project
2 days ago

Kier wins East Coast College rebuild job in Great Yarmouth

Work to start this summer for 1,300-student college
2 days ago

R G Carter wins £28m hospital car park job in King’s Lynn

MSCP paves way for £1.5bn Queen Elizabeth Hospital rebuild in 2027
2 days ago

London to relax green belt building rules

Sadiq Khan shifts position on planning
2 days ago

Willmott Dixon wins Great Yarmouth waterfront deal

North Quay 10.5 acres mixed-use scheme to advance
3 days ago

SIG chief quits to join Travis Perkins

Gavin Slark to leave by the end of this year
2 days ago

Eight take key spots on £250m Prosper framework

Housing and public building upkeep deal for North East awarded
3 days ago

Early call-out for £150m Ebbsfleet Garden City infrastructure

Bidders day to set out plan for Ebbsfleet Central commercial scheme
4 days ago

McLaren storms April contracts league with flurry of wins

Cardiff Bay Arena job headlines a series of big contract wins
3 days ago

Balfour Beatty lifts cash forecast after strong first quarter

Contractor set to hit £1bn average monthly net cash in 2025
3 days ago

Goldman Sachs-owned Adler & Allan buys 180-strong civils outfit

West Country's Glanville Environmental gets new owner
3 days ago

Caddick lands first contract for £200m Skelmersdale revamp

Developer gets green light for masterplan
3 days ago

Van Elle sells HGV fleet to haulage firm

WS Specialist Logistics pays £2.9m to take on fleet and drivers
3 days ago

Buyers more bullish about prospects for year ahead

Residential "resilient" but commercial work a weak spot
4 days ago

Council backs first Brutalist car park-to-flats scheme

Newcastle-under-Lyme multi-storey car park to be reborn as pioneering homes scheme
4 days ago

Hinkley Point C hits peak build with 26,000 jobs

3,000 more workers to join as fit-out work ramps up
4 days ago

Over 40 firms win Wessex Water M&E minor works deal

Broad sweep of specialists picked for AMP8 programme
4 days ago

Spencer lands Scottish bridge hat-trick

Steelwork, gantries and bearing upgrades on Kessock, Forth and Tay crossings
4 days ago

Winners revealed for £1.5bn decarbonisation deal

Fusion21 confirms places for 40 firms: Full list
4 days ago

Cladding firm fined £225,000 after fatal fall

Court hears how cherry picker didn't reach all parts of repair job
4 days ago

Completed buildings caught-up in Gateway 2 chaos

Developer distraught after dealing with Building Safety Regulator
5 days ago

Aviva submits plans for 34-storey City office tower

Subject to planning work to start in autumn 2027
5 days ago

Murphy takes 40% stake in Aussie civils contractor

Firm enters Australasian market with stake in Sydney-based contractor Abergeldie
5 days ago

Moat seeks firm for £420m repairs and maintenance deal

15-year deal to upkeep 20,000 south east homes
5 days ago

Lynch takes over hotel for Sizewell plant operators

Hire giant now in the hotel business to guarantee accommodation for workers
5 days ago

Subcontractors wanted across Scotland

Latest Constructionline event in Glasgow: Register now
5 days ago

Six guilty of £2m bribery over Devon housing site deals

Corrupt building bosses and E.ON project chief and QS sentenced
1 week ago

Contractor services