FAQs
What is the New Street Gateway project?
Who is behind the Gateway project?
What is the problem with the current station?
What are the benefits of the project?
When will the new station concourse be ready?
When does work start inside the station?
What is the New Street Gateway project?
New Street Gateway will make New Street station an icon for Britain's second city. It will transform the experience for passengers, improve links to and through the city centre and act as a catalyst for growth for the local area's economy.
The project will create a new start for one of the busiest, most important stations in the country.
Who is behind the Gateway project?
The redevelopment of New Street will be carried out by Network Rail alongside Mace who are the principal contractor and delivery partner. The project is backed by Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Advantage West Midlands, Centro and the Department for Transport.
The scheme is backed by business leaders, passengers and the wider public.
What is the problem with the current station?
New Street station is one of the busiest on the nation's transport network and is used by 140,000 passengers a day - that's more than double the number that the station was designed for when it was last rebuilt in the 1960s.
Passengers have told us they want to continue to travel into the heart of the city, and will do so in ever growing numbers. We are investing now so that New Street can serve passengers, the city and region for years to come.
What are the benefits of the project?
New Street Gateway will deliver the station that passengers deserve and is vital to the continued prosperity of the region. It will give passengers three and a half times more space and transform the grey, concrete exterior into a stunning building fit for the 21st century. The project will generate over £2bn in transport and wider economic benefits for the region.
The redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station will create:
- a concourse with three and half times more space for passengers, enclosed by a giant light-filled atrium
- more accessible, brighter and clearer platforms, reached by new escalators and new public lifts
- a stunning new station exterior, adding to Birmingham's growing reputation for good design
- better links to and through the station for pedestrians, with eight entrances
- a major stimulus for the physical regeneration of the areas surrounding the station
When will the new station concourse be ready?
The first half of the new station concourse is expected to open to the public at the end of 2012 with the project due to be completed in 2015.
When does work start inside the station?
Work started on site in April 2010. Only one platform will be closed at any one time so train services can continue as normal.
