Birmingham New Street has been a bit of a joke in the past. I’ve called it Mordor Haptbahnhof more than once due to how dark and dingy it was.
Well, things have changed a bit. In 2013, the first half of New Street was refurbished. Now, they’ve finished the other half of the construction work.
How does it look? Well lets take a look, as I approach the station from the Bullring:
From the Bullring.
All clean new concrete – this used to be a car park in the past.
The Birmingham Media Eye. Doesn’t remind me of Big Brother in the least.
As well as a new station, Birmingham also get a new shopping centre called “Grand Central”, which is due to open on Thursday.
In case you don’t know where you are.
As well as lots of reflective metal, there’s new catering options – All Bar One has joined the party.
Still a lot of reflective metal.
Lets wander inside.
Well, there’s space, but of course, there’s retail. And a fair chunk of it.
And somewhere to get tickets too. Helpful (not the only sales point).
Singage was pretty clear too.
But this station is meant to be an away from the old darkness and yellow light that used to dominate this place.
Wait… there’s light ahead.
And… there was light!
Panorama of the new station.
Adam summed it up best:
@EconomyBeyond GOOD GOD YOU CAN SEE THE SKY.
— Adam Galbraith Cobb (@adamcobb) September 20, 2015
Why yes. Yes you can.
The new John Lewis store – the anchor tenant in Grand Central – Birmingham will have to wait 4 more days for it to open!
Grand Central
The main departures board – the delimiter between the old and new halves of the station.
Another view into New Street/Grand Central
Getting to the platforms is changing too at New Street, with the traditional A/B divide of the platforms being converted to a Red Zone and Blue Zone – the Blue Zone covering the “A platforms/East” side of the station, the Red zone covering the “B platforms/West” side of the station.
Oh, and for those considering dodging fares (which was a pretty popular pastime for a lot of people), the manual check have been replaced with automated barriers.
Blue Zone Entrance – entry ways from both the central plaza and the main entrance.
To the Red Plaza – the ticket barrier nearer New Street and Stephenson Street
Even Virgin Trains are getting in on the act. Welcome to Gate Expectations…. (Groan).
The main ticket office – opened in the 2013 rebuild.
This is all well and good… but how is this coming together as a connected city? The Bus networks will be adjusting over the next few months, with some services changing already.
However, there was something else that was meant to be ready for today – the Midland Metro tram network should had been open today to connect Birmingham New Street.
Except…. it isn’t.
Yes, the tracks have been laid, but no catenery lines has been put up, platforms barely ready – and roadworks up the road still being completed. Work is due to be completed towards December 2015, linking Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton via West Bromwich, Wednesbury and Bilston
For New Street Station – it’s a new start, one the station has needed for many years. It will provide a great passenger experience when the arrive or depart at the station, or wait for the trains.
Whilst the upgrade of the station has addressed the issue of capacity and crowding on the station concourse hasn’t addressed the issue of the amount of platforms and physical tracks at the station – which would had been a much more expensive engineering task to achieve.
Still, this is one heck of a good start – and a great gateway to the City of Birmingham.
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