Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited the ongoing redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station on Tuesday, where the passenger concourse is being enlarged by more than three times.

The £600M project will include a new direct link to an extension of the Midland Metro, due to open next year, new entrances and a new station façade. Natural light will flood into the station through a giant atrium and better pedestrian access is promised with the installation of 30 new escalators and lifts. Works to improve the station are set to complete in summer 2015.

Signalling through Birmingham New Street is also being improved to provide more reliable services. The project is part of a £5.5Bn maintenance and investment programme being carried out on the rail route between London and the North West.

“Projects like this one in Birmingham show how determined we are to transform the transport network for the future and get the country back up to speed,” the Transport Secretary said. He added that the rail scheme will provide a significant boost to the economy.

The Government used the Transport Secretary’s visit to demonstrate its support for transport infrastructure projects as a way of securing growth. It pointed out that rail spending worth £38Bn is to be made over the next five years.

(Photo: Network Rail)

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