Birmingham New Street station and Grand Central Shopping Centre (Birmingham)

United Kingdom / England / Birmingham / New Street
 shopping mall, train station

Birmingham New Street is a name of one of the busiest railway stations in the United Kingdom outside London. It is the largest and most important railway station in Birmingham, complete with 13 platforms and also The Pallasades Centre next to the station. The station is managed by Network Rail, and has services leading to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Bristol and London.

New Street is frequently derided as one of the most run down and unwelcoming of all the major stations on the British railway network. Although much of this can be blamed on the sub-surface nature of the station and the 1960s brutalist architecture, that it is built below the dated Pallasades shopping arcade also contributes to New Street's perceived negative ambience.

Work is now underway to redevelop the station. The £600 million project will see the central section of the shopping centre removed and a three high glass arches constructed to create an enlarged atrium, filled with natural light. Holes in the floor will allow this light to penetrate through to platform level. New waiting areas will be constructed in the concourse area, meaning passengers will only go down to platform level when their train is ready to board. This will clear platforms of any unnecessary and ugly features and furniture. New escalators and lifts will be installed to improve accessibility. New entrances will be knocked through the building, as well as a new Midland Metro stop.

Stephenson Tower is also to be demolished to make way for a new main entrance. Two skyscrapers are planned to flank the entrance, although these have not been submitted for planning approval due to the economic situation.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   52°28'39"N   1°53'56"W

Comments

  • Station has many eastbound services to London, and westbound services to Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. There are loads of local services to surrounding towns and suburbs. Also terminus for eastern services to Peterborough. Most services also call at Birmingham International to the east if you are put off from using New Street. The station is due for long-overdue redevelopment.
  • The station has many shops and fast food restaurants. There is an underground walkway linking the station with a large shopping centre and city centre.
This article was last modified 10 years ago