New UK train station to be first of it’s kind in 130 years gets green light for upgraded plans as works set to start this year
REVISED plans for a major new high-speed train station in the UK have been given the green light.
Birmingham’s Curzon Street Station is set to open as part of the HS2 rail network – and will be the first mainline terminus to be built since London Marylebone in 1899.
The new £460 million build will have seven platforms and a curved roof, inspired by Victorian station designs.
It will also have four public spaces outside, featuring gardens and a promenade.
Revised plans that were approved on Thursday included a change in material for the station roof – from timber to aluminium – due to updated fire regulations.
The eastern concourse of the vast station had also been re-planned.
Councillor Gareth Moore said: “HS2 offers tremendous benefits to Birmingham which we, as a city, should very much welcome.
“To unlock those benefits, we need a station so this application is crucial.”
Plans for the build include a ‘Station Square,’ kitted out with a green space, while Curzon Square will provide an area for outdoor events.
The station will also feature Curzon Promenade – a cycle and walking paths that links the station to the Eastside City Park while Paternoster Place will have paths and “urban space”.
Trains are not expected to run from the station until the mid 2030s, but tours of the current construction may be allowed sooner.
The final build is designed to be completely net zero and will run trains that get to central London in just 49 minutes.
The new station has been pitched by officials as a “world class 21st century landmark building”.
And council docs say it will contribute to “maximising the regeneration and development potential” of HS2 in Birmingham.
Construction work for the foundations of the station began in January 2024, with the station itself set to begin being built this year.
The station is set to be finished by 2028 but a “reset” of the HS2 programme has led to delays.
HS2 CEO Mark Wild said recently: “This is of a scale never done before – the last mainline terminus we built was 1899 in Marylebone.
“Truth is also the construction has been harder than we would have thought so we’ve lost ground in construction.
“So a combination of factors of getting a little bit behind and also the complexity to come means we need to reset the programme.”
What is HS2?
HS2, which stands for High Speed 2, is a project that aims to create a high-speed rail network between London and major cities in the Midlands and Northern England.
It is the biggest rail investment ever made in the North of England and is Europe’s largest infrastructure project.
New trains will run on HS2 lines with a top speed of 225 miles per hour – the aim is to cut journey times and make it easier to travel across England.
Last year, then-PM Rishi Sunak decided to scrap the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the line.
It is now hoped that the train will run to Euston despite dears this route would also be scrapped.
Another huge HS2 station Old Oak Common, is set to open in 2029 in West London.
The station is set to cost £2 billion and will be the ‘most connected in the country’.