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(Redirected from Birmingham New Street)
:''For the street in Birmingham named New Street, see New Street, Birmingham.''
'Birmingham New Street' is a major railway station located in the centre of the city of Birmingham, England. It lies on the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line.
New Street is Birmingham's main railway station, and is a major hub of the British railway system. Due to its central location, railway lines from all over Great Britain run into it including lines to London, Liverpool, Manchester, Scotland, Cardiff, North Wales, Bristol, Penzance, Nottingham, Leicester, Shrewsbury and Newcastle upon Tyne.
The station is also a terminus for many local services from throughout the West Midlands conurbation, including the local Cross City railway line, serving Lichfield, Redditch and stations in between. Direct trains run to more stations from New Street than from any other station on the British railway network.
Over 35 million people pass through New Street station every year, making it the busiest major station in the United Kingdom outside London for footfall and passenger numbers[1] and the third busiest outside London analysed by ticket sales.[2] It is one of 17 British railway stations managed by Network Rail.
New Street is not popular with its users with a customer satisfaction rate of only 52% - the joint lowest of any Network Rail major station.[3] The station is currently proposed to be redeveloped as part of the £550m Birmingham Gateway project.[4]
New Street station was constructed as a joint station by the London and North Western Railway and the Midland Railway between 1846 and 1854 to replace several earlier unconnected rail termini, the most notable being Curzon Street. It was formally opened on June 1, 1854 however it had been in use for two years before this. The ''Queen's Hotel'' was opened in the same year and its telegraphic address became "''Besthotel Birmingham''".
The station was constructed by Messrs. Fox, Henderson & Co.. When completed, it had the largest iron and glass roof in the world, spanning a length of 212 feet. By the end of 19th century, it had become one of the busiest railway stations in the country.
Because it was constructed by two companies, the original New Street Station was effectively two stations built side-by-side. Each company had one half, with a road, Queen's Drive, between them. This led to an inconvenient track layout which restricted capacity. In 1923, the two companies, with others, were grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).
The station was completely re-built by the nationalised British Railways in the mid 1960s, when the West Coast Main Line was modernised and electrified. Queen's Drive was lost in the rebuilding, but the name is now carried by a new driveway which serves the car park and a tower block, and is the access route for the station's taxis. The rebuilt station has the Pallasades Shopping Centre and an NCP car park above it. The station and the Pallasades are now somewhat integrated with the Bullring complex, connected by indoor walkways and escalators. Next to the car park Stephenson Tower, a residential tower block was constructed. The Brutalist 1960s corrugated concrete architecture of New Street Signal Box (architects: Bicknell & Hamilton) is located to the side of the tracks connected to Navigation Street. It is now a Grade II listed building.[5]
The station was designed to serve 650 trains and 60,000 passengers per day however is currently serving 1,350 trains and 120,000 passengers (double the number it was designed to take). Passenger usage of New Street has increased by 50% since 2000. Currently New Street handles about 80% of passengers travelling to, from or through Birmingham.''New Street redevelopment ‘on-track’ for 2007'' Accessed December 26, 2006
There are five escalators and two lifts in the station giving access to the platforms and concourse from the Pallasades Shopping Centre.
In 1987, twelve different horse sculptures by Kevin Atherton, titled ''Iron Horse'', were erected between New Street station and Wolverhampton. One stands on a platform at New Street.[6]
The station is frequently derided as one of the most run down and unwelcoming of all the major terminals on the British railway network Although much of this can be blamed on the sub-surface nature of the station, the 1960s architecture, and that it is built below the Pallasades shopping arcade also contributes to New Street's ambience. In November 2003 the station was voted the second biggest "eyesore" in the UK by readers of Country Life magazine.[7]
New Street was voted joint worst station for customer satisfaction with Liverpool Lime Street station and East Croydon station with only 52% satisfied with the national average being 60%.[3]
A feasibility study worth £3.9m into the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street Station, known as the Birmingham Gateway Project, was approved on 21 January 2005. A development scheme was launched in 2006 [9] and the new New Street, pending planning approval, will be built and operational by 2013.
An alternative to the 'regeneration' of New Street has been put forward by Arup. Dubbed Grand Central station, the proposal claims to increase train capacity and other problems which cannot be tackled by the regeneration of New Street. The new station is proposed to be built in the Eastside of Birmingham.[10]
★ Birmingham Snow Hill station
★ Birmingham International railway station
★ Birmingham Moor Street railway station
★ Transport in Birmingham
★ West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive
★ ''A History of Birmingham'', Chris Upton, 1997, ISBN 0-85033-870-0.
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street. 1 Background and Beginnings. The Years up to 1860''. By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (1990) ISBN 0-906867-78-9
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street. 2 Expansion and Improvement. 1860 to 1923''. By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (1990) ISBN 0-906867-79-7
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street. 3 LMS Days. 1923-1947'' By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (1997) ISBN 1-874103-37-2
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street 4 British Railways. The First 15 Years''. By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (Publication awaited).
★ Smith, Donald J. (1984).''New Street Remembered: The story of Birmingham's New Street Station 1854-1967 In words and pictures''. Birmingham: Barbryn Press Ltd. ISBN 0-906160-05-7.
1. Managed Stations Footfall
2. Station Usage 2005-2006
3. ''Revamped station tops train poll'' - BBC News, August 2 2007, Retrieved August 20 2007
4. New Street £128m funding unveiled
5. Guardian Unlimited: Listed buildings
6. ''Public Sculpture of Birmingham including Sutton Coldfield'', George T. Noszlopy, edited Jeremy Beach, 1998, ISBN 0-85323-692-5
7. ''Windfarms top list of UK eyesores'', BBC News Online, 13 November 2003, retrieved 29 November 2006
8. ''Revamped station tops train poll'' - BBC News, August 2 2007, Retrieved August 20 2007
9. Rail Air Rights Towers Planned For Birmingham
10. Arup's Grand Central proposal
★ Birmingham Gateway Project
★ Warwickshire's Railways the history of the county's railways from 1838 to 1968
★ 1890 Ordnance Survey map of the station
★ Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Birmingham New Street station
:''For the street in Birmingham named New Street, see New Street, Birmingham.''
The tracks at the eastern end of Birmingham New Street station
Class 390 no. 390029 "City of Stoke-on-Trent" at Birmingham New Street on 24 September 2003 with a service to Wolverhampton. These units now work all of the Virgin West Coast services.
Birmingham New Street Signal Box
Sculpture by Kevin Atherton, ''Iron Horse'', 1987
'Birmingham New Street' is a major railway station located in the centre of the city of Birmingham, England. It lies on the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line.
New Street is Birmingham's main railway station, and is a major hub of the British railway system. Due to its central location, railway lines from all over Great Britain run into it including lines to London, Liverpool, Manchester, Scotland, Cardiff, North Wales, Bristol, Penzance, Nottingham, Leicester, Shrewsbury and Newcastle upon Tyne.
The station is also a terminus for many local services from throughout the West Midlands conurbation, including the local Cross City railway line, serving Lichfield, Redditch and stations in between. Direct trains run to more stations from New Street than from any other station on the British railway network.
Over 35 million people pass through New Street station every year, making it the busiest major station in the United Kingdom outside London for footfall and passenger numbers[1] and the third busiest outside London analysed by ticket sales.[2] It is one of 17 British railway stations managed by Network Rail.
New Street is not popular with its users with a customer satisfaction rate of only 52% - the joint lowest of any Network Rail major station.[3] The station is currently proposed to be redeveloped as part of the £550m Birmingham Gateway project.[4]
| Contents |
| History |
| The first railway station |
| The current railway station |
| Criticism |
| See also |
| Further reading |
| References |
| Services |
| External links |
History
The first railway station
New Street station was constructed as a joint station by the London and North Western Railway and the Midland Railway between 1846 and 1854 to replace several earlier unconnected rail termini, the most notable being Curzon Street. It was formally opened on June 1, 1854 however it had been in use for two years before this. The ''Queen's Hotel'' was opened in the same year and its telegraphic address became "''Besthotel Birmingham''".
The station was constructed by Messrs. Fox, Henderson & Co.. When completed, it had the largest iron and glass roof in the world, spanning a length of 212 feet. By the end of 19th century, it had become one of the busiest railway stations in the country.
Because it was constructed by two companies, the original New Street Station was effectively two stations built side-by-side. Each company had one half, with a road, Queen's Drive, between them. This led to an inconvenient track layout which restricted capacity. In 1923, the two companies, with others, were grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).
The current railway station
The station was completely re-built by the nationalised British Railways in the mid 1960s, when the West Coast Main Line was modernised and electrified. Queen's Drive was lost in the rebuilding, but the name is now carried by a new driveway which serves the car park and a tower block, and is the access route for the station's taxis. The rebuilt station has the Pallasades Shopping Centre and an NCP car park above it. The station and the Pallasades are now somewhat integrated with the Bullring complex, connected by indoor walkways and escalators. Next to the car park Stephenson Tower, a residential tower block was constructed. The Brutalist 1960s corrugated concrete architecture of New Street Signal Box (architects: Bicknell & Hamilton) is located to the side of the tracks connected to Navigation Street. It is now a Grade II listed building.[5]
The station was designed to serve 650 trains and 60,000 passengers per day however is currently serving 1,350 trains and 120,000 passengers (double the number it was designed to take). Passenger usage of New Street has increased by 50% since 2000. Currently New Street handles about 80% of passengers travelling to, from or through Birmingham.''New Street redevelopment ‘on-track’ for 2007'' Accessed December 26, 2006
There are five escalators and two lifts in the station giving access to the platforms and concourse from the Pallasades Shopping Centre.
In 1987, twelve different horse sculptures by Kevin Atherton, titled ''Iron Horse'', were erected between New Street station and Wolverhampton. One stands on a platform at New Street.[6]
Criticism
The station is frequently derided as one of the most run down and unwelcoming of all the major terminals on the British railway network Although much of this can be blamed on the sub-surface nature of the station, the 1960s architecture, and that it is built below the Pallasades shopping arcade also contributes to New Street's ambience. In November 2003 the station was voted the second biggest "eyesore" in the UK by readers of Country Life magazine.[7]
New Street was voted joint worst station for customer satisfaction with Liverpool Lime Street station and East Croydon station with only 52% satisfied with the national average being 60%.[3]
A feasibility study worth £3.9m into the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street Station, known as the Birmingham Gateway Project, was approved on 21 January 2005. A development scheme was launched in 2006 [9] and the new New Street, pending planning approval, will be built and operational by 2013.
An alternative to the 'regeneration' of New Street has been put forward by Arup. Dubbed Grand Central station, the proposal claims to increase train capacity and other problems which cannot be tackled by the regeneration of New Street. The new station is proposed to be built in the Eastside of Birmingham.[10]
See also
★ Birmingham Snow Hill station
★ Birmingham International railway station
★ Birmingham Moor Street railway station
★ Transport in Birmingham
★ West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive
Further reading
New Street Station in 1885.
★ ''A History of Birmingham'', Chris Upton, 1997, ISBN 0-85033-870-0.
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street. 1 Background and Beginnings. The Years up to 1860''. By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (1990) ISBN 0-906867-78-9
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street. 2 Expansion and Improvement. 1860 to 1923''. By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (1990) ISBN 0-906867-79-7
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street. 3 LMS Days. 1923-1947'' By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (1997) ISBN 1-874103-37-2
★ ''Birmingham New Street. The Story of a Great Station Including Curzon Street 4 British Railways. The First 15 Years''. By Richard Foster. Wild Swan Publications Limited (Publication awaited).
★ Smith, Donald J. (1984).''New Street Remembered: The story of Birmingham's New Street Station 1854-1967 In words and pictures''. Birmingham: Barbryn Press Ltd. ISBN 0-906160-05-7.
References
1. Managed Stations Footfall
2. Station Usage 2005-2006
3. ''Revamped station tops train poll'' - BBC News, August 2 2007, Retrieved August 20 2007
4. New Street £128m funding unveiled
5. Guardian Unlimited: Listed buildings
6. ''Public Sculpture of Birmingham including Sutton Coldfield'', George T. Noszlopy, edited Jeremy Beach, 1998, ISBN 0-85323-692-5
7. ''Windfarms top list of UK eyesores'', BBC News Online, 13 November 2003, retrieved 29 November 2006
8. ''Revamped station tops train poll'' - BBC News, August 2 2007, Retrieved August 20 2007
9. Rail Air Rights Towers Planned For Birmingham
10. Arup's Grand Central proposal
Services
External links
★ Birmingham Gateway Project
★ Warwickshire's Railways the history of the county's railways from 1838 to 1968
★ 1890 Ordnance Survey map of the station
★ Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Birmingham New Street station
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