Sidelines

<Sidelines home » Archives » July 2008

new street
That the £600 million redevelopment of Birmingham New Street is cosmetic rather than capable of addressing growth in demand for train travel has been the elephant in the room for some time. The July 21 2008 report by the Transport Select Committee articulates this further.

New Street isn't currently the disgraceful passenger experience that some seem to imagine. Its subterranean platforms are certainly atypical of British stations, but finding your train or changing there is quick and straightforward, the crowds are impressive but no more so than at London mainline stations.

Lengthen the platforms (part of the plans) by all means, but why not hold off from the disruption and expense of changing the rest until we find out if the station is set to become even more of a train bottleneck than it is now.
[link]