News Front
A PUBLIC consultation has been held on the design of the rebuilt University station.
The proposal incorporates a new station building and footbridge along with a direct link bridge over the canal to the adjacent University of Birmingham campus. Platforms would be widened and covered by canopies with heated waiting areas for passengers.
The project to improve the station is being led by Transport for West Midlands and the West Midlands Rail Executive, with the two bodies aiming to create a station capable of accommodating 7.2 million passengers a year. The consultation ran from 20 August to 6 September, with the aim being to submit an application for planning rights this autumn. Scheme construction would start in January 2021, with a phased construction process to keep the station operational.
The structure of the new station building would be completed by December 2021 and the new station open in May 2022, in time for the Commonwealth Games, at which the adjacent University of Birmingham will host hockey and squash events. University station opened in May 1978 and was designed to handle around 500,000 passengers a year, a significantly lower figure than the 3.5 million passengers who now use it. Usage is expected to top seven million passengers a year by 2043.
