Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reasons are for the changes to Network Rail’s planned redevelopment of the western elevation of New Street Station, set out in planning application 2014/02551/PA to Birmingham City Council.

Stephen Hammond

Network Rail has proposed a change to the　Navigation Street　footbridge and the cladding to the existing station building which forms part of the western elevation of the　Birmingham New Street　redevelopment　to deliver a simpler and more cost effective design.

Detailed structural analysis has proved that the existing 1960s built structures cannot support the proposed cladding and would need significant strengthening to support the additional weight and loading.　 This would require extended railway closures causing delays and disruption to passengers.

The proposed new design would look very similar to the original plan from the street but would be significantly more cost effective, straightforward to construct and avoid the need for lengthy possessions of the railway below, thereby minimising disruption to passengers. 　It will continue to be a great improvement over the existing 1960s built structure.