The
new
buildings


at
University
station
in
Birmingham
will
be
open
to
passengers
from
Sunday.

The
station
on
the
Cross
City
line
opened
in
1978,
and
was
designed
for
500,000
passengers
a
year.
Since
then,
Birmingham
University
has
grown,
while
the
new Queen
Elizabeth
Hospital
was
opened
near
the
University
on
the
same
site
in
Edgbaston
in
2010.

The
station,
which
has
been
managing
with
the
original
entrance,
now
handles
as
many
as
3.5
million
passengers
a
year.
The
1978
building
will
remain
in
use
as
an
exit.

The
new
buildings
are
designed
to
cater
for
up
to
7.2
million
people
each
year,
with
wider
entrances,
stairways
and
exits,
more
open
space,
lifts
to
the
platforms,
a
larger
ticket
office
and
other
improvements. The
main
pavilion
building
also
includes
space
for
a
café
or
convenience
shop,
which
is
due
to
be
announced
soon,
and
an
NHS
centre
on
the
first
floor.

Sunday’s
opening
will
follow
a
complex
three-year
construction
programme
during
which
the
station
remained
open.
The
project
included
installing
new
bridges
over
the
railway
and
the
Birmingham
to
Worcester
canal.
The
new
station
includes
two
buildings,
or
pavilions,
one
of
which
is
built
on
the
island
between
the
railway
and
the
canal,
and
for
which
materials
had
to
be
delivered
by
crane.

The
first
stage
of
the
development
included
longer
and
wider
platforms,
complete
with
new
canopies,
which
were
ready
for
the
2022
Commonwealth
Games
in
the
city.

West
Midlands
Mayor
Andy
Street
said:
‘Given
the
millions
of
people
a
year
the
University
of
Birmingham
and
QE
Hospital
collectively
draw
in,
it’s
been
clear
for
some
time
that
a
new
fit-for-purpose
station
was
needed.
So
I’m
pleased
that
finally,
despite
the
sometimes
less
than
ideal
pace
of
progress,
we
can
unveil
the
new
station.

‘From
the
outset,
the
project
team
have
involved
partners
at
the
University
of
Birmingham
and
the
NHS
in
a
collaborative
approach
that
has
ensured
the
building
has
been
designed
and
delivered
to
meet
their
needs.

‘It’s
good
news
that
we
now
have
a
superb
gateway
for
thousands
of
people
arriving
at
University
every
day
–
no
longer
having
to
queue
on
stairs
and
funnel
through
what
was
a
fairly
tiny
building
on
their
way
to
lectures
or
hospital
appointments.
This
is
a
high-quality
facility
that
will
serve
local
people
in
the
months
and
years
ahead.’