£12m boost for new University station plans

THE Government has confirmed it will provide £12 million towards the design and building of a new University station in Edgbaston.

The project, expected to cost £56 million in total, will deliver a larger modern station with enhanced facilities including more lifts, a ticket office, shop and public toilets.

The new station will also provide direct access to the University of Birmingham campus.

Opened in 1978, University Station was designed to serve 500,000 passengers per year but now, over 40 years later, this has increased to almost four million people, with demand only expected to rise further in the coming years.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “Birmingham has the privilege of welcoming our Commonwealth friends from around the world in 2022 and so we are delivering a station that will be a worthy gateway to the Games for athletes and fans alike.

“And long after the games have gone passengers will arrive into a modern station that provides better connections and makes journeys easier and more reliable.

“This station development demonstrates our ambition to build great infrastructure for the future, that will transform travel for those who use it and is just part of our wider agenda to level up all parts of the UK.”

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This funding from the Department for Transport means we have taken another major step towards building a new

University Station ready for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. “Over the last decade or so we have seen huge growth in both the university campus and the hospital site, making University one of the busiest railway stations on our network.

“Because of this it is clear that the station is becoming increasingly not fit for purpose, and the latest funding announced by the DfT will help us take another step towards delivering a new University Station.”