HS2 engineers have finished installing 2,011 concrete piles, between 6 and 24 metres deep, to underpin the foundations of the new Curzon Street station in Birmingham.
As work on the station progresses, HS2 has published new images that illustrate how the public spaces around the station will appear.
Curzon Street station will be over 400 metres long, and is located between Moor Street station and Millennium Point.
It will have seven platforms, which will be covered by an arched roof, the design of which is inspired by Victorian railway architecture. It will be the first brand-new intercity railway terminus built in Britain since the nineteenth century.
The new images show the revised designs that are being submitted to Birmingham City Council for approval. Amendments to the designs include improved rainwater drainage and better integration of cycling and walking routes into Birmingham.
Features of the outdoor spaces around the station include:
- a paved ‘station square’ in front of the station, edged by gardens facing Moor Street Queensway.
- a second entrance giving access to Digbeth and the east side of the city, including a tram stop, taxi drop-off points and better cycle access.
- a promenade lined with trees with landscaped terraces along the side of the station building.
- a new square next to the eastern entrance, facing the disused, Grade 1 listed Old Curzon Street station, built in 1838.
- a new terrace and gardens behind the old station.
The piling work started in September 2024. The workforce also installed an 8-metre-high retaining wall at the station’s western end of the site. They excavated 47,000 cubic metres of material in order to create a level base for the station.
After they had completed the earthworks, the engineers used Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piling rigs to install the piles. The work had to pause for a short time while Network Rail carried out maintenance work on the viaduct alongside the site.
The main focus now will be on work to prepare for the Digbeth extension to the West Midlands Metro, which will stop beneath the station on New Canal Street. There is also further work to be done on the station’s foundations.
The sub-surface work will require over 19,000 tonnes of reinforced steel and 69,000 cubic metres of concrete. Workers have already installed 7,000 tonnes of reinforcement and poured 29,000 cubic metres of concrete.
Workers are also making progress building a temporary office block from which the next stage of construction will be managed.
“Once complete, Curzon Street will be a new landmark for Birmingham – and provide a fitting city centre terminus for a railway that will improve journeys and free up space on the existing West Coast Main Line. These new images also show how it will be integrated into the rest of the city – with new green spaces, better accessibility and onward public transport links.
“It’s great to see how much progress has been made on the foundation works and I’d like to thank everyone who’s been working so hard to get the job done. But we’ve still got a lot of work to do before the first passengers arrive, and I look forward to seeing more significant progress in the year ahead.”
HS2 Ltd’s Senior Project Manager, Alistair Morgan
Responses
What a pity they couldn’t have used the Original Curzon Street station buildings as the entrance. I wonder how much the ‘Victorian inspired overall roof’ will actually resemble a Victorian overall roof.
The best, most attractive, station in Birmingham will still be Birmingham Moor Street.
Modern railway stations are completely lacking in atmosphere and architectural merit.
Brand new intercity railway TERMINUS … And trying to sell it as a success . Whilst most of Europe is trying to convert it’s Terminus stations into Through stations (Zurich, Frankfurt Main, Stuttgart, Antwerp, etc etc here in the UK we build a terminus .. that means delays for train reversals . As in: Euston / Old Oak / Birmingham (reverse) Manchester.. .
Hallelujah, someone else in the railway community who believes terminus stations are a transport disaster zone. What a shame we’ve spent millions of pounds in Britain on them in the last 50 years when they should have been pensioned off at the end of the 19th century. The ultimate vanity projects.