New railway station in Birmingham set for Eastside

Mar 11 2010 by Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Post

Under the Government’s plans, services will run initially from London to Birmingham and will later be expanded to head north.

The network is expected eventually to split into a Y-shaped network, where one section would head from the Midlands to Leeds while the other would go to Manchester and the north-west.

Work on a new line could begin by 2018 – after the construction of a new rail network within London, called Crossrail, has been completed. This will free up construction and engineering staff to begin the new project. The rest of the network is unlikely to be completed before 2030.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis is expected to announce that 1,100-seater high speed trains will arrive and depart from a new London station, with the route of the line likely to pass through the picturesque Chiltern Hills to Birmingham..

But the city will require a new station to cope with high speed lines, because New Street, Birmingham’s main station, will not be able to cope with new services despite a £550 million revamp.