No spaces for holdups as New Street Station works start

In my earlier post in March, Deconstructing starts Birmingham New Street redevelopment , I noted a tender for deconstruction work on reinforced concrete at the mult-storey car park at New Street Station. The slab and it's demolition are the first stage in the works which allow the concourse to be expanded into the area currently occupied by the two lowest levels of the NCP car park, New Street project 'blown away' by design with work due to start in September.

We have to maintain a lot of additional systems right through the middle of New Street station. At the moment there is a service spine which basically dissects it in two from north to south. You have the eastern section, which houses the current concourse and the west section, which has an NCP car park. The service spine basically forms a wall between those two areas so we have to create a new spine within the carpark area and then transfer all the services into that new spine before we can cut that bit of the station away.’http://www.railpro.co.uk/issues/pdfs/changing_platforms.pdf

Following the succesful compulsory purchase by Birmingham City Council of the Pallasades Shopping Centre, Compulsory purchase approval over New Street Station revamp plans; Network Rail CP4 - New Street Station, work is due to begin on the demolition of the two levels of the car park with prepatory work closing the car park on the 1st September.

The work won't however have a noticeable effect for over three years as the Network Rail schedule from its CP4 delivery programme shows below; the new concourse will not open until 2012 (Work on Birmingham ‘Gateway’ set to start — but public will not see difference until 2012, Network Rail CP4 - New Street Station )

• Commence enabling works - Visible works start - Q4 2009
• Land transfer to Network Rail - Land available to start works on non Network Rail land - Q1 2010
• Start phase 1 (west) - Start main works - Q1 2010
• Complete phase 1 (west) - 50 per cent of new station complete - Q4 2012
• Start phase 2 (east) - Q1 2013
• Complete phase 2 (East)- Main concourse open for use by passengers - Q1 2015

The tender for cladding was published in June 2009 which costed approximately 20,000 m2 stainless steel external rainscreen facade at an estimate cost range between £10 million and £17.5 million.

11/06/2009 S110 European Communities – Water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors – Negotiated procedure

UK-Birmingham: cladding works

The supply and installation of an approx. 20 000 m 2 stainless steel external rainscreen facade and associated secondary support steelwork (to a detailed design by others) on the Birmingham New Street Station redevelopment project in the centre of Birmingham.

Images from the Outline planning permission and variation planning application, C/03086/09/OUT, are shown below.