HomeRail BusinessCouncil produces £286m business case for Birmingham International station

Council produces £286m business case for Birmingham International station

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Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council has produced a business case worth £286 million for the development of Birmingham International station.

The Urban Growth Company, a special-delivery vehicle set up by Solihull Council to deliver infrastructure improvements around the station, produced a study which informed the business case.

It said that since Birmingham International station opened in the 1970s, passenger numbers have “exceeded all expectations. ”

Urban Growth Company chairman Nick Brown added: “We now have a scenario where there simply isn’t enough capacity and the passenger experience could be so much better.”


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Nick said that with the HS2 Interchange station on its way, major growth at Birmingham Airport and the NEC, and nearby Jaguar Land Rover going from strength-to-strength, passenger numbers at Birmingham International station are forecast to triple over the next 20 years – potentially making it one of the UK’s busiest stations.

Under plans in the business case, a multi-modal hub will be created, bringing together future high speed rail, existing rail, air travel, trams, buses, taxis and bicycles with seamless connections to Birmingham Airport and the new HS2 Interchange station by 2025.

The study was 50 per cent co-financed from a €875,000 grant awarded by the European Union’s connecting Europe facility, with balance of funding provided by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Birmingham Airport and NEC Group.

The business case will now be submitted to the WMCA and the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership in order to secure funding to progress the project to design stage and delivery.


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