THE Shadow Minister for Birmingham has issued a plea for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to "stop dithering" and give the green light for the redevelopment of New Street.
Andrew Mitchell, Tory MP for Sutton Coldfield, also urged Mr Brown to visit New Street and offered to personally give him a tour of the dilapidated station.
The Birmingham Mail reported last month that confirmation of the final £236 million lump sum for the redevelopment of New Street is expected by mid-January.
It means that contracts can be signed and work on the transformation of the rail station can begin next year.
Government sources have suggested that only "the dotting of Is and crossing of Ts" is needed before the project can begin.
But backers of the scheme remain cautious after a string of delays has seen the confirmation twice put off since the summer.
Now, in a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Mitchell has written: "As it is the season of goodwill, I am writing to you regarding the Government's commitment to the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station and hoping to deliver some Christmas cheer for the people of Birmingham.
"On numerous occasions ministers have promised the people of Birmingham that a small proportion of their hard earned taxes will be spent on redeveloping their main railway station.
"Sadly, they have so far failed to come up with the goods.
"After all this dithering I would like you to give the people of Birmingham your personal assurance that the money will be provided in January and let the redevelopment of New Street station move ahead.
"It is time to deliver this project not only for the people of Birmingham, but also the many people from across the country that pass through this vital transport hub."
The £550 million New Street Gateway scheme is dependent on £330 million of Government money, of which £236 million has yet to be confirmed.
Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly was expected to confirm the funding at the end of the summer, but delayed asking for more information on which lower cost options had been considered.
The Steering Group duly complied but was then hit with a further request for the risk management details.