Liam Byrne: New Street stays as Birmingham's rail hub

Sep 23 2008 By Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Mail

THE Minister for the West Midlands has ruled out a new rail station in Birmingham, arguing that New Street will remain the heart of the city’s rail network for up to 30 years.

Liam Byrne rejected the findings of an inquiry by the Commons Transport Committee which described the planned £600 million makeover of New Street as a cosmetic project which would not solve Birmingham’s lack of rail capacity.

The committee’s report re-opened the debate about alternative schemes, such as a new “Grand Central” station which could serve high speed rail lines between London, Birmingham and the North.

Mr Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, said New Street should be seen in the context of a range of improvements to the region’s transport infrastructure.

Asked if Grand Central should be part of these improvements, he said:

“I don’t think so. As part of a massive programme of investment in infrastructure across the region, New Street remains the right answer for the next two or three decades.

“I don’t think the transport plans today are the end of history as far as West Midlands transport goes. But New Street got the whole region behind it because people could see how it was the most important single project, but it was also going to unlock a whole range of other projects.”