Transport Secretary sees major infrastructure investment in action in Birmingham

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited Birmingham New Street today to see progress on a £600 million project to transform it into one of the country’s flagship rail stations and help highlight more than 200 more infrastructure projects due to start this year.

The Transport Secretary was given a tour of redevelopment works, which include a new concourse, a giant atrium and better access.

The scheme is part of the largest national railway spending programme since Victorian times, with £38 billion of funding across the rail network to make major improvements for passengers and provide a significant boost to the economy.

Patrick McLoughlin was one of a number of cabinet ministers highlighting the importance of energy, rail, broadband, road and flood defences across the country as part of the government’s long-term economic plan.

Patrick McLoughlin said:

“A key part of this government’s long term economic plan is investing in world class infrastructure. That is why we are putting record amounts of government funding into our railways over the next five years.

“Projects like the one I have seen in Birmingham today show how determined we are to transform the transport network for the future and get the country back up to speed.”

The New Street redevelopment will see a new concourse built which is three and a half times bigger than at present. For the first time, natural light will be provided in the station through a giant atrium and better access will be provided as a result of over 30 new escalators and lifts.

There will be new connections across the city centre, including a direct link with the Midland Metro extension which will open in 2015, new entrances and a new station façade that will create a new landmark building in the heart of Birmingham.

Signalling through Birmingham New Street will also to help provide a more reliable service.

The project is part of over £5.5 billion of maintenance and investment work being carried out the London North Western route, which will have a real impact on the lives of passengers in the West Midlands, as well as boosting the local and national economy.

The West Midlands scheme is part of a major modernisation of the rail network, backed by record levels of investment and spending. This will make room for an extra 140,000 commuters coming into 10 of our biggest cities by 2020.

This is just one element of a bold programme of government investment to help drive economic growth. It is estimated that in 2014/15 there will be over £14 billion of public and private investment in transport infrastructure.

Other investment includes:

• a tripling of spending on major roads projects between now and 2020;
• £16 billion of investment over the next Parliament to deliver HS2, which will redraw the economic geography of Great Britain, linking eight out of 10 of our largest cities and bringing two thirds of the population of northern England within two hours of London;
• more than £1 billion to support local transport projects; and
• a further £5 billion to enable the long-term planning of local transport priorities as determined by local authorities, not Parliament.

Find out what else the government is doing to support and grow the UK economy.