So they're rebuilding Birmingham New Street...

[Dillinger4]

I saw this on the news. It is about time, new street is awful

The new glass and steel thing looked pretty ugly as well, in a different kind of way.

It will be mostly cosmetic, but they are extending the platforms to be able to take bigger trains.

 

[aqua]

well I never knew the train to walsall went through it - surely that could be re-routed through one of the other ones?

 

[aqua]

in fact why doesn't the cross city line go through moor st, would be so much nicer

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

There are two basic problems with New St as it is now, one being that it has a shopping centre on top of it, the other that it is operating way over it's capacity.

The first one I'm not sure what they can do about - they are saying the future of the Pallisades is "under discussion", which to my mind means it's staying where it is, becuase I imagine the cost of relocating it would be enormous. This means that the problem of low ceilings on the platforms and the associated darkness won't go away.

The capacity problem is even harder to deal with, as due to it's location it simply isn't possible to add more lines in and out (currently there are only 4 approach tracks at each end). The only solution I could see would to build a northern terminus on the old Curzon St/Proofhouse Junction site, and a southern one somewhere around the NIA, leaving New St for through traffic. I dread to think what this would cost though.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

all of those are national lines that serve local stations on route

They still have lots of small local trains on them though, and that's part of the problem - they get in the way of the big inter city trains.

This problem isn't just local to New St though, it's a major problem on the national network. What we need is dedicated high speed lines between all the major cities, but the chance of that happening anytime soon is less than zero

 

[aqua]

I stand corrected

 

[aqua]

currently there are only 4 approach tracks at each end

woot I do listen

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

woot I do listen

In fact at the western approach it's worse than that, there are 4 tracks, but they are paired into two different tunnels, one heading out towards 5 ways/longbridge, the other out underneath the NIA. This means that for a train approaching from a particular direction there is only a single track it can come in on.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

This is what is needed, but I can't see it happening

Birmingham Grand Central Station

 

[g force]

has all that gone now? I haven't been down digbeth way in ages

Yep....all that's left on that patch of land is the pub on the corner and the frontages of the old cafes and driving school. That will soon all go too.

 

[baldrick]

This is what is needed, but I can't see it happening

Birmingham Grand Central Station

Yup

it's no wonder people don't take birmingham seriously when we can't even organise a decent fucking train station.

 

[teuchter]

Looks like it.

Or it might be the 57 that Virgin have started stationing at New Street to act as a 'thunderbird' loco

*compares anoraks with spion*

*ruffles anorak competitively*

I think if it was the Virgin Thunderbird you'd find that the red tail-lights would be lower down because on the Virgin 57s they've been replaced with new ones.

 

[_pH_]

is that picture current? That looks like a Brush 4

*gets anorak*

Looks like it.

Or it might be the 57 that Virgin have started stationing at New Street to act as a 'thunderbird' loco

*compares anoraks with spion*

*ruffles anorak competitively*

I think if it was the Virgin Thunderbird you'd find that the red tail-lights would be lower down because on the Virgin 57s they've been replaced with new ones.

Only one way to sort this out.........


FIGHT!!!!


What's a 57, is it one of those re-engined 47s? I spose they had to call them 57s cos TOPS had run out of subclasses for 47s, no?

 

[Roadkill]

*ruffles anorak competitively*

I think if it was the Virgin Thunderbird you'd find that the red tail-lights would be lower down because on the Virgin 57s they've been replaced with new ones.

Now that is TRULY impressive anorakishness!

<e2a> You're right as well

 

[aqua]

roadie? out-geeked on a train thread?

well fuck me

 

[cybertect]

One of those 'is it really worth doing if it's not going to be done properly?' questions. A prettier station does not a good station make.

Not a cat in hells chance mate

there are 3 stations in birmingham, new st, moor st and snow hill

Some rather cool pics of Snow Hill in its last days as a big station.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/tags/snowhill/

 

[baldrick]

One of those 'is it really worth doing if it's not going to be done properly?' questions. A prettier station does not a good station make.

I completely agree.

Surely the ridiculous millions that they're spending on a new library (that doesn't even have an architect yet, let alone a design) could be spent on a train station?

As much as I like libraries and think the current one is a concrete shithole (much like New Street), I think the need for a decent station is slightly more pressing.

 

[aqua]

One of those 'is it really worth doing if it's not going to be done properly?' questions. A prettier station does not a good station make.



Some rather cool pics of Snow Hill in its last days as a big station.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/tags/snowhill/

wow great photos

 

[laptop]

to act as a 'thunderbird' loco

WTF is one of them?

 

[teuchter]

Now that is TRULY impressive anorakishness!

I'm not proud of it.

 

[teuchter]

WTF is one of them?

It's just a locomotive kept at a strategic point in readiness for the rescue of failed trains.

 

[UTJF]

Eventually they'll end up re-routing most local trains to Snow Hill and Moor Street when things get REALLY congested on the tracks. The council already own the land to put the links in place. There's big potential for expansion at Snow Hill. Although not demolished, the palasades will be significantly redesigned allowing lots of natural light into the station. Platforms will be lengthened to allow for longer trains and the busiest ones widened.

On the whole i'm pretty positive about this. The government wouldn't have shelled out £400 million odd on a non-London project and spent decades deliberating unless they were sure it would be worth it.

P.S. When the hell are they gonna connect those two new platforms at Moor Street?

<edit> The biggest problem at the moment is passenger overcrowding which leads to the station being closed regularly. So they're increasing passenger capacity by 150% now, and worrying about the bottleneck later.

The government wont give us the £billion needed for a brand new station or the £billion needed to add tracks by deeper tunnelling, so this is the only option available at the moment.

 

[UTJF]

But from what I could tell on TV, the new one is a boring glass-and-steel thing. Couldn't they have been a bit more original?

That was an old design. The new one hasn't been revealed yet.

 

[UTJF]

Yup

it's no wonder people don't take birmingham seriously when we can't even organise a decent fucking train station.

Don't blame us, it's the fucking stingy government! Plus New Street has got to be in the best location of any city's station.

 

[laptop]

New Street has got to be in the best location of any city's station.

What about Nottingham Victoria?

Er, wait....




Edinburgh Waverley.

 

[teuchter]

Edinburgh Waverley.

Was going to say the same.

Or Glasgow Central, even.

 

[PacificOcean]

Is Birmingham not electrified?

When I went up there our train from London had to be pulled by a diesel from Nuneaton to New Street and on the way back was the same. It took ages at Nuneaton while they faffed about with the uncoupling and coupling.

Does that happen all the time or were the working on the electrics that day or something?

 

[g force]

The Nuneaton line is a divert whent he do engineering works usually

 

[Epico]

Er, wait....



Edinburgh Waverley.

And do you know why they chose to build the castle within such easy reach of it? [/plagarism mode]

 

[UTJF]

Was going to say the same.

Or Glasgow Central, even.

OK, in England then. Never been to Glasgow Central or Waverley. Would be hard to get more central than New Street though, direct access to the Bullring and 3 new planned entrances (making 7 in total).

All we need now is a damn metro line linking it to Snow Hill.