HS2 Birmingham's new high speed rail mega build in progress as at 2024

Interchange Station itself will be made up of two 415-metre long island platforms, offering four platform faces, as well as two central high-speed through lines for non-stopping services. The station will be linked to the NEC, Birmingham International Station and Birmingham Airport via an Automated People Mover (APM) carrying up to 2,100 passengers per hour in each direction. In addition to the APM, the station will be fully integrated with local buses, taxis and private vehicle options.
Interchange focuses on sustainability, maximising natural daylight and ventilation and a station roof design which can capture and reuse rainwater. The station will be built to achieve a ‘BREEAM excellent’ standard and zero carbon emissions from day-to-day energy consumption. The designs have also now incorporated sunken rain gardens in the public plaza and an outdoor terrace to the station concourse. Another key change is the creation of a dedicated pedestrian access into the station from the east of the railway, along with cycle access to the new station from the north, west and south-east, through a mixture of dedicated routes.

[@johnstuart8511]

All I am looking for is how the train tracks are lining up. All new landmarks. Looking very interesting. Can't wait for the final stage. "Action ".

[@simoncroft9792]

Thanks, not seen this bit before. Presume that is Washwood Heath in the distance at the end?

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

No Washwood Heath is durectly below the picture, what you are looking at is Saltley Viaduct and in the Distace are parts of Saltley and Birmingham City Centre

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

No it is Saltley and Saltley Viaduct with the Birminggham to Derby line at far right following the route of the Spine road, I live near here and travel on our local Bus Services past here regularily, buttom left is the Saltley Trading Estate and past Saltley Viaduct is wehere the old Saltley Engine Sheds were. This Viaduct and the one before it Aston Church Road are due to be replaced by steel structures shortly

[@jamiedoyle3147]

What awful music

[@teebeedahbow]

Yes. Getting to Birmingham from L;ondon 20 minutes quicker truly is the future!

[@JohnLavender]

Not about Speed per se but putting long distance Inter City traffic onto a dedicated line to free up capacity on the existing routes. IMO HS2 should have traversed the Whole of England following the Line of the Pennines north of Birmingham with branches off West to Liverpool and Manchester, Carlisle and Glasgow, East to Nottingham, Hull/York and Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh. It should have extended North to the Central Belt of Scotland (at least). The original concept was minimalist to say the very least. The lies pedalled by @stophs2 were outrageous. Deutsche Bundesbahn got it right in the 1980s/90s by building the North-South Route (Hamburg- ) Hannover - Fulda - Würzburg - Nürnberg (- München) which has allowed extensive expansion of local and City-rail services along the Route.

[@teebeedahbow]

@@JohnLavender i agree, absolutely.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

To be exact the time saving on HS2 will amount to at least 40 mins both ways not 20 mins as you state.

[@teebeedahbow]

@@peterwilliamallen1063 Oh good heavens people! Is it not clear that I am making a jibe against an utterly hopeless government that should be covering the country in futuristic transportation networks but can only imagine a new stretch from London to Birmingham, an already relatively well served route?

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@teebeedahbow Well then it seems you haven't done your reserch on HS2, the reason it is being built is because yhey have tried twice now to upgrade the West Coast Mainline from Crewe to London Euston and failed twice causing wide spread disruption, cancellations and temporay closure of the line leadin to the only alternative to build a new Hi speed line known as HS2 which will allow Inter City trains to trvel at 225 mph and free up capacity on the existing WCML for other passenger services and freight trains and the WCML route out of Birmingham is on two tracks used by multiple Train Companies and a speed of arround 90 MPH, yes there are two routes to London from Birmingham, one from B/Hsm Snow Hill o London Marylebone by Chilton Trains taking arround 2 hours and the WCML service out of a congested Birmingham New Street Station that take 90 mins, HS 2 is replacing this service and will take 50 mis from Birmingham to London

[@user-on3zp6jn5d]

Ruined by the music.

[@paulcgburrows7267]

Sorry about music not my choice either